The farmer was sick of people knocking off his petrol. The petrol was in a tank on his land. He had tried expensive locks and elaborate wiring to no avail. He asked the police for help. They said they needed some better identification of the thief or his car. In frustration, the farmer, George Shaw, decided to stake out the petrol tank, armed with a .22 rifle and a shotgun.
On the night of December 10, a man named Cox in a stolen car entered the farm, turned off this headlights and went for the petrol. Cox had his 16-year-old girlfriend with him. She had no idea the car was stolen or that Cox was on the farm to steal petrol.q/l
They got to the tank and got out of the car.
The farmer shot at the car. The girl hid behind the front seat. Cox tried to escape. The farmer shot at the car, first with the rifle, then the shotgun. He blew out a window, but Cox escaped.
The innocent girl, however, had been hit. Later she sued the farmer and was awarded $17,000 (about $50,000 in today’s money). The High Court upheld the claim.
I relate this story after reading last week about a Neighbourhood Watch leader, John Jobson, calling on residents to fight back against intruders because the fight against crime in the ACT is failing.
“”Your area coordinator relates to a large group of retired servicemen who are of one resolve: that if we encounter a perpetrator of crime of any sort, we will not hesitate to use the utmost force to have them apprehended,” he wrote in the latest Watch bulletin.q/l
He said the baddies seem to be winning. In the bulletin he asked several questions about how much force can one use against an intruder and whether there is a citizen’s arrest.
“”These are things I want addressed, but nobody is keen to talk about them,” he said.
Well, let’s start talking. There are practical and legal issues. The former are much more important.
First, it is fairly rare for someone to actually catch an intruder in the home. All the sensible advice suggests that an intruder is not dangerous, but will become dangerous if cornered or threatened with violence. Threatening “”utmost force” is exactly the wrong thing to do. Rather, if you are suddenly confronted with an intruder, you should tell him you intend to let him go and move away. Certainly do not block his means of escape. Then call the police.
Property can be replaced; life and limb cannot.
House intruders are there for property, not to hurt anyone _ unless they are cornered.
The practical difficulty with a force mentality is that too often the innocent get hurt. In the US where nearly every house has a gun, more innocent people get shot than guilty intruders.
Much the same can be said about setting traps against intruders.
On the legal side, you would think there were dozens of cases that detailed exactly how much force is permissible. Not so. You are allowed to use reasonable force to eject a trespasser. You are entitled to arrest someone who has committed a crime (breaking and entering). You are entitled to use reasonable force to prevent resistance to arrest.
None of this is especially helpful. An esoteric discussion on the law is of little use to someone confront with an intruder. Suffice it to say that the test is not “”utmost force”.
However, as a rule of thumb, police do not charge people with assault, manslaughter or murder when an intruder with proven guilty intent is set upon by householder. The real danger for the householder is if the intruder turns out to be innocent _ a tradesman coming back to pick up some tools, a neighbour chasing a pet guinea pig, a friend of a teenage daughter sneaking in and so on.
If you injure someone like this you probably will still not be charged with a criminal offence, but you will almost certainly be sued for damages and the insurance policy will not cover you.q/l
Aside from a police unwillingness to prosecute, the rarity of cases shows that it is unusual for people to catch intruders red-handed because intruders prefer empty houses. It also shows that householders are usually not stupid enough to use force if they do.
The police reaction to Mr Jobson’s well-intentioned but misguided advice was fairly muted, probably because they do not want to be seen undermining Neighbourhood Watch. But they pointed out, they preferred people called the police.
Mr Jobson was absolutely right about one thing, though. He said most of the intruders were stealing “”to feed the drug habit”. Now that’s the issue to talk about.
Attempting to arrest intruders with utmost force in the very few cases that intruders are caught red-handed will do precious little to reduce the incidence of house-breaking. Doing something about the black market in drugs will.
And if you are really scared about having your property stolen get better locks.