Burglary residential

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What are the main elements in the crime of burglary?
Burglary is typically recognized, from a legal perspective, as the unauthorized entry into any type of structure. A common misconception is that the crime of burglary is specific to breaking into a home or business; however, this is not the case. Moreover, for a burglary to occur there is no need for a physical breaking and entering, in fact, a burglary can be committed by an individual simply trespassing and walking into a structure through an open door. “Most states and the Model Penal Code use the same basic definition of burglary and incorporate the same three basic elements of which include the unauthorized breaking and entry into a building or occupied structure with the intent to commit a crime inside” (Reuters, 2013).

• What are the differences between the two burglaries?
There are several difference that can be immediately recognized when comparing these two burglaries. To begin, the point of entry for each of the burglaries are different; the first burglary point of entry was through a rear door that had been pried open while the second location was entered through a broken window. Both burglaries occurred in residential areas; in both residence’s the offices were ransacked which could indicate that someone was looking for something in particular. Moreover, money that was kept in a safe in one location and a cookie jar in the other residence were reported missing which is indicative of the burglar(s) having knowledge of the presence of such.

• What are the possible types of physical evidence at each crime scene?
At the first crime scene, possible evidence would certainly be whether or not the safe in the office where the money was stolen required a password or...

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...g for and had a general idea of where to look.
• Could the same suspect have committed both crimes? Why or why not?

It is believed that the same suspect(s) committed both crimes because both entry point methods were similar, both residence only had two areas of the home ransacked, and money that was generally well guarded was stolen in conjunction with valuable jewelry that the burglar likely knew to be there. The only major differences would be the fact that one residence was entered through a door, the other a window and one residence provided proof of the burglar wearing gloves while the other did not.

Works Cited

Onin (No Date). Latent print evidence collection guidance. Retrieved from http://onin.com/fp/lpcollection.html

Reuters, T. (2013). Findlaw. Elements of burglary. Retrieved from http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/burglary-overview.html

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