Burglary Laws in Arizona Essay

Introduction

The crime of burglary occurs when an individual or a group of people illegally break(s) into another person's house, yard, or any other property. Arizona criminal laws classify burglary as a property crime, just like the other states'. In the United States, a court of law or a law enforcement officer has the power to decide the intent regardless of whether the crime has been committed past illegally breaking a particular location (Rosenfeld, & Fornango, 2007). Also, here need not been any evidence of physical damage or theft for a crime to qualify as a burglary. Instead, just trespassing a private property or a restricted government area is enough to put one in jail for burglary. Nevertheless, there exist different levels and classes of burglary depending on the nature of the crime or the incident. In that line, this essay aims at creating a research plan presentation on the existing burglary laws in Arizona State. Apart from that, this paper will also highlight on the various classes and levels of the crime according to the Arizona Statutes regarding the crime of burglary.

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Literature Review

Arizona Statutes divide burglary laws into three code sections depending on the severity of the incident. The most severe of them all is the first-degree burglary. Other levels of burglary according to Arizona state laws include Burglary in the Second Degree, Burglary in the Third Degree and Possession of Burglary Tools (Dunworth, & Saiger, 1994). All the types of burglary are considered as felony offenses. However, it is the facts of the case that determine the felony class of the crime. The categories include Class 1 Burglary, Class 2 Burglary, and Class 3 Burglary (Melone, Pitrof, & Schmidt, 2011).

According to Arizona Statutes, a person accused of Class 1 Burglary must have committed specific violations like breaking illegally into a residential or non-residential area or a fenced commercial yard with the intentions of committing an act of theft while on the property. The person must also be in possession of a burglary tool at some point between the time of arriving through leaving the scene. However, Class 2 Burglary means that there is proof beyond reasonable doubt that the accomplice entered or remained illegally in or on a residential building with the intentions of committing burglary. Besides, Class 3 Burglary requires that the proof must satisfy the fact that the intruder entered and remained unlawfully in or on a non-residential structure, a fenced yard or into any part of someone's vehicle with the aid of any form of manipulation with the intent to commit theft or felony.

The last class is that of Possession of Burglary Tools. According to Arizona laws, one can be charged with the class 6 felony of possession of burglary tools if found guilty of possessing an instrument of burglary in the course of the occurrence. These tools include explosives, crude weapons and any device or material capable of aiding the manipulation of a security system. Burglary sentences and penalties depend on the class of felony for the burglary committed. For example, if one is found guilty of being in possession of a tool used in committing burglary, the sentence can be up to a maximum of six years in prison. Other penalties include restitution, fees, fines and property forfeiture. To add, other factors that influence the sentencing for burglary include past criminal history, injury to victims, use of deadly weapons and being in the company of an accomplice during the act.

Research Question

What are some of the strategies that the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) can develop to help reduce property crime in the region?

Research Methodology

There are various research methodologies that this assignment can employ to study the issues of property crimes. Firstly, the researcher can come up with research questions focusing on the topic thus keeping him or her in the direct track. The research question can be in the form of a description, an explanation, an evaluation or an exploration. This study will employ two research instruments in the analysis of the topic of discussion. They include the evaluation and analytical techniques. However, the analytical method will be the primary research instrument. Still, we will use both the methods dependently to achieve reliable results. That said, the evaluation technique requires that the effects of reducing the rate of the crime are identified and analyzed.

However, the analytical technique focuses on identifying and analyzing the causes and consequences of the crime. Therefore, the analytical method is the most appropriate methodology for this project. The reason for this is because the technique identifies both the causes and the effects of property crimes, as well as providing more coverage of information compared to other methodologies. Moreover, the analytical procedure is farther divided into two sub-groups, that is, the qualitative and quantitative techniques. Because, the issue of property crime among is confusing and requires extensive research, the best analytical technique to use is the qualitative method. This method employs non-numerical data to aid in research.

Response

The ACJC can push for the introduction of the Turnaround program for vulnerable juveniles with pressing needs requiring a multi-service reaction (Hirschi, & Gottfredson, 1983).

Evaluation

In trying to evaluate if the plan worked. This research can employ graphics and quantitative techniques. For example, an analysis of reported property crimes can be done concerning young offenders after which quantitative analysis is done to obtain the percentage increase or decrease in the rate of the crime. Graphs can show us the trend in the crime rate per month or annually.

References

Dunworth, T., & Saiger, A. J. (1994). Drugs and crime in public housing: A three-city analysis. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.

Hirschi, T., & Gottfredson, M. (1983). Age and the explanation of crime. American journal of sociology, 89(3), 552-584.

Melone, F., Pitrof, E., & Schmidt, A. (2011). Arizona 1070: Straw-Man Law Enforcement. Harv. Latino L. Rev., 14, 23.

Nalla, Mahesh K., Michael J. Lynch, and Michael J. Leiber. "Determinants of police growth in Phoenix, 1950-1988." Justice Quarterly 14.1 (1997): 115-143.

Rosenfeld, R., & Fornango, R. (2007). The impact of economic conditions on robbery and property crime: the role of consumer sentiment. Criminology, 45(4), 735-769.