breaking and entering

n. 1) the criminal act of entering a residence or other enclosed property through the slightest amount of force (even pushing open a door), without authorization. If there is intent to commit a crime, this is burglary. If there is no such intent, the breaking and entering alone is probably at least illegal trespass, which is a misdemeanor crime. 2) the criminal charge for the above.

From some legal website...

From wiki:
United States

Burglary is prosecuted as a felony ormisdemeanor and involves trespassing and theft, entering a building or automobile, or loitering unlawfully with intent to commit any crime, not necessarily a theft – for example,vandalism. Even if nothing is stolen in a burglary, the act is a statutory offense. Buildings can include sheds, barns, and coops; burglary of boats, aircraft, trucks, and railway cars is possible. Burglary may be an element in crimes involving rape, arson,kidnapping, identity theft, or violation of civil rights; indeed the "plumbers" of the Watergate scandal were technically burglars. As with all legal definitions in the U.S., the foregoing description may not be applicable in every jurisdiction, since there are 50 separate state criminal codes, plus federal and territorial codes in force.

Home InvasionEdit

Commission of a burglary with the intention or result of confronting persons on the premises may constitute an aggravated offense known as home invasion.[22]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burglary

I am another who just checks back, eventually there is a way in. If I can squeeze through a boarded entrance or loose gate without any tools or destruction I will do that too, being small is a bonus sometimes.

I've never done damage or anything like that to gain entry before. I agree that it's actually pretty easy to gain access to the vast majority of locations, but that's not to say that I'm against the idea entirely. I think proper patience should be exercised, but at a certain point if you can get in without causing lasting damage and creating a lasting POE, then I'd consider it.

Just like everything else in UE, it's all about weighing risks and rewards.

Posted by TD I've never done damage or anything like that to gain entry before. I agree that it's actually pretty easy to gain access to the vast majority of locations, but that's not to say that I'm against the idea entirely. I think proper patience should be exercised, but at a certain point if you can get in without causing lasting damage and creating a lasting POE, then I'd consider it. Just like everything else in UE, it's all about weighing risks and rewards.

Patience is virtue. Someone only interested in just looking and taking pictures usually don't feel the need to remain unseen when the chance of getting the ok is fairly good. Places where you're likely to get confronted by an armed owner can also be places where its easy to get permission casually when their primary concerns are someone covertly showing up to loot, tag or dumping(furniture, appliances, and such)

Once some former friends of mine and I were checking out this house or possible restaurant like building completely boarded up. As a joke, the guy tapped at one of the boards and it completely came off. No force, no tugging, the fucker just fell off. We took it as a message we should go in.

Big mistake, it was covered in black widows.

Posted by Flashyfashionfraud Once some former friends of mine and I were checking out this house or possible restaurant like building completely boarded up. As a joke, the guy tapped at one of the boards and it completely came off. No force, no tugging, the fucker just fell off. We took it as a message we should go in. Big mistake, it was covered in black widows.

Black Widows are basically harmless, shy, and will always retreat or ball up and play dead... unless you pin her down and force her to protect herself.
The bite is seldom fatal to a healthy adult, but one of the most painful of any. I've observed and play with dozens in the last five years, they are fascinating to watch.
Just make sure none get entrapped in your clothing...

click to view

I've done it - back in the late 80s. Removed a patch of plywood covering a hole in a wall which was also covered with ivy. Put it back, too. No harm ever came of it.

I used to be completely against such a thing, but as i grow older, the less i really care. I haven't had to pry off boards or cut a hole in a fence yet, but i'm sure i will eventually, if the goal is something seemingly amazing.

Posted by blackhawk Black Widows are basically harmless, shy, and will always retreat or ball up and play dead... unless you pin her down and force her to protect herself. The bite is seldom fatal to a healthy adult, but one of the most painful of any. I've observed and play with dozens in the last five years, they are fascinating to watch. Just make sure none get entrapped in your clothing... click to view

I'm aware Not afraid of them, but the room was so full of them it'd be impossible not to have one get in your clothes by accident or get an accidental bite. It's one of those "better safe than sorry" scenarios. I love spiders, hardly am afraid of any, it's just one of those "nope" moments ya know?

Like rattlesnakes usually have dry bites and are pretty docile, but it's just that small potential that you look out for.

Well, at the GTA meetup yesterday we went to The Wellington Destructor, and we had to rather forcefully push a board to get in. As long as you make it look like it's sealed up when you leave, there's no real harm in it. It's only breaking a board that can cause problems.

Someone has probably already pointed this out, but there is frequently a huge difference between "removing" something and "breaking" something. Very recently, a friend of mine attempted to remove a doorknob panel that was part of a double door tied together by a chain. He "removed" the screws that attached the doorknob to the door. It was a great idea, but the panel was not detachable from the panel itself by simply removing the screws. At this point, he could have ripped off the panel and we would have gained entry, thus "damaging" the door, but he did not. He also replaced the screws that had been taken out of the panel and left it as he had found it. For me, this is a very fine line that basically boils down to what my moral compass tells me to do. As a general rule, if I feel that tiny twinge of guilt when I'm thinking about doing it, I'm better off not doing it at all. Usually, my conscience is at peace with an action that allows me entry if I can leave a site exactly as I found it. This kind of situation usually boils down to, how badly do I want in this place. Damaging something intentionally in order to gain access is always a no for me. I would consider that breaking into a place, not sneaking in, exploring, or even trespassing (although one can obviously do those things in addition to the breaking in part). This is also very often the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony in most jurisdictions.
Besides, damaging something to gain entry seems to defeat the spirit of what I am trying to accomplish in the first place.

Recently was in a situation where this was an option. Instead of breaking open a board we climbed onto our car and climbed in a second story window. Places that are easy to access usually get destroyed quicker than ones that are not

Depends on the location. I won't break glass, and attempts to remove boards/etc. are limited to what I think a Harbor Freight multitool can handle.

In one case, however: I needed to get up here...


...so I made this.

I have removed plywood plates (without any tools) and carefully removed huge pieces of glass that was already broken before to get in. But in any way everything depends of situation. For me it is important to cover entrance like before. Only once i entered a building where were still lots of construction worker stuff (tools,helmets,packs of construction materials).That was probably not a good idea, however, on sundays nobody checks construction sites. I really don't like places where are obviously "fresh" stuff left, so it would be harder to explain that i'm only interested to take photos and explore.

This reminds me, last year I explored a huge hospital with the biggest mortuary I've ever seen - a two storey building plus service tunnel jobby which required some serious brain power to get into. The most nimble and agile person in our group had to climb up the building to a window on the stairwell, push the window open which was on a pair of angled metal runners which stopped it from opening more than a few inches, slide the window completely off the runners and climb in so he could open a fire door for us. Of course the window was slid straight back into it's original position and to all intents and purposes it looked as if nobody had been inside.

I ripped plywood off a door once - got arrested but miraculously wasn't charged with b&e. I took it as a sign and haven't broken anything since.

In my experience, the site that isn't open now, will be later.

What Steed said.

I finally got into probably one of the best locations in my area (after like 8 months) by just periodically checking known entry points.

I plead the fifth

What sucks is removing a board and finding the glass is still intact, doh