Are the UK’s ‘reasonable force’ self defence laws adequate to protect the community?

Question

Do you think these laws should be extended on account of the growing anti-social and criminal gang culture spilling out onto the streets in Britain? For example there are huge gangs of youths who hang around in my street and they are often abusive and threatening. I know elderly people who are afraid to leave the house. I've seen them pick on lone people trying to walk their dog or get to the local shops.

Recently we've began standing up to them and have had a group of them with weapons enter our garden threatening to assault us. By the time the police get here they are gone and difficult to identify as they dress the same and wear caps. We are advised that even although these youths enter our property, hugely out-number us and wield weapons (including blades), we would be prosecuted should we also attain weapons and proceed to defend our property and ourselves while we await the police to attend. How should we deal with issues such as this?

Also I've been told that if they enter my house and my dog bites them, the criminals may be legally entitled to take action against us! This seems like utter madness. How can I defend myself, with no weapon, against a crowd with weapons AND make sure my dogs don't get out? Exactly whats reasonable when one of us are going to get seriously wounded if we have no weapons? I stay with three other people and we are in our mid twenties and find this hard to deal with. How do older people living alone even begin to cope with this? Why aren't they giving elderly people personal alarms or a stun weapon with a special license? It's no wonder no one votes. We can't get past all the Neds on the corner to get to the voting venues!

***yes I've heard of people being prosecuted because their dog had bitten an intruder, esp if they have prompted the dog to do so and sometimes the dog will be destroyed. It used to be as long as you didn't prompt the dog and it acted of its own accord but now even tougher laws are coming in as well for dogs indoors.

I know of a blind women who was charged with assault after hitting an intruder with a vase while he was robbing her home in the middle of the night! They made her go to court! Can you believe that?

Answer 1

no matter what we do the ultimate question remains is anyone ever truly safe

Answer 2

Define "sensible". I think the US has very sensible gun control laws. All they need to do is enforce the laws. A gun is nothing more than a tool, just like a hammer, baseball bat, tire iron, or kitchen knife. In the hands of responsible, law abiding citizens (which is about 99.9% of gun owners), it is a very effective tool for defending yourself and your family from harm. But, unlike all the other tools out there, people jump on the guns as a problem when the 0.1% of gun owners are irresponsible, whether this is leaving them out where kids can get a hold of them, or using them for a mass shooting somewhere (which if you ever notice, is rarely done anywhere but a "gun-free zone"). If someone was to take a baseball bat to an elementary school and start bashing the heads of 1st graders, people will talk about what is wrong with that person, and to help other like him get the treatment they need to prevent such tragedy. But if he goes in with a gun and shoots the kids instead, it's the guns that are to blame, and people want to ban guns to keep this from happening again. *EDIT* - Ignore Daniel. He thinks that the government will protect you from all the bad guys out there, and if you call "time out" the bad guys have to stop and wait for the police to show up.

Answer 3

If I lived in the UK, I would begin to lobby and work extremely hard to get the laws changed to allow reasonable self-defence! In the meantime, can you start making videos to show the extent of this problem to the police, and the public to increase awareness, help protect you, etc?

Answer 4

It's horrible what you are going though, thing's have gotten way out of line in Britain, between the drug culture the gang's of drug addicts and underage drinker's roaming the streets causing havoc, vandalizing people's properties, people are scared to leave their homes at night time, and on top of all that there's the million's of illegals roaming all over the place, the crime rate has rocketed, and the cherry on the icing is the Muslim extremist's shouting in the street's death to the British troop's and ranting that they will bring SHARIA LAW, and they will sooner thank we think, if the government doesn't get their finger's out and do something to STOP THEM.

Answer 5

That's because the UK has really stupid self-defense laws. Basically you have to cower in fear, unarmed and not resist, even if your attacker is murdering you.

But God forbid it, should you lift a hand to defend your life, you go to prison for manslaughter.

What a stupid theory.

England had, for 400 years, a tradition of never retreating and always upholding the individual's right to defend themselves and stand their ground.

Then they got a bunch of whimpy liberals in control of the legislature and the court system and they carve out a stupid doctrine.

No wonders its easy to be a criminal in England, there's nothing wrong with it. Its illegal to be a victim there, unless you let them kill you.

Answer 6

I am sincerely sorry for you that you cannot defend yourself and citizens of your community live in fear of these thugs. I live in Texas and my husband has his CHL (concealed handgun licence) and I am about to get mine. Fortunately for us we live in a state that is reasonable about self-defense and the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, their families and property.


My opinion is that strict gun control, or, in your case, gun bans, is totally unrealistic. Is the British government completely out to lunch on this? You have roving packs of rabid gang members that hold communities and towns in a grip of fear because they know nothing will be done to stop them. It baffles my mind that your governments answer to this problem is to ban firearms. Do they think criminals care about the law? It baffles my mind that your police don't even carry firearms. How is this effectve in protecting people?

My answer to you would be to do what you can to change the policy in your country. I cannot understand how a society that claims to be a FREE society oppress its people in such a way by threatening prosecution if a law-abiding citizen owns a firearm, let alone use it to protect themselves from crazies. If Britain is anything like America, I'll bet the majority would oppose such bans. The problem is that not enough people care enough to vote. The majority are lazy. If you want to affect change in your country, get like minded people mad about it. Speak up and become an activist for change and rally your community together and write letters to your leaders and politicians and tell them of the problems that plague your towns. Because obviously it's not working the way things are going. Again, I'm sorry for the fact that you live in fear. Maybe if enough of the people of your town get together on this, someone in power might listen.

Ahhh, I just read your edit. I am so ANGRY for you! I cannot believe you and your nieghbors must live this way and get in trouble if YOUR DOG BITES AN INTRUDER. How is this even possible that you would be prosecuted for this??? Would these criminals actually have the balls to file a complaint against you?

Answer 7

Honestly, you folks in Britian need to grow a pair. If they want to arrest you for defending your home and family, then you need to drag them out and hang them immediately. Repeat til the PC BS crowd is gone.

Answer 8

I'm not from the UK but i think its safe to assume should these punks were to assault you and you were to, say allow your dogs to defend you, no jury in their right mind would allow you or your dogs to come to harm, note that i said "right mind"

Answer 9

Reasonable force is not possible if the attacker has and illegal gun and the victim is not allowed to have comparable weapons.