There is commonly confusion between robbery and burglary.  Both crimes involve taking something. The critical difference is the manner in which something is stolen. Our criminal justice system prioritizes personal safety over personal property, and the greater the risk of violence, the greater the punishment of the offense.

Theft, as in cases like shoplifting, is punishable by the value of what was stolen. Stealing a pack of gum is punished less than stealing a package of diamonds. Theft cases have the lowest risk of violence in this category and so the punishment range is based solely upon the standardized value ladder (click to see it; it will be under theft).

Burglary involves breaking and entering into somebody’s property without their consent. Again, the seriousness of offenses is based upon the belief is that a person breaking into a car is a less dangerous scenario than breaking into a building or a home. Thus, Burglary of a Vehicle is punished as the most serious misdemeanor, Burglary of a Building is punished as a State Jail Felony, and Burglary of a Habitation is punished as a 2nd degree felony. While the typical burglary involves an attempt to commit theft, the crime of burglary may also occur when a person illegally enters a building or habitation with the intent to commit an assault or any felony (e.g. sexual assault, kidnapping, aggravated assault, etc.). If a person is alleged to have entered a home with the intent to commit a felony, burglary is punishable as a 1st degree felony. When a person returns to their home to find that somebody has taken their valuables, many people erroneously call the police to say “we’ve been robbed.” Unless you were home at the time of the burglary and you were injured or threatened in the course of the theft, the crime is burglary and not robbery.

Robbery is the formal term for the colloquialism of “being mugged.” Robbery is one of the most dangerous crimes because it involves direct physical confrontation in an attempt to forcibly remove property from another person. The elements of the offense involve injuring, threatening, or causing a person to fear injury in the course of committing a theft. The value of the property is irrelevant; the offense is punished as a 2nd degree felony whether there is $1.00 or $1,500.00 at issue. The crime of robbery is enhanced to the 1st degree felony of Aggravated Robbery when a deadly weapon is used to commit the offense, or if the person suffers serious bodily injury, or if the person is disabled or over 65 years old.

Finally, the offense of Theft from a Person is a hybrid between robbery and theft. More colloquially known as “pickpocketing” or “purse snatching”, theft of a person occurs when property is removed from your person without threat or injury. This crime is punished less than robbery but to a greater degree than mere theft because it involves the potential for violence. The offense of theft of a person is punished in the State Jail Felony range. Thus, if somebody grabs your purse and you have no time to react, the offense charged would be theft from a person. In the same scenario, if you have the purse around your arm and when they grab it you suffer bodily injury, the offense rises to robbery. The factual distinctions are important to support the public policy goal of providing greater punishment for more violent crime, but it means that investigation and recreation of the facts is critical because there is a significant difference in the punishment range of the two offenses.