Break, Enter and Commit Serious Indictable Offence (Aggravated or Specially Aggravated)

Our expert criminal lawyers for break and enter and committing a serious indictable offence can help you:

• Obtain bail.
• Be found not guilty.
• Receive a lenient sentence, like no conviction and no prison.

You will be represented by a team of award-winning criminal lawyers, with 500+ five-star Google reviews, who offer fixed fees and free first consultations.

You can read our reviews here.

Break, Enter and Commit Serious Indictable Offence (Aggravated or Specially Aggravated)

Break, enter and commit serious indictable offence (aggravated or specially aggravated) is an extremely serious criminal offence.

We have a strong track record for obtaining lenient outcomes for clients charged with aggravated and specially aggravated break and enter offences, particularly where they are first time offenders or where drugs and alcohol addiction played a rile in the offending. 

The prosecution must prove that you broke into the premises by actual breaking, you entered the premises, and you committed a serious indictable offence. 

What makes an offence aggravated?

A charge becomes aggravated when the offence is committed in more serious circumstances, such as:

• Being in company with another person,
• Being armed with a weapon,
• Using or threatening violence,
• Depriving any person of their liberty,
• Knowing someone is present in the property.

The maximum penalty is 20 years’ imprisonment.

What makes an offence specially aggravated?

A charge becomes specially aggravated where the circumstances are even more serious, including:

• The alleged offender intentionally wounds or intentionally inflicts grievous bodily harm on any person,
• The alleged offender inflicts grievous bodily harm on any person and is reckless as to causing actual bodily harm to that or any other person,
• The alleged offender is armed with a dangerous weapon.

The maximum penalty is 25 years’ imprisonment.

Pleading not guilty 

You may have strong grounds to plead not guilty, particularly where: 

1. You did not break in by ‘actual breaking’.
2. You did not enter the building (it must be proved that the accused was in the building or on the land).
3. You did not commit a serious indictable offence (an offence carrying a term of imprisonment of five years or more).

You can read more information about pleading not guilty here.

Pleading guilty 

If you plead guilty, the focus becomes reducing the seriousness of the offence. Key strategies include:

• Challenging the aggravating features,
• Demonstrating low risk of reoffending,
• Demonstrate remorse, reduced risk of reoffending, personal circumstances, and any rehabilitation records.

You can read more about pleading guilty here.

Defences 

Defences can arise where:

• There was no actual or constructive breaking;
• The premises were already open;
• You had lawful access to the property; or
• You never entered the premises.

Other defences include: 

• Duress.
• Unlawfully obtained evidence. 
• Section 14.

Do I need references?

We believe references are an extremely important part of a plea of guilty in court. Read about court processes and how to write a good character reference.

Contact Australian Criminal Law Group

Our criminal lawyers, with 500+ five-star Google reviews, can beat your break and enter, committing a serious indictable offence, which can help you charge or obtain a lenient sentence for you if you plead guilty.

Call us on (02) 8815 8167 for your free first conference or submit a website enquiry.

Case studies 

Not guilty – Joint criminal enterprise not established

Our lawyer represented an Accused person charged with Break, enter and steal as part of a joint criminal enterprise. The Accused person dropped a friend off and waited for him outside his workplace, a warehouse. His friend returned with goods stolen from the workplace, which he had broken into. Criminal lawyer Joe Correy argued that there was no evidence that the Accused person could have known that his friend was breaking into the warehouse given he was waiting on the road and had no line of sight into the warehouse. His friend provided an affidavit stating that he told the Accused the goods he took from the warehouse were defective and unwanted. The charge was withdrawn.

Charges dismissed – Lack of forensic evidence 

Our lawyer represented a client who was charged with a dozen break, enter and steal in company offences that were alleged to have occurred in schools. The Brief of Evidence was almost 10,000 pages. Our solicitor carefully dissected the Brief of Evidence and concluded that, but for the one offence, which our client admitted to the police, there was no other evidence, such as DNA or fingerprint, at all. Our solicitor took the matter to a paper committal and had the charges for which there was no evidence dismissed by the Magistrate.

Not guilty – CCTV identification challenged 

Our lawyer represented a client charged with breaking and entering an underground carpark in the company of two others. The police relied on CCTV to identify the client. Criminal lawyer Joe Correy argued that it was impermissible for the police officer to identify his client because that was the job of the Magistrate. The Magistrate agreed and said there was no way he could be sure that the person in the footage was our client. He found our client not guilty of all charges.

Not guilty – Mere presence insufficient 

Our lawyer represented a client charged with breaking and entering an RSL as part of a joint criminal enterprise with another person. It was alleged our client was the lookout for sending text messages to another Accused person to let them know the coast was clear. Criminal lawyer Joe Correy argued that it wasn’t unusual for young people to have their faces glued to their phones and the timing was no more than a coincidence. The Magistrate agreed and found our client not guilty.