Burglary
Definition
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines burglary as the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. To classify an offense as a burglary, the use of force to gain entry need not have occurred. The UCR Program has three subclassifications for burglary: forcible entry, unlawful entry where no force is used, and attempted forcible entry. The UCR definition of “structure” includes an apartment, barn, house trailer or houseboat when used as a permanent dwelling, office, railroad car (but not automobile), stable, and vessel (i.e., ship).
Overview
- In 2016, there were an estimated 1,515,096 burglaries, a decrease of 4.6 percent when compared with 2015 data. The number of burglaries decreased 28.2 percent when compared with 2012 data and was down 30.8 percent when compared with the 2007 estimate. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
- The estimated number of burglaries accounted for 19.1 percent of the estimated number of property crimes. (Based on Table 1.)
- Victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated $3.6 billion in property losses in 2016. The average dollar loss per burglary offense was $2,361. (Based on Tables 1 and 15.)
- Burglaries of residential properties accounted for 69.5 percent of all burglary offenses. (See Table 15.)
Expanded data
Expanded offense data are the details of the various offenses that the UCR Program collects beyond the count of how many crimes law enforcement agencies report. These details may include the type of weapon used in a crime, the type or value of items stolen, and so forth. In addition, expanded data include trends (for example, 2-year comparisons) and rates per 100,000 inhabitants.
Expanded information regarding burglary is available in the following tables:
What you won't find on this page
Larceny-theft and robbery data.
