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Britain
Tougher intruder laws ruled out in UK
2005-01-12
In sum: UK citizens may continue to roll up their copy of the Grauniad, but they may not rap the intruder sharply on the snout with it, nor even display it in a manner that could be construed as "threatening," on account of the intruder's self-esteem, which could be damaged by such posture.
The law on the amount of force householders can use against burglars will not be changed, Home Secretary Charles Clarke has announced. A review has concluded the current law, which allows people to use "reasonable force" against intruders, is "sound". But Mr Clarke says there will be a publicity campaign to ensure people understand they can protect themselves. "What we would not want to do is extend [the present law] so you actually feel it's your responsibility to go down the stairs and actually attack the burglar," said Mr Oaten.
Well, it is the BBC.
Thanks, Aunty!
Posted by:trailing wife

#12  What is needed in the UK is for the population to have a Network moment, and use their voting power to toss as many MPs out as possible that have ANY kind of reservations about victims of crime fighting back in whatever way possible.

When a person can be prosecuted and jailed for protecting his/her property against criminals, I'd say that the point has been reached where enough is enough.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2005-01-12 10:29:19 PM  

#11  "What we would not want to do is extend [the present law] so you actually feel it’s your responsibility to go down the stairs and actually attack the burglar," said Mr Oaten.

What happened to the policy of pre-emptive strikes, i.e. shooting intruders just across the threshold? The Brits just don't get the beauty of our Second Amendment.
Posted by: John Q. Citizen   2005-01-12 8:28:50 PM  

#10  There goes MacNails, being all moderate again! :-)
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-01-12 8:22:24 PM  

#9  There goes MacNails, being all moderate again! :-)
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-01-12 8:22:23 PM  

#8  Intruder meet spade in face and dog on leg . Then spade in face again . Call it vigilantism of some description if you please , I call it protection .
If I go to jail , so what , I'll likely be out in 3 months for good behaviour as our detaining laws are sooo crap .
Posted by: MacNails   2005-01-12 7:06:12 PM  

#7  While I appreciate the participation of Blair in the WoT this is again proof that he and his Labor party just don't get it. Criminals of every stripe should understand that any occupied abode has a invisible sign that says come in here and die posted. They should also understand that it means what it says.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom   2005-01-12 7:05:58 PM  

#6  A slightly different perspective:

"What we would not want to do is extend [the present law] so you actually feel it’s your responsibility to go down the stairsinto the cockpit and actually attack the burglarhijackers,"
Posted by: Dishman   2005-01-12 6:23:04 PM  

#5  The eventual solution to problems like this is vigilantism in some form. It can be as simple as several large men approaching a stranger in their 'hood and asking him to leave, to outright murder. But it does require that the citizenry decide that, since the authorities aren't helping, then they need to be excluded from the process entirely. That is, nobody *ever* calls the police, even if the body lays in the gutter for a week. This in itself is an even more powerful message to the authorities than a body being there in the first place. "But why didn't anyone call?", "Because you are of no help--you are useless", sends deep shock waves through all levels of government.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-01-12 5:31:29 PM  

#4  I'm right there with ya, BigEd. You have to look at this in terms of the incentives created. The way I see it, they are giving the resident the incentive to kill the intruder and hide the corpse. Big loss.
Posted by: BH   2005-01-12 5:25:46 PM  

#3  Y'know...

If the intruder enters, but does not exit...

And the next trash pickup to the community dumpster has about 150-200 pounds of extra in lawn cleanup bags, although everyone lives in an apartment...

And there was a curious short in the electricity for a few seconds. There is that project of your artistically talented daughter with the diamond nose stud brought home from art school. An aluminum foil carpet, now with two foot-shaped char marks, and a curious discoloration where an "exposed" electrical cord, plugged in, ran under it. Now she says her project is ruined...

There would be just another name of a man with a criminal record added to the police missing persons list...

No body - no body of the crime...
Posted by: BigEd   2005-01-12 5:00:14 PM  

#2  English Public: get these clowns out of office NOW!
Posted by: Secret Master   2005-01-12 4:45:51 PM  

#1  Texas Intruder Law; "If I find you in my house tonight, they'll find you there tomorrow"
Posted by: Steve   2005-01-12 4:39:54 PM  

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