Most individuals have a misconception of burglary; they think that the term is interchangeable with the legal concept of theft.
In reality, theft may be just one part of burglary.
These are two distinct crimes that are committed in two distinct ways.
The concept of burglary is that an individual illegally enters another person's private property in order to commit another illegal action.
An example of this is breaking into someone's car to steal the stereo or to break into a private building to vandalize someone's office.
In other words, burglary can be thought of as a combination between trespassing and another crime.
An individual must illegally enter a private property - trespass - in order to carry out another illegal act, such as theft or vandalism.
If an individual only breaks into an individual's property and does nothing else and has no intention to commit another crime, then he or she is guilty of trespassing.
If an individual does not illegally enter a space but steals something from that space, then the individual is guilty of theft.
An individual is only guilty of burglary when both crimes occur.
Even then, an individual may be convicted of burglary even if he or she did not commit a crime after breaking and entering; the prosecution only must show that the individual had the intent to commit further crimes.
In general, burglary can be either a felony or a misdemeanor.
This usually depends on what property was broken into and what subsequent illegal act took place.
Regardless of which level of crime an individual faces, he or she is advised to seek legal help.