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Traditionally considered a non-violent property offense, burglary is nonetheless classified as a violent crime under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The ACCA, a three-strikes law that provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, is triggered when an offender, who has been previously convicted for a crime classified under the ACCA as either a “violent felony” or “serious drug offense,” is convicted at the federal level for any felony committed while in possession of a firearm. The present study investigated the ACCA’s classification of burglary as violent through analysis of National Crime Victimization Survey data for the period of 2009 to 2014. Results showed that burglary is overwhelmingly a non-violent offense. The national incidence of actual violence or threats of violence during a burglary was 7.9%. At most, 2.7% of burglaries involved actual acts of violence. Legislative reform of the ACCA classification to match the empirical description of burglary is discussed.

The current study examined the duration of stalking episodes among a nationally representative sample. Analyses of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey estimated if the victim–perpetrator relationship and other types of victimization experienced were associated with (a) if the stalking episode lasted over a year ( N = 1,509) and (b) the length of stalking episodes, in days, for episodes <1 year ( N = 506). Findings indicate coercive control was associated with higher odds the stalking episode lasted over a year and increased the length of episodes lasting <1 year. The intersection of stalking and coercive control is discussed.

The purpose of this article was to explore potential variations in students’ perceptions towards campus police (CP) roles and behaviours as compared with local and state law enforcement (LSLE). This study used a web-based survey to solicit responses from (n = 995) students. Results showed that students perceived traditional policing roles of higher import to LSES while rating campus-specific roles higher for CP. However, rank order of roles revealed remarkable similarities between policing agencies. Additionally, CP were perceived more favourably in terms of their behaviour, with similar participant characteristics predicting perceptions of CP and LSLE. Interactions with LSLE significantly affected perceptions of CP behaviour and vice versa, indicating a lack of distinction between CP and LSLE. While prior research suggests that CP is marginalized, the current analysis offers support that differences in role importance between CP and LSLE may be due to the unique needs of college campuses.