I want to kill!
I came home on Thursday to find the house had been broken into. They took the home cinema system, my guitar, about 50 DVDs and a universal remote. Most distressing of all however was that Izzy is now missing. She was in her pen and it looks as if she escaped and panicked them, however as they had left both the back door and back gate open Izzy ran off.
The stuff can be replaced but she can't and as you can imagine myself and Mrs C hope that she'll turn up. She is far more than just a pet, she is our buddy!
Pity I didn't catch them at it as I might have stretched the limits of what could be considered 'reasonsable force'.
posted by Tony C at 2/19/2005 12:34:00 pm
4 Comments:
Our thoughts are with you Woody. I really hope Izzy finds her way home soon.
I also hope the boys in blue can catch the scum who have done this and put them behind bars where they belong.
Shit, bastards. I was burglered once, they are very fortunate I did not find them when I drove around looking for them.
I hope Izzy gets back soon. I'd hate to think what i'd do.
I just read Carl's blog and it sounds like Izzy is safe. I am glad to hear it! As a dog owner myself, my heart went out to you and your wife. I am glad that Izzy is back!
The law is.... now on your side, clearly you have to rely on the boys in blue, and cannot take the law into your own hands, but sticking a baseball bat by the front door isn't a bad idea (don't forget to buy a ball & mit, as they are excellent accompaniments to the said bat in terms of making it a useful recreational tool in the eyes of the law!), then refer to the guidance issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).....
Ken Macdonald QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “The law is on the side of the householders. We aim to reassure them that if they act honestly and instinctively, in the heat of the moment, this will be the strongest evidence that they acted lawfully and in self-defence.
“Prosecutions of householders for tackling intruders are extremely rare – only a very few in the past 15 years. Even where householders have badly injured, or even killed burglars, the CPS has declined to prosecute unless they have used wholly excessive force.”
Chris Fox, President of ACPO, said: “We want everyone to clearly understand that they can use force to protect themselves, or others. The force used should be reasonable force. While we have to investigate the circumstances of such events, we will always remember that anyone engaged in a criminal act should expect reasonable force to be used against them by their victim.”
Some of the points from the guidance include:
Wherever possible you should call the police.
Anyone can use reasonable force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime. So long as you only do what you honestly and instinctively believe is necessary in the heat of the moment, that would be the strongest evidence of you acting lawfully and in self- defence. This is still the case if you use something to hand as a weapon. As a general rule, the more extreme the circumstances and the fear felt, the more force you can lawfully use in self-defence.
You do not have to wait to be attacked if you are in your own home and in fear for yourself or others. In those circumstances the law does not require you to wait to be attacked before using defensive force yourself.If you have acted in reasonable self-defence and the intruder dies you will still have acted lawfully. Indeed, there are several such cases where the householder has not been prosecuted.
However, if, for example:
Having knocked someone unconscious, you then decided to further hurt or kill them to punish them; or
You knew of an intended intruder and set a trap to hurt or to kill them rather than involved the police, you would be acting with very excessive and gratuitous force and could be prosecuted.
If the intruder runs off the situation is different as you are no longer acting in self-defence and so the same degree of force may not be reasonable. However, you are still allowed to use reasonable force to recover your property and make a citizen’s arrest. You should consider your own safety and, for example, whether the police have been called. A rugby tackle or a single blow would probably be reasonable. Acting out of malice and revenge with the intent of inflicting punishment through injury or death would not.
The case of Tony Martin - mad farmer who shot gypsy kid in back when running away from near derelict farmhouse is the best known case in the UK, Mr Martin did himself no favours by not actually having a license for his gun, not a great start to his defence!!
So, bottom line is, Darren - swing that hammer!
Glad the dog is safe & sound, the 2 scumbags that burgled my parents house kicked their two dogs across the kitchen when they broke down the door. Happy to say they made full recovery & said villains have been dealt with by the law etc ;-)
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