Test case for the 'defending your own home' line from the govt.

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Faced with multiple balaclava wearing strangers in your property at dead of night I would have thought that *any* use of force would be reasonable if you are to have the right to protect your loved ones.

Afterall, you'd want to knock the intruders down to the ground and make sure they bloomin well stay there.

If I were in this unfortunate position (assuming I were brave enough to take the intruders on at all), I wouldnt hesitate to use extreme force using whatever tool/weapon I could lay my hands on to protect my family.
 
Test case for the 'defending your own home' line from the govt.

I'm not sure this can be described as a test case as similar cases have been tried in court before.

Legal words such as 'reasonable' and 'proportionate' spring to mind.

I'm not sure I'd have the confidence to approach a burglar, unless really backed in to a corner with no other options.
 
I agree with above,

I dread to think what I would do, but to protect your family I would like to think I would do what ever I could.
 
The trouble with facing a situation like this is that we simply do not know WHAT we would do.

Most of us puff up with bravado, and say how we would takle an intruder, and thrash him within an inch of his/her life.

Well I will lay my cards on the table. I'm a born coward. I'm not brave enough to take on an intruder - I would probably hide under the bed.

Probably.
 
I'm not sure this can be described as a test case as similar cases have been tried in court before.

Legal words such as 'reasonable' and 'proportionate' spring to mind.

I'm not sure I'd have the confidence to approach a burglar, unless really backed in to a corner with no other options.

I've not seen any in the media since the case of the Asian guy who I think lived in High Wycombe.

What with all the current talk of DC changing the law to be 'reasonable force when you feel your life is in danger' to 'you feel your property is in danger' or some such line - OK it hasn't changed yet but I'd be interested to see the outcome as things stand.

With regards to what I'd do, I've thought about it as I think you need to at least have an idea of what you would do.

I have a Maglite which is right by my bed and I am not the heaviest sleeper - so I would have every intention of dealing with it albeit with stealth. I might be a big bloke but that doesn't automatically make me Bruce Lee.

No, agreed, you can't know what you would do until it happens but if you've thought things through prior, this will at least go some way to helping you should this unwelcome event happen.
 
recent case involving a friend of a friend in nottingham a year or so ago.

teenage youth comes home to find burglary in progress.

he defends his mother and young sibling by stabbing one intruder, and chasing the other OFF the property and, i am pretty sure, stabs the fleeing intruder as well, not sure at what point though, i would assume it was seen in court as having happened on the premises.

one intruder lost their life as a direct result of the injury sustained.

at nottingham crown, the lad was found to be not guilty of any wrong doing.

definitely a move in policy from the tony martin case, as in that case the fleeing perpetrator was on the premises when shot, and the very fact he was fleeing was deemed to make the home-owners action not in self defence.

big difference to the case in the usa of a business friend of mine, who witnessed a home owner shoot an unknown caller through the fully closed and locked front door, they gut ran away, leaving a trail of blood.

the home owner called the authorities to report it, and within half an hour, there was a contractor there fixing the door, with the local police taking a report, and not even a court visit.
 
I think a little more of this treatment will make intruders think twice and damn right too.

In short anyone trying to break into my house and effectively putting themselves into a position to harm me or my family would be going back outside in small bags.

If there were 4 of them I'd have to reconsider - but 2 even 3 would be fair game.

Fighting in a confined space against 2 or even 3 people is easier than out in the open.

Having said all the above - you have to consider are you putting yourself in more jeopardy getting involved.

Just by disturbing a burglar is often enough to deter further intrusion.

You never know what you'll do until the tear up really begins.
 
The trouble with facing a situation like this is that we simply do not know WHAT we would do.

Most of us puff up with bravado, and say how we would takle an intruder, and thrash him within an inch of his/her life.

Well I will lay my cards on the table. I'm a born coward. I'm not brave enough to take on an intruder - I would probably hide under the bed.

Probably.


