Editing Burglary (section)

==History==
Ancient references to breaking into a house can be found in the [[Code of Hammurabi]] (no. 21<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wikisource.org |title=Codex Hammurabi (King translation) |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Codex_Hammurabi_(King_translation) |website=en.wikisource.org |access-date=25 January 2020}}</ref>) and the [[Torah]] (Exodus 22:2<ref>{{cite web |title=Bible Hub: Exodus 22:2 |url=https://biblehub.com/exodus/22-2.htm |website=biblehub.com |access-date=25 January 2020}}</ref>).

Sir Edward Coke, in chapter 14 of the third part of the ''[[Institutes of the Lawes of England]]'', describes the felony of ''Burglary'' and explains the various elements of the offence. He distinguished this from ''housebreaking'' because the night aggravated the offence since the night time was when man was at rest. He also described the night as the time when the countenance of a man could not be discerned.

In ''Pleas of the Crown. A Methodical Summary'', [[Matthew Hale (jurist)|Sir Matthew Hale]] classifies ''Burglary'' and [[Arson]] as offences "against the dwelling or habitation".

In chapter 16 of the fourth book of the [[Commentaries on the Laws of England]], Sir [[William Blackstone]] observes that Burglary "... has always been looked on as a very heinous offence: not only because of the abundant terror that it naturally carries with it, but also as it is a forcible invasion of that right of habitation..."

During the 19th Century, English politicians turned their minds to codifying English law. In 1826, Sir [[Robert Peel]] was able to achieve some long advocated reforms by codifying offences concerning larceny and other property offences as well as offences against the person.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Challenge of Codification in English Legal History |url=https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/events/bbl/09061201.html |website=www.rieti.go.jp/ |publisher=Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) |access-date=25 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lieberman |first1=David |title=The Challenge of Codification in English Legal History |url=https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/events/bbl/09061201.pdf |website=www.rieti.go.jp |publisher=Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) |access-date=26 January 2020 |location=Japan |date=12 July 2009}}</ref> Further reforms followed in 1861. Colonial legislatures generally adopted the English reforms. However, while further Criminal Code reforms failed to progress through the English parliament during the 1880s, other colonies, including Canada, India, New Zealand and various Australian states codified their criminal law.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Finn |first1=Jeremy |title=Codification of the Criminal Law: the Australasian parliamentary experience. |url=https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10092/1828/12590980_Codification%20of%20the%20Criminal%20Law.pdf;sequence=1 |website=ir.canterbury.ac.nz |publisher=University of Canterbury |access-date=26 January 2020 |date=September 2003}}</ref>