Types of Crime - Burglary

The FBI defines burglary as "the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. The use of force to gain entry is not required to classify an offense as burglary." An estimated 2.15 million burglaries were reported in 2002, up 1.7 percent from 2001. By comparison, 2002 burglaries declined by 7.8 percent compared to the 1998 figures, and by 24.1 percent compared to the 1993 figures. (See Figure 2.3 and Table 2.1.)

In 2002 the burglary rate was 746.2 per 100,000 persons, a 0.6 percent increase from 2001. Burglary rates declined by 13.5 percent compared to the 1998 rate, and by 32.1 percent compared to the 1993 rate. (See Table 2.1.) The burglary rate in 2002 was highest in cities outside metropolitan areas (805.4 per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by metropolitan areas (768.5 per 100,000). Rural counties reported the lowest rate, at 558.2 per 100,000 population. (See Table 1.2 in Chapter 1.) The highest burglary volume was in the most populous region, the South, with 44.8 percent of total burglaries. Total burglary volume was lower in the West (22.9 percent of all burglaries) and Midwest (20.7 percent), and lowest in the Northeast (11.5 percent). (See Table 2.2.) The highest burglary rates in 2002 occurred in July, while the lowest occurred in February.

Losses

Of the 2.15 million burglaries reported in 2002, 65.8 percent were residential and 34.2 percent involved non-residences such as stores and offices. Most residential burglaries occurred during daylight hours (61.7 percent) and nonresidential burglaries occurred at night (57.7 percent). The average value lost in burglaries was $1,549 per incident. Non-residential losses from burglary averaged $1,678, compared to $1,482 for residential burglaries. (See Table 1.8 in Chapter 1.)

These dollar amounts indicate the value of goods lost to the property owner. The burglar may collect as little as 10 cents on the dollar from the fence, the person who buys the stolen goods. A television set worth $400 might net the burglar only about $40. These statistics indicate that most burglars are commonly risking arrest for about $100 to $200.

Arrests

Law officers cleared 13.0 percent of burglaries reported to law enforcement in 2002 through arrest. In 2002 juveniles under 18 accounted for 30.4 percent of all burglary arrests and were involved in 17.3 percent of burglary offenses cleared by law enforcement agencies. The percentage of juveniles arrested for burglary is higher than the clearance rate because more than one individual may be arrested in connection with a single offense.

TABLE 2.10
Percent distribution of forcible rape, by month, 1998–2002

Month	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
January	7.9	8.1	8.0	7.7	7.6
February	7.4	7.3	7.5	7.1	7.0
March	8.6	8.2	8.5	8.4	7.8
April	8.2	8.2	8.0	8.3	8.6
May	8.8	8.6	9.0	8.8	9.0
June	8.7	8.8	9.1	8.7	9.0
July	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.7	9.6
August	9.3	9.5	9.3	9.4	9.6
September	8.8	8.3	8.4	8.6	9.2
October	7.9	8.3	8.3	8.5	8.4
November	7.6	7.9	7.5	7.6	7.4
December	7.1	7.2	6.9	7.2	6.8
SOURCE: "Table 2.18: Forcible Rape by Month, Percent Distribution, 1998–2002," in Crime in the United States 2002, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC, 2003

Whites accounted for 70.4 percent of all persons arrested for burglary, and blacks comprised 27.5 of all such arrestees. About 86.7 percent of those arrested for burglary in 2002 were males. Arrests of juveniles for burglary in 2002 declined by 26.1 percent since 1998 and by 39.2 percent since 1993. Arrests of adults for burglary in 2002 declined by 4.2 percent since 1998 and by 24.4 percent since 1993.