You're the braver man for admitting this...
Animals have a flight or fight instinct, and only attack when they are scared, not out of 'anger'
The work I do is very stressful/scary... but we have learnt to use our adrenaline and fears to work for us...
:thumb:
 
I can only speak for myself but i think i would be frightened and this alone means i do not know how i would react so for example if i punch an intruder do i do it gently or would i be frightened of him getting up and killing me so pehaps fear might make me make sure they stay onthe ground . Everyone is entitled to protect themselves there home and there family .. BUT ITS UP TO US JOE PUBLIC TO LET THE GOVERMENT KNOW HOW WE FEEL AND ALSO SUPPORT ANY INNOCENT PEOPLE WHOSE PROPERTY IS TRESSPASSED UPON....
 
Suppose in this situation you'd have to assume they were armed - screwdrivers/chisels/hammers etc. to break in with, so anything you did would be so dangerous. Saying that, if they came into my house with my family in it, I'd have a go with anything that came to hand. Can't say I'm sorry that this lad was killed - its a risk of the job I suppose, and he got unlucky trying it on with someone willing to fight back. Perhaps it will make his accomplices think twice about what they do. Always a shame for his parents/wife/girlfriend/kids etc. who thought he was just a cheeky little angel who never did wrong.
 
There is something not quite right about this case. I would not be surprised if drug dealing, money owed, a family feud or some other illegal activity was involved other than the burglary itself.

Just my guess based on the story given and no reflection on the victims, as I know nothing about them.
 
I remember the case , about 30 years ago , of a friend who awoke to find a burglar on his upstairs landing , his wife being in the bedroom behind him and his two young children in the other bedroom . Probably as an act of instinct , my friend 'decked' the burglar , and kept going until he was 'subdued' , after which the police were summoned .

The sergeant took one look at the black eyed and bruised burglar , saying to my friend with a smile and a knowing look " I suppose he fell down the stairs ? " .

In the meantime , burglar was complaining to rookie PC that he was assaulted - before PC's pocket book could be opened , Sarge stepped in - "you're wanted down at the station , off you go" .

No doubt , these days it would be different .
 
Suppose in this situation you'd have to assume they were armed - screwdrivers/chisels/hammers etc. to break in with, so anything you did would be so dangerous. Saying that, if they came into my house with my family in it, I'd have a go with anything that came to hand. Can't say I'm sorry that this lad was killed - its a risk of the job I suppose, and he got unlucky trying it on with someone willing to fight back. Perhaps it will make his accomplices think twice about what they do. Always a shame for his parents/wife/girlfriend/kids etc. who thought he was just a cheeky little angel who never did wrong.

Or go threw your kitchen first and a get themselves a knife or two - I got done 8years or so ago and they'd stuck the three biggest knives, one each in the front lawn, back lawn and at the side door
 
There is something not quite right about this case. I would not be surprised if drug dealing, money owed, a family feud or some other illegal activity was involved other than the burglary itself.

Quite. The headline even has burglar in quote marks.
 
No doubt , these days it would be different .

I understand, through someone else, that in the force certainly some cops tend to ask the 'right' questions to help good people who obviously shouldn't be in the nick as a result of this sort of situation.

Maybe JBR is aware of this sort of thing?

Or go threw your kitchen first and a get themselves a knife or two - I got done 8years or so ago and they'd stuck the three biggest knives, one each in the front lawn, back lawn and at the side door

I think if you are going to take them on, you are pretty much going to have to kill him/them.

Obviously there's talk of bravado and all sorts with this kind of thing as people respond in the cold light of day, but I think when the fear takes over when you are in that situation, adrenaline takes over will certainly assist.
 
just heard a news flash on radio, another burglar has been killed, and a man and woman have been arrested, incident in Wales i think...
 
There is something not quite right about this case. I would not be surprised if drug dealing, money owed, a family feud or some other illegal activity was involved other than the burglary itself.

Just my guess based on the story given and no reflection on the victims, as I know nothing about them.

My guess that this a case of one group of lawbreakers having a go at another group of lawbreakers? think Mel Gibson's PAYBACK but with ugly people!
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... think Mel Gibson's PAYBACK but with ugly people!
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Sorry, Grober, each to their own, but I never thought Mel Gibson was attractive in the first place.
 

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