Yes No Share to Facebook
Break and Enter Defence Services: In Mississauga, Markham, Oakville, Sudbury, among other places
What Are the Consequences of a Break and Enter Charge?
Breaking and Entering Where It Is Established That the Accused Committed or Intended to Commit An Offence Is a Serious Criminal Charge With A Range of Potential Penalties Including Life Imprisonment.
Understanding Break and Enter with Intent, Committing Offence or Breaking Out Per Section 348(1) of the Criminal Code
The charge that is commonly known and referred to as break and enter or breaking and entering is a serious criminal offence. Additionally, the charge has three variations depending on whether the accused commited a break and enter with intent to committ an offence, committed an offence or did break out after an offence had been committed.
The Law
It is an offence to break and enter into a dwelling-house or place with the intent to commit an offence, to commit an offence upon breaking and entering into or attempting to breaking out of a dwelling-house or place as per section 348(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada, R.S.C. c. C-46 which states:
!-- Accordion Start-->
348 (1) Every one who
(a) breaks and enters a place with intent to commit an indictable offence therein,
(b) breaks and enters a place and commits an indictable offence therein, or
(c) breaks out of a place after
(i) committing an indictable offence therein, or
(ii) entering the place with intent to commit an indictable offence therein, is guilty
(d) if the offence is committed in relation to a dwelling-house, of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life, and
(e) if the offence is committed in relation to a place other than a dwelling-house, of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
Presumptions
(2) For the purposes of proceedings under this section, evidence that an accused
(a) broke and entered a place or attempted to break and enter a place is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that he broke and entered the place or attempted to do so, as the case may be, with intent to commit an indictable offence therein; or
(b) broke out of a place is, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, proof that he broke out after
(i) committing an indictable offence therein, or
(ii) entering with intent to commit an indictable offence therein.
(3) For the purposes of this section and section 351, place means
(a) a dwelling-house;
(b) a building or structure or any part thereof, other than a dwelling-house;
(c) a railway vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft or a trailer; or
(d) a pen or an enclosure in which fur-bearing animals are kept in captivity for breeding or commercial purposes.
Furthermore, the definition of "dwelling-house" is provided within section 2 of the Criminal Code wherein it is stated:
dwelling-house means the whole or any part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence, and includes
(a) a building within the curtilage of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passage-way, and
(b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence;
Summary Comment
Breaking and entering involves a range in severity of possible charges with each having a range in severity of potential penalties. For this reason, the importance of retaining a competent legal representative cannot be sufficiently stressed. In such cases, it is highly recommended that the accused person seek the advice of an experienced Break and Enter Lawyer.