Hot prowl burglary


A hot prowl burglary is a sub-type of burglary in which an offender unlawfully breaks and enters into a building or residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching intent of a hot prowl burglary can be theft, robbery, sexual assault, murder, or another crime, either by stealth or direct force. Hot prowl burglaries are considered especially dangerous by law enforcement because of the potential for a violent confrontation between the occupant and the offender.

Notable examples

The Chauffeurs de la Drome were a gang of four men who carried out a series of attacks on remote dwellings in the Department of Drôme in south-west France between 1905 and 1908.
The Lindbergh Kidnapping - In 1932, one-year-old Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. was kidnapped from his family's home in East Amwell, New Jersey and later murdered. The offender perpetrated the crime by using a ladder to enter a second floor bedroom of the Lindbergh residence while the family was asleep.
The BTK Killer - Between 1974 and 1991, a series of sexual assaults and murders was carried out in the Wichita, Kansas area. In most of the attacks, the offender broke into or forced his way into a residence, then killed one or more people.
The Golden State Killer - A serial killer and rapist who was active in California in the 1970s and 1980s, who is known to have murdered ten people between 1979 and 1986. His modus operandi was to break into the homes of his victims in the middle of the night and attack them as they slept.
The Night Stalker - A series of home invasion murders, rapes, and robberies plagued the Los Angeles, California area in the mid-1980s. In all, twelve murders were committed in southern California as part of this series.
Mr Cruel - An Australian paedophilic serial rapist who entered houses and attacked three girls in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In popular culture

The theme is popular with Hollywood, as seen in movies such as Dial M for Murder, A Clockwork Orange, Fatal Attraction, Panic Room, and Skyfall.