California Auto Burglary Requires a Break-in
The traditional common law definition of burglary is breaking and entering a structure with the intent of stealing goods or committing other crimes inside. Under Penal Code 459, California burglary law breaks with the common law by nixing the "breaking and entering" requirement. A person in this state still commits burglary when, for example, he walks into a house through a wide open door intending to commit a theft once inside.
But California law still retains the "breaking and entering" requirement with regard to one particular form of the crime: auto burglary. A person cannot be convicted of automobile burglary in this state unless it's proven that the vehicle was locked and secured and the burglar used force to gain entry.
By way of example, imagine that Bill enters a parked Camry believing there may be valuables in the car. But to his dismay, he finds nothing of value in the car and so he steals nothing. If the car had been locked, he committed an auto burglary. If the car had been unlocked, there's no auto burglary (though he still might be liable for a California criminal trespass charge). If Bill had stolen something, he'd also be liable for a theft offense.
The breaking and entering requirement is based on the legislative intent to make it more serious to break into a car than merely to steal something from it.
