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, or vessel (i.e., ship).
Overview
- In 2017, there were an estimated 1,401,840 burglaries, a decrease of 7.6 percent when compared with 2016 data. The number of burglaries decreased 27.4 percent when compared with 2013 data and was down 37.1 percent when compared with the 2008 estimate. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
- Burglaries accounted for 18.2 percent of the estimated number of property crimes. (Based on Table 1.)
- By subcategory, 57.5 percent of burglaries involved forcible entry, 36.2 percent were unlawful entries, and 6.3 percent were attempted forcible entry. (Based on Table 19.)
- Victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated $3.4 billion in property losses in 2017. The average dollar loss per burglary offense was $2,416. (Based on Tables 1 and 23.)
- Burglaries of residential properties accounted for 67.2 percent of all burglary offenses. (See Table 23.)
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.
