TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Is burglary a violent crime? An empirical investigation of the armed career criminal act's classification of burglary as a violent felony
JO  - Criminal justice policy review
A1  - Kopp, Phillip M.
SP  - 663
EP  - 680
VL  - 30
IS  - 5
N2  - Traditionally considered a non-violent property offense, burglary is nonetheless classified as a violent crime under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The ACCA, a three-strikes law that provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, is triggered when an offender, who has been previously convicted for a crime classified under the ACCA as either a "violent felony" or "serious drug offense," is convicted at the federal level for any felony committed while in possession of a firearm. The present study investigated the ACCA's classification of burglary as violent through analysis of National Crime Victimization Survey data for the period of 2009 to 2014. <br><br>RESULTS showed that burglary is overwhelmingly a non-violent offense. The national incidence of actual violence or threats of violence during a burglary was 7.9%. At most, 2.7% of burglaries involved actual acts of violence. Legislative reform of the ACCA classification to match the empirical description of burglary is discussed.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0887-4034
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0887403416684594
ID  - ref1
ER  -