Aggravated Burglary (Section 10 Theft Act 1968)

Theft Act 1968, s.10

Indictable only
Life imprisonment

Definition

A person is guilty of aggravated burglary if he commits any burglary and at the time has with him any firearm or imitation firearm, any weapon of offence, or any explosive; and for this purpose (a) "firearm" includes an airgun or air pistol, and "imitation firearm" means anything which has the appearance of being a firearm, whether capable of being discharged or not; and (b) "weapon of offence" means any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use; and (c) "explosive" means any article manufactured for the purpose of producing a practical effect by explosion, or intended by the person having it with him for that purpose. (Theft Act 1968, s.10(1)) A person is guilty of burglary if (a) he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and with intent to commit any such offence as is mentioned in subsection (2) below; or (b) having entered any building or part of a building as a trespasser he steals or attempts to steal anything in the building or that part of it or inflicts or attempts to inflict on any person therein any grievous bodily harm. (Theft Act 1968, s.9(1))

Points to prove

A person
commits any burglary (Theft Act 1968, s.9(1))
and at the time has with him
any firearm or imitation firearm, any weapon of offence, or any explosive

Aggravated burglary is an offence under s.10 Theft Act 1968. A person is guilty of aggravated burglary if he commits any burglary and at the time has with him any firearm or imitation firearm, any weapon of offence, or any explosive (s.10(1)). "Firearm" includes an airgun or air pistol, and "imitation firearm" means anything which has the appearance of being a firearm, whether capable of being discharged or not; "weapon of offence" means any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use; "explosive" means any article manufactured for the purpose of producing a practical effect by explosion, or intended by the person having it with him for that purpose (s.10(1)(a) to (c)). Burglary itself is defined by s.9(1). Maximum sentence: on conviction on indictment, imprisonment for life (s.10(2)).

In practice

This is an indictable-only offence: it must be tried at the Crown Court. The charging decision rests with the CPS (not police). The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).

Last updated 20 October 2026. Reviewed 20 October 2026

Mode of trial: Indictable only
Maximum sentence: Life imprisonment
Act and section: Theft Act 1968, s.10
Power of arrest: A constable may arrest without a warrant anyone who is about to commit an offence, anyone who is in the act of committing an offence, anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be about to commit an offence, and anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be committing an offence (s.24(1)); if a constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed, he may arrest without a warrant anyone whom he has reasonable grounds to suspect of being guilty of it (s.24(2)); if an offence has been committed, he may arrest without a warrant anyone who is guilty of the offence or whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be guilty of it (s.24(3)). The power of summary arrest is exercisable only if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that for any of the reasons mentioned in s.24(5) it is necessary to arrest the person in question (s.24(4)) (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.24).
Search on arrest: A constable may search any person or vehicle, and anything which is in or on a vehicle, for stolen or prohibited articles, and may detain a person or vehicle for the purpose of such a search (s.1(2)), in any place to which the public has access or any other place to which people have ready access but which is not a dwelling (s.1(1)), but not unless he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that he will find stolen or prohibited articles (s.1(3)); a prohibited article is an offensive weapon, meaning any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to persons or intended by the person having it with him for such use (s.1(9)), or an article made or adapted for use in the course of or in connection with burglary or theft, or intended by the person having it with him for such use (s.1(7) and (8)) (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.1). A constable may search an arrested person, where the person has been arrested at a place other than a police station, if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that the arrested person may present a danger to himself or others (s.32(1)), and may search the arrested person for anything which he might use to assist him to escape from lawful custody or which might be evidence relating to an offence and, the offence being an indictable offence, may enter and search any premises in which he was when arrested or immediately before he was arrested for evidence relating to the offence (s.32(2)) (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.32). A constable may enter and search any premises occupied or controlled by a person who is under arrest for an indictable offence, if he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is on the premises evidence, other than items subject to legal privilege, that relates to that offence or to some other indictable offence which is connected with or similar to that offence (s.18(1)), with the written authority of an officer of the rank of inspector or above (s.18(4)) unless the presence of the person at a place other than a police station is necessary for the effective investigation of the offence (s.18(5) and (5A)) (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.18).
Detention clock: A person shall not be kept in police detention for more than 24 hours without being charged, counted from the relevant time (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.41(1) and (2)). The offence is an indictable offence, meaning one which, if committed by an adult, is triable on indictment, whether it is exclusively so triable or triable either way (Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1), so a police officer of the rank of superintendent or above who is responsible for the police station may authorise detention for a period expiring at or before 36 hours after the relevant time where detention without charge is necessary to secure or preserve evidence relating to the offence or to obtain such evidence by questioning, the offence is an indictable offence and the investigation is being conducted diligently and expeditiously (s.42(1)); a magistrates' court may issue a warrant of further detention for a period not longer than 36 hours (s.43(1), (4) and (12)) and may extend it, no extension being longer than 36 hours or ending later than 96 hours after the relevant time (s.44(1) and (3)).
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/10