Burglary and theft during the holidays

Empty homes, full shopping bags and packages on porches make the holiday season a busy time for thieves. Kentucky law treats entering a building to commit a crime as burglary, which is always a felony, and it grades theft mainly by the value of what was taken.

The degrees of burglary

Burglary means knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building with the intent to commit a crime. Nothing has to be stolen, and the law does not require a forced entry.

• Third degree: any building. Class D felony, 1 to 5 years in prison.
• Second degree: a dwelling, meaning a building where a person usually lodges. Class C felony, 5 to 10 years.
• First degree: any building, when a participant is armed with a deadly weapon or explosives, injures someone who is not a participant, or uses or threatens to use a dangerous instrument against such a person. Class B felony, 10 to 20 years.

Theft, dollar thresholds and packages

Theft by unlawful taking means taking or exercising control over someone else’s movable property with intent to deprive the owner of it. The current levels are:

• Under $500: Class B misdemeanor.
• $500 to under $1,000: Class A misdemeanor.
• $1,000 to under $10,000: Class D felony.
• $10,000 to under $1,000,000: Class C felony.
• $1,000,000 or more: Class B felony.

Stealing a firearm is a Class D felony whatever its value. Thefts committed within one year may be combined and their values added together to set the charge.

Kentucky’s theft of mail matter law covers letters and packages taken from a mailbox or other mail receptacle, or left for collection or delivery next to one by the Postal Service, a common carrier or a delivery service. It is a Class D felony regardless of what the package is worth.

Protecting your home and packages

• Lock doors, windows and vehicles, and keep gifts and shopping bags out of sight.
• Put lights on timers, and ask a neighbor to collect mail and packages while you are away.
• Track deliveries, require a signature, or ship to a workplace, locker or pickup counter.
• Wait until you are home to post travel photos.
• Record serial numbers and photograph valuables.

If it happens

If you come home to signs of a break-in, do not go inside. Call 911 from a safe place. For a theft, report it to local police promptly, save any camera footage, and give officers serial numbers, tracking numbers and receipts. Notify the seller or carrier about a stolen package, and your bank if cards or checks were taken.