Canadian Criminal Law/Offences/Possession of Break-in Instruments

Legislation

Possession of break-in instrument
351. (1) Every one who, without lawful excuse, the proof of which lies on them, has in their possession any instrument suitable for the purpose of breaking into any place, motor vehicle, vault or safe under circumstances that give rise to a reasonable inference that the instrument has been used or is or was intended to be used for such a purpose,

(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years; or

(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

...
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 351; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 48; 2008, c. 18, s. 9.

Possession of instruments for breaking into coin-operated or currency exchange devices
352. Every one who, without lawful excuse, the proof of which lies on him, has in his possession any instrument suitable for breaking into a coin-operated device or a currency exchange device, under circumstances that give rise to a reasonable inference that the instrument has been used or is or was intended to be used for breaking into a coin-operated device or a currency exchange device, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
R.S., c. C-34, s. 310; 1972, c. 13, s. 26; 1974-75-76, c. 93, s. 28.

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Proof of the Offence

In addition to the essential elements of time, location, and identity, the crown must prove that:

1. the accused possessed instruments
2. the instruments were suitable for the purpose of breaking into a location
3. there was some nexus between the tools' purpose and a location that was targeted by the accused

Interpretation

A knife, even a broken one, can be found to be a break-in instrument as it can be used to force a gate or drawer lock.