Federal Burglary and Trespass Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025
11 people were sentenced for burglary or trespass offenses in the District of New Jersey, all in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. 9 (82%) received a prison term, with a median of 26 months. In all 94 districts, the median for this offense type was 18 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 › Burglary and Trespass: District of New Jersey
In brief: 11 people were sentenced for burglary or trespass offenses in the District of New Jersey, all in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. 9 (82%) received a prison term, with a median of 26 months. In all 94 districts, the median for this offense type was 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 11 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Cases From Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023
The Sentencing Commission's "Burglary/Trespass" offense type had 11 people in this district. All of them were sentenced in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. The table shows 7 people in fiscal year 2022 and 4 in fiscal year 2023.
The 11 people are less than 1% of the 6,441 people sentenced in the district from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2025. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Prison Terms Were Longer Than the All-Districts Median
9 of the 11 (82%) received a prison term, and 2 (18%) received probation only. Among all 94 districts, 80% of the 674 people in this category were sent to prison, which is about the same share.
The median prison term here was 26 months (2.2 years). A quarter received 32 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. The all-districts median was 18 months, which is lower. The median for all offenses in the district was 37 months, which is higher.
In fiscal year 2022 the median was 30 months, and in fiscal year 2023 it was 22 months. Those medians come from 7 and 4 people and do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7 | 30 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2023 | 4 | 22 months | 4 of 4 |
Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
All 11 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Each guilty plea had a written plea agreement. The all-districts guilty plea rate was 97%, the same as the rate for all offenses in the district.
Sentences Within the Range
The guideline range is the sentence range calculated under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. 8 of the 11 sentences (73%) were within the range. 1 (9%) was below the range at the government's request, and 2 (18%) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.
Across all districts, 63% of sentences in this category were within the range. For all offenses in the district, 37% were. The share here is higher than both. No one had a mandatory minimum prison term recorded.
Guideline and Criminal History
All 11 people had the same primary guideline, §2B2.1 (Burglary of a Residence or a Structure Other than a Residence).
Criminal history was spread across the scale. 18% were in category I, the lowest, and 36% were in category VI, the highest.
Supervision and Financial Orders
9 people (82%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. No fines were ordered (0, or 0%). Restitution was ordered for 1 person (9%).
What These Numbers Cannot Show
With 11 people over 2 fiscal years, the numbers describe a small group and cannot show whether burglary or trespass cases changed over time. Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear, so acquittals and dismissals are not counted. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Jersey (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Jersey") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Burglary/Trespass" (11). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Jersey, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.