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08:02 May 11, 2011
This question was closed without grading. Reason: Other
Dutch to English translations [PRO] Bus/Financial - Insurance / loss adjustment
Dutch term or phrase:binnenbraak
Can anyone suggest an English translation for 'binnenbraak', committed by thieves who allowed themselves to be locked in after office closing time? They broke through internal walls and smashed internal doors and windows. In sum, they committed 'binnenbraak'.
Trespassing is the same everywhere... It does not matter what country you are in.
Whether it constitutes burglary or criminal trespass is a matter of whether someone broke and entered with intent to commit another crime. This is also the same everywhere. The degrees are not pertinent for this translation.
Peter, however, described someone who **trespassed** (i.e. unlawfully remained on or inside the premises without authorization) and then proceeded to cause property damage from the inside of the building, which is not burglary but rather "criminal damage to property" or vandalism... a concept that is still the same across the board... UNLESS the doors were, say, a vault... or there were file cabinets locked, which they broke into with intent to steal something out of them.
This is why we (in the US) simplify the charge as "breaking and entering" or "forcible entry", which still is a universal concept in the eyes of the law.
I don't see why a distinction needs to be made exclusionary to the US perspective.
Interesting contributions, Bryan and Kirsten, thanks!
There seems to be no shorter way to cover the full meaning of 'binnenbraak' than something along the lines of 'forceful entry following criminal trespassing'. Maybe I should add that the context is a loss adjuster's report to underwriters, not a set of insurance policy conditions.
(BTW: Burglary from outside the premises, Du. 'buitenbraak', translates for most practical purposes simply as 'forceful entry'.)
We were all referring to UK/Canadian (poss Australian) law. The problem with US law, as far as I could make out based on Wikipedia, is that those degrees can differ between individual states. Some of those degrees only refer to types of builings while others refer to the kind of tresspassing/burglary.
inchoate burglary is when someone is OUTSIDE of the premises and premeditates criminal burglary (or breaking & entering). When they break and enter, they have committed criminal burglary, and there is no theft requirement for one to be found guilty.
criminal trespassing is when someone enters the premises with or without force and knowingly stays there unlawfully, regardless of intent to burgle. This is categorized in degrees (varies by locale), but 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree all depend on the severity and intent and who/what the victims are.
If their intent is criminal (i.e. they intended to steal, but found nothing and ended up causing property damage out of anger, for instance), then this is still criminal trespassing, or more specifically trespassing to chattels, in which case physical property damage is caused.
Hi Phil,
Yes, I'm beginning to fear there is no English equivalent. Not that it's a problem, though: I've made it clear enough what kind of burglary this was. I have delivered the translation and if/as soon as I do find a proper English translation, I'll post it. Thanks!
A burglar tresspasses as soon as he even only opens a door that is closed, even if he could come into the builidng without actually breaking doors or windows because they were unlocked or even open. If the door is ajar and he opens it and enters the room behind it with the intent of either vandalising or stealing something, he is effectively a burglar. You could opt for paraphrasing, though, if it is absolutely necessary, as in 'burglary within the building' or so.
As far as I know, this distinction does not exist in English. It doesn't necessarily mean an inside job by employees - it just means whether they broke open the main door to the outside, or just a door within the building.
Binnenbraak: Het met geweld verbreken van een afsluiting of het met toepassing van geweld een toegang forceren, bijvoorbeeld door het inslaan van een raam of deur met het doel zich wederrechtelijk toegang te verschaffen. Men onderscheidt binnenbraak (inbraak in een binnen een gebouw gelegen afgesloten ruimte) en buitenbraak (inbraak na braak aan de buitenzijde van een gebouw). http://www.wftvragenbank.nl/mod/glossary/view.php?id=895&mod...
The only similar expression I have found on Google in an insurance context, even though in this case it sounds like it means an "inside job" - which is not exactly what you are looking for: http://www.financereview.biz/finance/what-type-of-commercial...
spot-on, Kirsten: "This crime is not always covered by insurance, obviously that is the reason why it has to be mentioned separately." And just because this may not be covered by insurance, it is of the essence for loss adjusters reporting to underwriters to pick the appropriate term. For now, I could choose just "burglary" and provide a context that leaves no room for ambiguity. There is a deadline looming... Thanks a lot Dave, 'Textpertise' and Kirsten!
is a term used to identify a crime of breaking and entering, which has not taken place from the outside to the inside of a building, but within a building, like Peter indicated. It requires that locks or doors are damaged, so not merely opened (that would be 'insluiping'). This crime is not always covered by insurance, obviously that is the reason why it has to be mentioned separately.
What does this normal insurance term usually mean?
09:09 May 11, 2011
If binnenbraak is a "perfectly normal insurance term", what does that term usually mean? As I said in the note added to my answer, the manner in which the crime was perpetrated is a separate issue from the linguistic meaning of the word. The consequences of the burglary you are describing would appear to be both theft and vandalism. It seems to me that there is a component of both here. Perhaps one of these terms is the one you are seeking?
burglary is anything which involves unlawful entry, whether breaking the locks in order to get into a building or letting yourself be locked into a building and then forcing your way into another part of that same building. It is classed as burglary. In law that is. See reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burglary#United_Kingdom, and there is a whole article about UK law too.
'Binnenbraak' is only the Flemish word if it is spoken about, not in insurance documents (I would hope so at any rate).
Thanks Dave and 'Textpertise'. The problem is, though, that this is not a Belgian text (I know, being a Dutch native) and "binnenbraak" is a perfectly normal insurance term. Besides, the article referred to by Dave discusses "employee theft", and that is the first thing that springs to mind when I see "internal burglary'". In this particular case, no employees were involved, but outside perpetrators clever enough to let themselves be locked in. For the above reasons, neither "burglary" nor "internal burglary" seems to fit. See what I mean ;-) ? Thanks again!
Explanation: The word "binnenbreken" is the Belgian variant of the Dutch word "inbreken" and simply means to break in. The nouns from those words respectively would be "binnenbraak" and "inbraak" which mean just plain burglary.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 24 mins (2011-05-11 08:26:37 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Linguistically speaking, I would suggest that the description of how the burglary was accomplished in your context is most likely a separate issue from the actual meaning of the word "binnenbraak".
Textpertise United Kingdom Local time: 06:36 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 15
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks! But see thread. ;-)
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