Burglars Rights?You must be joking

Talliesin · 22-07-2005 10:07AM

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

So setting up a series of hiarious traps (ala Home Alone) would be illegal?

I know that's a joke, but there have been cases of firemen and cops being injured by boobie-traps intended for burgulars, hence it indeed being illegal.

toiletduck · 22-07-2005 10:26AM

if someone breaks into my property, i dont know if their intentions are to rob me or to injure/kill/rape my family and me, i wouldn't hesitate for a minute in using whatever means necessary to protect myself and my family.

the intruder forfited any rights they have when they break into someone elses property

shellby · 22-07-2005 10:56AM

apparently if they are upstairs and the are an immediate threat to you and your family and you can defend yourself the same applies if there are bedrooms down stair - please correct my if i'm wrong
the best thing to do in beat em up drag em outside then call the gaurds and tell em someone had been assaulted in front of your house (they understand what it means, but will side with you)
as for killing someone i have 3 younger sisters if someone proofed to be a threat ie placed one foot on the landing then if they happened to fall back down the stairs and die then i won't suffer from any sleepless nights there are there people in my house that would be unable to defend themselves if the intruder tried something

ionapaul · 22-07-2005 11:44AM

I think the more important question here is why people feel it's nessesary to harm intruders... fair enough if they've broken into your house to rape and murder your family... but if they have no violent intent and will just leave by default, then what's the point in creating more trouble for yourself?
I think the main reasoning behind it, is that people feel the law is too soft on burlary... that it's treated more in terms of monitary loss than personal invasion and mental anguish.

No, the reason we (humans) find it necessary to use force to defend our property and family is because it is human instinct, a feature that helped our ancestors leave more decendants than the next guy, and thus passed on via natural selection to all humans. It is something that is unthinking and comes natural to every one of us. If an intruder breaks into your home, you and your family will feel threatened (whether he plans to make off with your TV or rape and murder your children) and the instinct to protect what is yours by neutralising the threat will come unbidden into your mind. You will not have to think about it too much, I assure you! If a criminal breaks into your home for any nefarious reason, a struggle occurs when he or she is confronted and he or she is harmed in this struggle, you should not be liable in the law. Not in my perfect world, anyhow!

Jimi-Spandex · 22-07-2005 11:51AM

It's all a case of using reasonable force in the situation to protect you or your family.

Depending on the set of facts shooting a burglar in the back with a shotgun may be acceptable is for instance he was running at your wife/kids with a chainsaw or something like that.

There are no hard and fast rule regarding upstairs/downstairs but if the burglar is upstairs it is more likely that he was going to do damage to you/your family.

However if you came downstairs one night to find someone swiping your tv and you start beating him with a golf club upside the head till he's leaking brains, you are not going to be afforded much protection as this would hardly be a reasonable reaction.

Zapho · 22-07-2005 11:51AM

shellby wrote:

apparently if they are upstairs and the are an immediate threat to you and your family and you can defend yourself the same applies if there are bedrooms down stair - please correct my if i'm wrong
the best thing to do in beat em up drag em outside then call the gaurds and tell em someone had been assaulted in front of your house (they understand what it means, but will side with you)
as for killing someone i have 3 younger sisters if someone proofed to be a threat ie placed one foot on the landing then if they happened to fall back down the stairs and die then i won't suffer from any sleepless nights there are there people in my house that would be unable to defend themselves if the intruder tried something

I agree with you, but the law doesn't. I dunno, I've heard stories whereby a burgalur broke into a house and the father wrestled him to the ground and held him there until the police arrived. When they finally arrived the first thing they did was to ask the burgalur if he wanted to press charges against the father. I mean WTF?

Dades · 22-07-2005 11:52AM

I keep a Louisville Slugger in the house for just this kind of eventuality.

And a tarp, bag of lime and a spade.

KTRIC · 22-07-2005 11:54AM

Myself any my GF have a mutual understanding that if we catch anyone breaking into the house we kill them and dump their body in the mountains. I have no problem with this and neither does she.

BizzyC · 22-07-2005 12:11PM

Read in a thread a while back that a guy hooked his mains up to his garage door to stop romanian breaking in, and he got done when one of them was electricuted

ionapaul · 22-07-2005 12:11PM

Zapho wrote:

I agree with you, but the law doesn't. I dunno, I've heard stories whereby a burgalur broke into a house and the father wrestled him to the ground and held him there until the police arrived. When they finally arrived the first thing they did was to ask the burgalur if he wanted to press charges against the father. I mean WTF?

Don't know if I quite believe this. I know burglars have sued after hurting themselves while breaking in to homes and falling and such (absolute farce, IMHO, they should be laughed out of court), but this seems like an urban myth.

shellby · 22-07-2005 12:11PM

Zapho wrote:

I agree with you, but the law doesn't. I dunno, I've heard stories whereby a burgalur broke into a house and the father wrestled him to the ground and held him there until the police arrived. When they finally arrived the first thing they did was to ask the burgalur if he wanted to press charges against the father. I mean WTF?

well the gardia (unofficially) will advise you to do the whole throwing them outside your front garden thing
even if i had to do time in prison i would not think twice about deffending my family esspecialy the members of it who cannot defend themselves i'm also the eldest so that might have something to do with me being so protective

Rew · 22-07-2005 12:16PM

K-TRIC wrote:

Myself any my GF have a mutual understanding that if we catch anyone breaking into the house we kill them and dump their body in the mountains. I have no problem with this and neither does she.

Does she have a sister?

KTRIC · 22-07-2005 12:22PM

Rew wrote:

Does she have a sister?

Yep and she makes my GF seem normal.

