{"id":19772,"date":"2018-04-24T13:27:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T12:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=19772"},"modified":"2020-07-08T14:55:47","modified_gmt":"2020-07-08T13:55:47","slug":"law-allows-confronted-intruder-home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=19772","title":{"rendered":"What the law allows you to do when confronted with an intruder in your home?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The terrifying prospect of finding an intruder in your home is fortunately something few of us have to deal with. But with the news this month that 78 year old Richard Osborn-Brooks was arrested over the death of an alleged intruder, we revisit our 2010 article<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0on what the law says you can do to defend yourself and your property.<\/p>\n

The government says you can use \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcreasonable force\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to protect yourself and others, if a crime is taking place inside your home.<\/p>\n

This means you can lawfully protect yourself \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcin the heat of the moment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (this includes using an object as a weapon) or prevent an intruder from running off (which includes tackling them to the ground). You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to wait to be attacked to defend yourself if you fear for your own safety or others.<\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no specific definition of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcreasonable force\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 – it depends on the circumstances. If you only did what you honestly thought was necessary at the time, this would provide strong evidence that you acted within the law.<\/p>\n

You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to wait to be attacked before defending yourself or others in your own home. However, you could be prosecuted if, for example, you carry on attacking the intruder even if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re no longer in danger or pre-plan a trap for someone, rather than involving the police.<\/p>\n

So \u00e2\u20ac\u201c what do you do if you discover an intruder in your home?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firstly \u00e2\u20ac\u201c call the police if you can.<\/p>\n

What is ‘reasonable force’?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you need to use \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcreasonable force\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, you must judge the extremity of the circumstances. Generally, the more extreme the circumstances, the more extreme the defence that is lawfully acceptable.<\/p>\n

If the intruder dies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the intruder dies, you will still be considered as acting lawfully if you have acted in \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcreasonable\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 self-defence and can use a weapon you have to hand. You will not have acted reasonably if you continue to use a weapon or kick an intruder once he is unconscious. If you are found to have acted with excessive or gratuitous force you will be prosecuted.<\/p>\n

If the intruder runs away?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If the intruder runs away, you are not defending yourself or preventing a crime, but it is acceptable to attempt to stop them using reasonable force in order to make a citizen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arrest. Consider your own safety before attempting to catch a crook and make sure you act reasonably, and without malice or revenge.<\/p>\n

The use of ‘disproportionate force’ might be given the benefit of the doubt if it is made under extreme circumstances but only if in self-defence or in the defence of others.<\/p>\n

You will have no automatic right to innocence should you inflict death or injury on an intruder \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but the police have a duty to consider all facts before making a judgement.<\/p>\n

The fact is that few householders have ever been prosecuted for actions resulting from the use of force against intruders, but there are exceptions.<\/p>\n

Tony Martin was jailed in 1999 for shooting dead a 16 year old intruder as he fled, and Munir Hussain was jailed in 2008 for chasing and attacking an intruder with a cricket bat.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Denby Collins was restrained by the homeowner he had burgled and handcuffed by police when they arrived. He soon became unresponsive and, despite medical attention, went into a coma.<\/p>\n

Mr Collins’ family argued the law contravened Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights which protects a person’s right to life, but two High Court judges rejected their claim. The judges said that the law did not “give householders carte blanche in the degree of force they use against intruders in self-defence” and it was ultimately for a jury to determine whether a “householder’s action was reasonable in the circumstances as he believed them to be”.<\/p>\n

In that case, the High Court agreed with the government that a disproportionate level of force can be used where a householder believes it to be necessary.<\/p>\n

Detailed guidelines on self-defence and crime prevention has been published by the Crown Prosecution Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>SH\/LCB<\/p>\n

Back to April 2018 Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a9\u00c2\u00a0www.PropertySurveying.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The terrifying prospect of finding an intruder in your home is fortunately something few of us have to deal with. But with the news this month that 78 year old Richard Osborn-Brooks was arrested over the death of an alleged intruder, we revisit our 2010 article\u00c2\u00a0on what the law says you can do to defend … Continue reading “What the law allows you to do when confronted with an intruder in your home?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":23833,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"folder":[555],"class_list":["post-19772","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat the law allows you to do when confronted with an intruder in your home? - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=19772\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What the law allows you to do when confronted with an intruder in your home? - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The terrifying prospect of finding an intruder in your home is fortunately something few of us have to deal with. 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