04-18-2018, 02:25 PM
(04-18-2018, 01:07 PM)fredtoast Wrote: "Burglary" is nothing more than an "entering" with intent to commit another crime (usually theft). There is nothing violent about it.
In every state I know of a burglary of a home or occupied residence is an "aggravated burglary" and much more serious than an auto burglary or a burglary of a storage shed or empty business.
Obviously there are times when burglaries involve violence, and these should be treated as violent crimes. But a burglary by itself is not violent.
Thank you for stating exactly what I already said.
(04-18-2018, 01:09 PM)Au165 Wrote: This.
Because a situation has potential to be violent doesn't mean we automatically escalate it to it's worst possible outcome. That isn't how we make laws in this country, we offer varying degrees of malice to allow for appropriate punishments. Trying to sweep everything into a big over reaching category is something we have done many times, and it has been proven to be a failure many times.
Sure, in the past I'd 100% agree with you. However, some states have made sentencing for non-violent crimes so light that these guys are out pulling 5-6 burglaries a day. They don't care about being on camera and they shatter the lives of the people they burglarize. I'd be absolutely amenable to upping the sentencing for burglaries, but the way the laws are currently written these guys are literally stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars and getting two years of which they serve one.
(04-18-2018, 01:22 PM)fredtoast Wrote: "Knock Knock Burglars" are actively trying to avoid violence That makes it a non-violent crime.
If they choose to escalate it into a home invasion then they are committing a very serious crime and will get punished much more harshly, but yiu can't make a non-violent crime a violent crime base on what might happen. One of the lowest level crimes is "disorderly conduct" which cover stuff like yelling in public. It can lead to fights and arguments, but that does not mean we should elevate "disorderly conduct" to the level of "violent crime". Same for things like "trespassing".
An insipid analogy by your own admission. I'd much rather remove people from the streets for a significant period of time when they are destroying the lives of five to six families a day. I've said it before on this board; I'd rather have a gun put in my face and my wallet stolen than come home to a burglarized home. At least I can avoid the area I was robbed, or be more careful about the time of day I visit it. I can't avoid my home. You're also ignoring that the main targets of these burglars are cash, guns and jewelry. Where do you think those guns end up and what are they used for? If you're on board with dramatically increasing the sentencing limits for burglaries then we're both on the same page without changing the crimes classification. Win win for all.