Rew · 22-07-2005 12:37PM

BizzyC wrote:

Read in a thread a while back that a guy hooked his mains up to his garage door to stop romanian breaking in, and he got done when one of them was electricuted

I was going to do that to stop people pissing up agains the back door of a place I worked. It horrible having to have the smell of piss in the work shop in the mornings. Decided against it though.

shellby · 22-07-2005 01:13PM

Rew wrote:

I was going to do that to stop people pissing up agains the back door of a place I worked. It horrible having to have the smell of piss in the work shop in the mornings. Decided against it though.

in a mates college there was still fella who was getting alot of hassle off one of the lads so one day he followed him into the bathroom one day and hooked an electrode (or something) like that up to the urinal he was using before the lad coped what he was doing his gibely bits got fried he ended up in hospital and it's highly unlikely he'll have kids i think the other guy got charged so it's fairly serious (off topic i know) but just taught i'de mention it

Evac101 · 22-07-2005 03:06PM

I remember many years ago a sister of mine living in New York state. A cop friend of her husband was around their place visiting and the subject of burglary came up as there had been a number in their neighbourhood recently. The cop advised them (unofficially of course) to buy a 9mm handgun and if they ever had a burglary issue to keep shooting until the magazine was empty. He also advised that my sister do the shooting as a jury would be more likley to beleive that she was feeling threatened the whole way through the magazine. The immortal quote from the friend was 'Dead men don't sue'.

While that seems a little extreme I would have no hesistation in 'tripping and falling' repeatedly on any burglar in my own home - I'm figuring that 20 stone falling repeatedly on them should pacify the situation...

Pighead · 22-07-2005 03:12PM

Evac101 wrote:

While that seems a little extreme I would have no hesistation in 'tripping and falling' repeatedly on any burglar in my own home - I'm figuring that 20 stone falling repeatedly on them should pacify the situation...

:eek: 20stone!.You are a whole lot of woman Eva,i like it,(a lot)
Anyway eva you're right so what if i have rotating blades, man-traps, explosives, electric fences, minefield, motar system, scarecrow with a shotgun, caltraps, tripwire claymores, huge ball rolling down a narrow corridoor, poison darts from the walls, pit with spikes at the bottom, room with ceiling that crushes, spiked walls, axes falling from the celings, stairs becoming a slide and the whole house filled with toxic gases.

I don't intend to cause harm, I just like to live on the edge. If someone breaks in, I can go to prison even though all the above is intended for my own personal amusement. Put a warning sign on the outside of the house and that way they can't sue.

Fcuk 'em they don't have rights, their breaking the law they should not be protected by it.

Evac101 · 22-07-2005 03:35PM

LOL - uhm - Porkchop - I'm a guy - the handle should properly be identified as Evac (evacution) 101 (a basics course code common in American High Schools).

Evac101 = A basic course in running away - a handle coming from online FPS games:)

Sherlock · 22-07-2005 04:23PM

True story (and I have the letter my friend got from a solicitor).
A few years ago a guy was involved in the theft of oil tanks over in Sandyford industrial estate). One night one of the tanks came of its mountings and fell on his foot. He headed off to the local petrol station in Sandyford and asked them to call an ambulance ( I assume his pals left him). He was brought into hospital, gave a false name and left after getting treated. His next move was to see a solicitor who wrote to the company whose name was on the building (not the owner of the oil tank) alleging their lack of maintenance caused injury to their client who just went behind the tank to urinate. The real owner of the tank got the letter who passed it on to the guards who were very keen to contact the "client".
Two things....how can any burglar be stupid to try it on?....and can anyone underestimate the neck of some solicitors?

Pighead · 22-07-2005 04:33PM

Evac101 wrote:

LOL - uhm - Porkchop - I'm a guy - the handle should properly be identified as Evac (evacution) 101 (a basics course code common in American High Schools).

Evac101 = A basic course in running away - a handle coming from online FPS games:)

ah fcuk it,pighead ain't fussy.still loving those mounds of flesh.

DonkeyStyle \o/ · 22-07-2005 07:19PM

ionapaul wrote:

No, the reason we (humans) find it necessary to use force to defend our property and family is because it is human instinct

Yeah fair point... although the kind of cold-blooded and calculating plans some people have here, really makes you wonder how instinctual this really is.
I can just see it now - printouts of boards.ie in court... "So Mr.Pighead, is it not true that on 21st July 2005 you made an internet post about how you'd kill an intruder if one broke in?"
I don't think that'd look very good tbh.

Talliesin wrote:

I know that's a joke, but there have been cases of firemen and cops being injured by boobie-traps intended for burgulars, hence it indeed being illegal.

Ahh, good angle, hadn't thought of that.

andyman · 22-07-2005 08:29PM

Burglars WHAT?!?

nlgbbbblth · 22-07-2005 09:50PM

Scenario #1: Burglar breaks in to your home. You catch him trying to steal your possessions and beat him up badly, causing him serious injury.

Scenario #2: Burglar breaks in to your home. You catch him trying to steal your possessions but he beats you up badly, causing you serious injury.

Would I be correct in assuming that that #1 will carry a greater punishment in the courts?

is_that_so · 22-07-2005 11:14PM

nlgbbbblth wrote:

Scenario #1: Burglar breaks in to your home. You catch him trying to steal your possessions and beat him up badly, causing him serious injury.

Scenario #2: Burglar breaks in to your home. You catch him trying to steal your possessions but he beats you up badly, causing you serious injury.

Would I be correct in assuming that that #1 will carry a greater punishment in the courts?

Scenario #1 would depend on interpretation of "reasonable force"

Scenario #2 in theory as he has committed two crimes Breaking and Entering and GBH. Under Irish law that seems to qualify for a suspended sentence. :rolleyes:

Burglars Rights?You must be joking

Comments