This Brieflex Deep Dive explains burglary vs. robbery, two crimes that can arise from the same set of facts and are easy to blur together. Burglary is built around illegally entering a building with the intent to commit a crime inside, while robbery is a taking of another's property by violent force or the threat of such force. It covers each rule, how the two relate to larceny, a worked hypo, and the questions that separate them. The takeaway: burglary asks where D went and why; robbery asks what D took and how.
Burglary vs. Robbery in the Brieflex Deep Dive Series
This post is part of the Brieflex Deep Dive series, where we break down doctrines that look alike. After Battery and Assault: contact vs. apprehension, we stay in Criminal Law with two crimes that are easy to mix up.
Both can involve a break-in and a theft. The elements, though, point at different conduct.
The Core Difference: Entry vs. Force
The simplest way to remember it:
- Burglary is about entry with a criminal purpose.
- Robbery is about a taking by force or threat.
Read the two definitions side by side. The burglary definition centers on entering a building with intent to commit a crime there; nothing in it requires that anything be taken or that anyone be present. The robbery definition centers on taking property from a person or in their presence by force or threat; nothing in it mentions a building.
Burglary: The Unlawful Entry
Rule: According to Wex, burglary is a crime under both the common law and the Model Penal Code (MPC). Common law definitions vary by jurisdiction, but they all criminalize some form of illegally entering a building with the intent to commit a crime within.
Parts the common law definitions share:
- An illegal entry.
- Into a building.
- With the intent to commit a crime inside.
Some jurisdictions narrow the third part. In those, the crime D intends to commit must be a felony to sustain a burglary charge.
The MPC version: Under the MPC, as Wex summarizes it, burglary is entering a building or structure with the intent to commit a crime there, unless the building or structure is open to the public at the time.
Examples:
- D pries open the back door of P's closed shop, planning to take cash from the register.
- D climbs through a window of P's house, meaning to commit a crime once inside.
Exam Tip: Check the time of day and the jurisdiction. Wex notes that, unlike in common law jurisdictions, burglary under the MPC does not require the offense to occur at night.
Robbery: The Forcible Taking
Rule: Wex describes robbery as “an act of unlawfully taking the property of another by violent force or the threat of such force, with the intent to deprive them of it permanently.”
Elements:
- The taking of the property of another.
- From their person or in their presence.
- Through violent force or threat of such force.
- With the intent to deprive them of it permanently.
Examples:
- D points a knife at P on the street and takes P's wallet.
- D tells P at a bus stop to hand over P's bag or get hurt, then keeps the bag.
Exam Tip: Watch the jurisdiction here too. Per Wex, these elements may vary by location. Virginia's definition tracks the standard elements. Florida treats a taking as robbery when force, violence, assault or putting in fear is used in the course of the taking, even if D intended only a temporary deprivation. Many states also impose higher charges, such as aggravated robbery or armed robbery, for robberies involving greater violence.
Where Larceny Fits
Robbery is easier to understand next to larceny. As stated by Wex, larceny is “a crime at common law that refers to the illegal taking of the property of another with intent to deprive the owner thereof.”
Force is the difference Wex points to. It explains that robbery is considered more serious than similar theft crimes like larceny, which does not require force.
The Wex larceny entry also cites State v. White (1987), in which the Supreme Court of North Carolina held that larceny is a lesser included offense of armed robbery.
Burglary sits apart from both. Its focus is the entry and the intent D carries through the door, and the crime D intends inside can be a theft or something else.
The Hypo
D breaks into P's house through a locked back door, planning to take P's laptop. Inside, D finds P at the kitchen table, raises a bat, and tells P to hand over the laptop. P does. D leaves with it.
Result:
- Burglary: D illegally entered a building with the intent to commit a crime inside. Under the MPC, the house was not open to the public. In a jurisdiction that requires the intended crime to be a felony, the planned theft must also qualify as one.
- Robbery: D took P's property, in P's presence, by threat of violent force, meaning to keep it.
One set of facts meets both definitions, each through different conduct: the entry for burglary, the threatened taking for robbery.
Now suppose the house is empty. D takes the laptop from the table and leaves.
Result: the burglary analysis is unchanged, since the entry and the intent are the same. Robbery fails: there is no person to take from and no force or threat. Run the larceny definition instead.
Now suppose D walks into P's store during business hours, then grabs cash from the clerk's hand after threatening the clerk.
Result: robbery on the elements. For burglary under the MPC, the store was open to the public at the time, which takes the entry outside the MPC definition.
Quick Comparison Summary
Burglary:
- A crime under both the common law and the MPC.
- Illegal entry into a building with intent to commit a crime inside.
- In some jurisdictions, the intended crime must be a felony.
- The MPC excludes buildings or structures open to the public at the time and has no nighttime requirement.
Robbery:
- A taking of another's property.
- From the person or in their presence.
- Carried out with violent force or the threat of it.
- With intent to deprive permanently (Florida accepts a temporary deprivation).
Entry = Burglary. Force = Robbery.
Pro Tips
- Always run burglary and robbery as separate analyses when the facts include both an entry and a confrontation.
- Always name the jurisdiction's version of burglary before applying it: common law, felony requirement, or MPC.
- Check whether the building was open to the public if the MPC applies.
- In a robbery answer, tie the force or threat to the taking, and confirm the victim was present.
- If there is no force or threat, check the larceny definition instead.
FAQ
1. Can one set of facts support both burglary and robbery?
Yes. Burglary rests on the entry and the intent behind it; robbery rests on a taking from a person or in their presence by force or threat. Facts that include both, as in the hypo above, satisfy each definition separately.
2. Does burglary require that D actually take something?
No. The Wex definition turns on illegally entering a building with the intent to commit a crime within, not on completing that crime.
3. Does burglary have to happen at night?
Not under the MPC. Wex notes that, unlike in common law jurisdictions, burglary under the MPC does not require the offense to occur at night.
4. Why is robbery treated as more serious than larceny?
Because of the force. Robbery involves violent force or threats of it, while larceny does not require force.
5. Is there a more serious form of robbery?
Yes. Many states impose higher charges, such as aggravated robbery or armed robbery, for robberies involving greater violence.