To break and enter to other authorised properties within Australia is a crime and an indictable offence that will have penalties that will vary from state to state.
In Queensland under the Criminal Code 1899-SECT 419 it states that a person who is in a dwelling of another with the intent to commit an indictable offence in that dwelling will be committing a crime and this will have a maximum penalty of 14 years.
In the state of New South Wales under the Crimes Act 1900-SECT 112 any person who breaks into a dwelling or any other building and commits serious indictable offences and is found guilty of the offence can be liable to an imprisonment term of up to 14 years.
In Victoria the Crimes Act 1958-SECT 76 states that a person is guilty of burglary if he enters any building or part of the building as a trespasser with an intent to steal or commit an offence that may relate to an assault, damage to building or property and can be punished with an imprisonment term of up to five years or more.
This information is freely available to anyone via the Internet. Many judges on a daily basis pass sentences on an ever-increasing amount of people that have been convicted of the crime of break and enter. This is causing more and more pressure on each state’s budget for law and order and our jail populations are growing exponentially. It seems that we have a society that does not have the respect of other societies where their values would not allow them under the greatest poverty to access someone else's property with the intent to steal, trespass or damage as we seem to inflict upon each other here in Australia.
Governments have budgets that allocate ever-increasing amounts of money to their police departments and are obviously frustrated by the amount of break and enter that is occurring. In the last few decades organised crime and the scourge of drug addiction have fuelled the need for criminal activity in this area and there seems to be no answer to this hideous trend.
From a homeowner's point of view it seems that it may not be if there is a break-in or an attempt to break in, however it is more likely when there is a break-in. This leads most homeowners to the basic premise that the protection of their home and the contents therein is very much something that they need to take some decisive action on if they are not to become one of the ever-increasing statistical numbers that are gathering in the files at many police stations across the country.
There are many steps that a homeowner can take to minimise and possibly avoid altogether the risk of break and enter and some are more effective than others. The location of the dwelling can have an enormous bearing on the possible risk level that a break and enter may occur and this must be taken into consideration also when deciding the best option to help this from occurring. Lighting around the house particularly in dark and hidden areas can be very easy to install and may prevent or expose a likely entry point to the burglar. The installation of alarms and cameras with good signage can also be a great deterrent as well as the installation of good-quality security screen doors and security window screens. This can be one of the better steps to be considered.
The protection of our home and loved ones to most people is somewhat high in their priorities. The trauma that may be experienced if a break-in were to occur is quite unimaginable. Some of the possessions in a family home will have no value to anyone other than the owner and therefore the protection of them should be amongst our highest priorities.
