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Three questions on burglars

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Comments

  • #32
    MarkAnthony
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭MarkAnthony


    BattleCorp wrote: »
    Once the Gardai investigate the circumstances of your case, could the Gardai and the DPP possibly decide that you used reasonable force and therefore might not charge you, or do you have to be charged and put forward your defence in court once force is used?

    The DPP could decide not to prosecute AFAIK.

    Effectively though the DPP would have to prove the force was unreasonable in they eyes of the person who carried it out. One should be able to sit there in silence.

    They jury may have regard to certain factors given in the legislation, however.


  • #33
    deandean
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,339 ✭✭✭deandean


    Well here is my take on home defense 2015:
    1. In the face of burglars, transit vans, theives, threats etc you do whatever you feel you need to do to protect yourself, your family, your home, your property.
    2. Make no admissions to Gardai.
    3. Lawyer up.


  • #34
    anvilfour
    Closed Accounts Posts: 720 ✭✭✭anvilfour


    deandean wrote: »
    Well here is my take on home defense 2015:
    1. In the face of burglars, transit vans, theives, threats etc you do whatever you feel you need to do to protect yourself, your family, your home, your property.
    2. Make no admissions to Gardai.
    3. Lawyer up.

    To this I think I would add the advice that prevention is better than cure.

    My mother and her husband live next to a public park and had a burglary around ten years ago.

    The door was locked but was so flimsy it was smashed down. Their valuables were also insured but things of sentimental value like conduct medals my Mum was awarded at school weren't replaceable.

    After it happened StepDad installed a much more secure door, as well as ordered cheap (and prominent!) CCTV camera from eBay which points to the entrance to the house and the park.

    They also have a safe in which they store their most valuable possessions now.

    Of course none of this is certain to prevent burglars from taking your valuables and you may be in a position where you have to defend yourself but if they see a CCTV camera and a sturdy door, hopefully most of them will be put off.

    I'd much rather this happen than be put into a questionable position legally by being forced to go toe to toe with a burglar. Also in the thread so far everyone seems to have assumed you're automatically going to come off better in a fight with someone who is desperate and possibly armed with a jemmy! What if you lose? :-D

    Update : In response to a message from another poster I should like to add that one of the people who broke into the house was caught. He admitted to burgling my Mum's house as some kind of plea bargain so Mum couldn't read a victim impact statement. He was sentenced to this and a number of burglaries but wasn't jailed as he's a kid. We suspected it was young people who broke in as they stole a bottle of Jack Daniels but left behind the Irish Whiskey. We really do need a better class of criminal! :)


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