Distinguish burglary's two routes
Separate entry with prohibited intent from specified conduct after trespassory entry, and identify aggravated burglary requirements.
Exam scope and assessment notes
AS and full A Level · section 2.2.3. Original educational scenarios about the law of England and Wales, checked on 14 October 2026. Model answers are formative reasoning, not advice about a real dispute, Cambridge marks or predicted grades. Read the exact statute, case and exam-year source where a rule is disputed or changes. A larger annotated authority bank, full unseen papers and specialist law-teacher review remain outstanding.
Before you begin
- Read a short source carefully and separate its rule from the facts
- Explain which element a fact supports and what is still uncertain
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should a legal problem answer connect?
What you will learn
- Apply Theft Act section 9(1)(a) and section 9(1)(b)
- Explain building/trespass, aggravated burglary and statutory sentencing ceilings
Analyse the route at the right time
Section 9(1)(a) concerns entry into a building or part as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict grievous bodily harm or cause unlawful damage. The specified intention at entry matters; completion of the intended later act is not required for this route.
Section 9(1)(b) concerns qualifying theft/attempted theft or infliction/attempted infliction of grievous bodily harm after trespassory entry. Its list is not identical to paragraph (a): later criminal damage alone is not a paragraph (b) substitute. Trespass needs the appropriate knowledge or recklessness about permission, and permission to enter one area may not cover another.
Check building and aggravation separately
Building or part-of-building issues depend on the structure and context; the Act specifically addresses inhabited vehicles or vessels. Do not assume any enclosed object is necessarily a building. Aggravated burglary under section 10 requires burglary plus possession at the relevant time of a qualifying firearm, imitation firearm, weapon of offence or explosive, with the necessary knowledge.
Ordinary statutory Crown Court maxima are fourteen years for burglary of a dwelling and ten for other burglary; aggravated burglary has a life maximum. Mandatory/minimum and other sentencing provisions can apply to qualifying cases. These ceilings do not assign an automatic term to an educational scenario.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Does section 9(1)(a) always require theft to be completed after entry?
Worked example
D enters a fictional staff-only store room as a trespasser intending to steal, but leaves empty-handed. Which burglary route needs examination?
Show the worked solution
- Identify trespassory entry and the building/part.
- The theft intention is present at entry.
- Paragraph (a) does not require completed theft afterwards.
Answer Section 9(1)(a) needs examination because the stipulated intention exists at trespassory entry. Leaving empty-handed does not by itself defeat that route, though the entry and mental elements still need proof.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Guided: Explain why leaving empty-handed is not decisive in the store-room example.
Give me a hint
Focus on intention at entry.
Compare my reasoning
- Trespassory entry is stipulated.
- Intent to steal is present then.
- Paragraph (a) concerns that entry with intent.
The later absence of stolen goods does not remove the intention stipulated at entry. Paragraph (a) can be satisfied through entry with the listed intent, subject to the other requirements.
Look for these in your work
- Uses the entry facts
- Uses timing
- Distinguishes intent from completion
Independent: D enters as a trespasser without a paragraph (a) intention, later causes property damage only. Explain why paragraph (b) is not established just by damage.
Give me a hint
Compare the paragraph (b) listed acts.
Compare my reasoning
- Paragraph (b) lists qualifying theft and grievous-bodily-harm conduct.
- Criminal damage is not that list's substitute.
- The damage offence needs separate analysis.
Later criminal damage alone does not satisfy paragraph (b)'s listed conduct. The answer should examine the actual burglary elements and the separate damage offence, rather than merge the two paragraph lists.
Look for these in your work
- Uses the correct list
- Rejects substitution
- Recognises a separate issue
Application: A lawful shop visitor knowingly enters a marked private stock room to steal. Explain why general shop permission does not settle trespass.
Give me a hint
Permission can be limited to part of a building.
Compare my reasoning
- Public access and private access differ.
- Entry into the restricted part can exceed permission.
- Knowledge/recklessness and the relevant intent need application.
General permission to enter the shop need not cover the stock room. Knowingly exceeding that permission can support trespassory entry into part of a building, with the relevant intent and remaining requirements assessed separately.
Look for these in your work
- Distinguishes areas
- Uses knowledge of permission
- Applies remaining elements
Common mistakes
- Requiring completed theft for every burglary
- Adding criminal damage to the paragraph (b) list
- Treating any possession as a qualifying weapon
What can you explain now?
Does section 9(1)(a) always require theft to be completed after entry?
Compare with the explanation
No, the relevant intention at entry can suffice for that route
The two paragraphs use different requirements and timing.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Does section 9(1)(a) always require theft to be completed after entry?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.