Financial Institution and Burglary

¶ … crime rate data of burglaries in two U.S. metropolitan localities.

The UCR (Uniform Crime Reporting) Program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation describes the act of burglary as illegal entry into a structure for committing theft or a felony. For labeling a crime as burglary, it is not necessary for the element of 'forced entry'. UCR provides three sub-categories of burglary: forced entry; non-forced, illegal entry; and attempted forced entry. It defines the term "structure" as any apartment, houseboat or house trailer (utilized as permanent lodgings), office, barn, stable, vessel or ship, and railroad car (however, automobiles are not included). In the year 2012, approximately 2,103,787 burglaries were reported -- a 3.7% decline from the previous year (FBI -- Burglary). Compared to the figures for 2003 and 2008, burglaries declined in 2012 by 2.4% and 5.6%, respectively. The approximate burglary rate constituted 23.4% of the approximate property crime rate. Subcategory-wise, 59.7% of burglaries were forced entries, 33.9% were illegal entries, and the remaining 6.3% came under the category of attempted forced entries. In 2012, burglary victims bore property losses worth roughly 4.7 billion dollars. On the whole, losses of 2,230 dollars were, averagely, experienced for every burglary. Residential property burglaries made up about three-quarters of all burglaries.

Area with More Reported Incidents/Rates

In Texas's Abilene City (Jones, Taylor, and Callahan Counties), the year 2012 alone witnessed a total of 1,037 individual burglary incidents, with the burglary rate being 737.1 residents for every 100,000 people (FBI -- Burglary). Georgia's Atlanta city witnessed 2, 062 burglary reports in 2012, with the burglary rate being 1,311.4 residents for every 100,000 people.

Did Rates Change over Time?

In 2014, Abilene witnessed a rise in rape, aggravated assault, and homicides. For every Part 1 offense individually, categorized as more serious crimes, the city witnessed a growth of 13%. Stan Standridge. Chief of the Abilene Police Force, claims the department is making internal changes for meeting the increased demand, and requests community members to join hands with law enforcement for lowering crime rates. In the year 2014, the city saw seven homicides in total (Miller, 2016). The previous year witnessed only one reported homicide case; therefore, statistically, a 600% growth in homicide rates occurred in 2014. Another crime that witnessed a dramatic growth of 143% was rape. The 2013 and 2014 reported incidents of rape were 37 and 90, respectively. The offense of aggravated assault witnessed a growth of 8%, from 317 cases in 2013 to 342 cases in 2014. The burglary rate increased, too. In Georgia's Atlanta city, burglary underwent a decline, to roughly 1,200 reported cases for every 100,000 residents.

Indeed, Georgia State takes burglaries very seriously, and metes out severe punishments. Convicted burglars' penalties vary in severity based on whether they are found guilty of first, second, or third degree burglary. Georgia is extremely strict on the issue of unsuccessful burglaries, as well. The punishment for attempted burglary depends on the crime intended. Punishments for burglary in Atlanta may vary from a monetary penalty, to 1-year probation to as many as two decades of incarceration. In case of first-degree burglary conviction, the criminal may be accorded a prison sentence of one to twenty years, in case of second-degree burglary, the punishment is two to twenty years, and in case of a third-degree burglary, the sentence is between five and twenty years. Georgia State mandates completion of the minimum prison term by convicts (Conviction of a Georgia Burglary Carries Severe Penalties). Quite frequently, claims of first, second and third degree burglaries in Atlanta hinge on the setting (home or office); weapon presence or absence, and use; kind of commercial establishment (financial institution or bank for robbing money, pharmacy for stealing narcotics, etc.), and the kind of tools employed for gaining entry into the structure.

Factors to Explain Rate Differences