The study sample represents approximately one-third of the burglary offenders apprehended in South Australia in 1983. The sample was involved in 849 separate burglary offenses. Approximately 93 percent of the sample was male, and 63 percent of the sample was under age 17. Sixty-one percent were unemployed at the time of arrest. Students composed almost 1 in 3 of the entire sample. Aboriginal people comprised a disproportionate part of the sample. In the majority of cases, the stolen goods and estimated property damage were valued at less than $100. Private dwellings composed 41.2 percent of the premises entered, and just over 50 percent of the offenders used force to gain entry. Overall, the offenders were amateurs involved in relatively minor offenses in terms of the amount stolen and the damage inflicted. 7 tables and 6 references.