Your home is your castle - well not in the UK
@thedailyclick (3017)
January 13, 2010 12:06pm CST
As reported in the UK press this week TV presenter & model Myleene Klass was reprimanded by police for defending her home. What happened was that in the early hours she spotted two youths acting suspiciously in her back garden. Having attempted to break into her shed they approached the house where Miss Klass, who was home with just her young daughter, picked up a knife and started waving it in the air and shouting from inside her kitchen, causing the two youths to flee. When she reported the attempted break in to police she was told that the law did not allow her to defend herself in her own home.
Excuse me but I think Miss Klass did the right thing and we should all have the right to protect ourselves in our own home. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with violence or the use of weapons, but what Miss Klass did was to do what anyone would do when they know that they could be in danger and I am sure many of us would have done exactly the same, with no intention of physically attacking those trying to break in rather than deter them.
It's a sad state of affairs when your home is no longer your castle.
3 people like this
9 responses
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
14 Jan 10
Mum got burgled twice in 6 months (they waited for the insurance pay-out and struck again) and both times they took the stuff DURING THE NIGHT! I was still living there at the time in the early 2000s and it made me feel sick when I realised that the place had been violated in this way. For months afterwards my Dad (Pensioner) slept with a knife under his pillow but would never use it because - like you say - we aren't allowed to defend ourselves in this country within our own homes. I mean, the government want us to stay at home all the time, not spending any money, letting the pubs close everywhere so why can't we defend ourselves? It's not fair!
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
14 Jan 10
Hi Janey I know exactly that sick feeling because I went through a similar thing when I lived up North. The second time my flat was done over I spent the night in bed with a knife next to me unable to sleep and feeling sick to the bone. Needless to say the next day I quit my job, packed everything I owned into a van and drove back south to my parents because I couldn't be going through that. I was lucky that I could do that.
It really has got stupid here in the UK with all these laws not to mention absurd helf and safety rules and PC regulations. As I mentioned in my response to Sandra it makes me want to quit this country and move abroad.
Many thanks for the response.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
14 Jan 10
You've very welcome. Luckily (if you can call it that) there have been no more incidents at Mum's for over 10 years now and she and Dad love the house so much that they would never move...not now although they are more wary. Some of the yobs that hang around outside their house don't even live down there. My Dad has had snowballs thrown at the front window, snowballs thrown at the back of his neck (he's 72) and a guy who used to live next door is a bit of a hard man, but even he...who lives down the street adjacent now where these yobs usually reside, is thinking of moving out, he's so fed up with them.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
22 Feb 10
Thank you so much for your BR, it's much appreciated.
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
13 Jan 10
I'd have done the same, and it's disgracelful that Myleene is as much of a criminal in the eyes of the police as the would-be burglars.
Today there was something on the news about a family in London who returned from a Christmas break to find Romanian squatters in the home they were having renovated. The Romanians said they had a tenancy agreement - which was probably forged - and the police said they could do nothing. After the house owner spent over £2000 in legal fees, he finally got the squatters evicted.
It's a disgrace, and it's just one of the reasons we left the UK for Spain. We just didn't feel the law protected us. Here, if you call the police out for anything at all, they arrive within minutes and sort the problem out. But then, the Spanish police believe their job is to protect law abiding citizens, not criminals.
1 person likes this
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
13 Jan 10
Yes, that's just the sort of thing that happens in England. The punishment system is more stringent here as well, so there is an element of deterrent.
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
14 Jan 10
I can vouch for what appears to be the slow response rate from police in the UK having had occassions where a reported crime doesn't get attended to till long after it has happened.
Likewise it's one of the many reasons why at somepoint in my future I plan to move abroad somewhere, although Spain is not on my list as I hate sunny weather.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
14 Jan 10
I think it is sad that in the UK a property owner can't defend his or her home. I remember a discussion I had at college with other students. We talked about a someone breaking into a house. They fell through a sky light and got injured. They were planning to take some of the owners things. The property owner was responsible for what happened.
I feel very sorry for Myleene Klass. She was in danger and she was trying to get the youths to leave. She didn't use her knife but she was just saying go away to the two males. I don't agree with violence but being in danger in your own home is very uncomfortable. The police were wrong to reprimand TV presenter and model Myleene Klass.
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
14 Jan 10
That is a prime example of how daft this country has got when a homeowner can be held responsible when a burglar hurts themself in the process of commiting a crime.
I am sure with Myleene's case now having been brought to the public attention we will get would be burglars now sueing for emotional distress if someone dares to confront them.
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
13 Jan 10
Actually I would have done the same, with the intention of deadly force if I had to. Many states here in the U.S. allow for the use of deadly force in defense not only of one's property, but of neighbor's as well. They are often called "castle laws" in fact. there are some states that aren't as nice about it but still allow thge basic right of defending one's life and property.
Is this woman going to prosecuted for this? I sincerely hope not.
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
14 Jan 10
As far as I know all she got was a verbal warning and no prosecution is planned. But it's interesting to read your response and so many others which mention the rights in the US. I think many of us would use whatever force necessary when it comes to protecting both our homes and ourselves.
Many thanks for your response.
@sweetie1026 (1718)
• Philippines
14 Jan 10
I can't believe that there is such a law in your country. For me what Ms. Klass did was just natural for any one who is in danger. Any person who gets violated in any way be it by his property and is in eminent danger would surely protect himself. Even animals have this insticnt in them, to protect their territory which is their property and their family. Where did this law of not allowed to defend yourself inside your home came? I just can't understand it.
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
14 Jan 10
Hi Sweetie and many thanks for your response.
It is human nature to protect what is yours let alone your familly. What makes this even more crazy is that all she did was wave a knife and scream from inside her own home whilst the threat was in the garden. It's not like she actually went outside with a knife and chased after them.
@MrKennedy (1978)
•
14 Jan 10
It is absolutely ridiculous, and adds to my opinion that the UK is fast turing into a nanny state where we must panda to the people who want to cause us harm and let them do whatever they want because if we interfere, then we are only making matters worse (or at least, this is what you are made to think).
I have the right to defend myself and my property using whatever means necessary, not let it be wrecked by yobs who "could tragically be harmed" by me trying to stop them
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
14 Jan 10
What do you mean "is fast turing into a nanny state" I think we are already at that point with so many rules, regulations, policies and whatever making life completely miserable for us. As I have said in other responses it's another reason why at some point I may end up abandoning this one great country to live abroad.
Many thanks for your response.
