how far can you go to protect your property?

[tracyh]

does anyone know what you can legally do to a man who kicks in the lock of your front door and enters your house with the intent of wounding an occupant?

[bednobs]

you have the right to deter him with reasonable force, which will be determined in each scenario. You might find it hard to prove intent if he didnt actually do anything

[tracyh]

does kicking in the front door and breaking all locks not prove intent?

[bednobs]

intent of wounding an occupant? i don't think so

[tracyh]

thanks very much for these answers, my opinion is the same as yours ward minter, but wasnt sure what the law would state, i will read up on this link you sent, thanks again

[JudgeJ]

Whilst it is quite true that the �common sense� approach is backed by the law, it is unfortunate that this same approach is not always adopted by the police.

They often feel obliged to arrest householders following such incidents so that they can �thoroughly investigate� all the circumstances. This has led to scenes where householders, suffering the trauma, the after effects and sometimes physical injury which usually follows break-ins, are taken away, under arrest to the local nick. And all because the burglar has sustained a bruised shin as he walked into the dining table in his effort to evade capture.

There they are held and interrogated in the same way as the perpetrator of the original offence (if he has, by chance, been apprehended). The officers need to be sure that the householder did not premeditate the assault they may have made on their aggressor at 3.30am in their bedroom and that when dealing with the intruder (having just been woken up from a deep sleep) they only used precisely the level of force allowed by the law, and no more.

After a period usually of many weeks, when all the evidence has been examined, do the CPS finally put the poor soul out of their misery and determine that no charges should be brought.

This uncertainty, not to mention the time and effort required by all concerned, could all be avoided if the police investigating the incident were allowed to (and indeed had the will to) exercise some �common sense� and take the view that anybody kicking down your door in the middle of the night deserves all they get.

This is what happens when you have police forces operating under the auspices of the Home Office which has, as its motto, �Building a safe just and tolerant society for all [including burglars].