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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that if you get stabbed by the owner of the house you're trying to rob...

270 replies

BupcakesandCunting · 23/06/2011 19:12

That it's an occupational hazard of being a burglar?

Obviously I am NOT glad that someone has died here but if you break into a property, you cannot guarantee that you will come out of it very well off. If someone broke into my house, I don't know how I would react but if I felt that my family were under threat and I was panicking, I imagine it would be very easy to go OTT and the other person come off worse.

I know that the law says that you're supposed to use "reasonable force" but heat of the moment/panicking etc etc...

What does everyone else think?

OP posts:
garlicnutter · 25/06/2011 15:10

Umm, sausages, I try not to get involved in bunfights - but Expat's been posting on Mumsnet for ages and is very open about her birth family. I could probably draw her family tree for you! I don't know if she's telling the truth, but I do know she's consistent ...

expatinscotland · 25/06/2011 15:13

I'm really a hairy-handed trucker.

garlicnutter · 25/06/2011 15:14

Ha! Thought so!

gomummygo · 25/06/2011 15:39

I'm not in the UK (or US), and tbh don't even know what the law on this is here, but really couldn't care less what the law says when it comes to protecting my family.

If you break into my house and my family is in it, I will shoot, stab, or bludgeon you with the closest thing I can use, and if somehow there was nothing I could access, I will unleash every martial arts skill I have until you are incapacitated. And if you die from it, I can assure you that I will sleep soundly knowing that it was you, not us. If I was jailed for it, I think that is incredibly wrong, but so be it....I still won't be sorry.

Maelstrom · 25/06/2011 15:48

But you are not a liar Expat... it is just difficult to imagine someone having so many outlandish experiences in a lifetime, but then perhaps I have had a protected life Grin

I'm not name changing to post about you, I really don't care enough about you as to bother in doing that, or even sending you a message as you are expecting me to do, I have had this name for a very long time. But I can say that every now then the years, looking at your stories I think you sometimes try to embellish them to a point you affect your credibility.

expatinscotland · 25/06/2011 15:51

You think whatever you want, M.

Ever read the life story of DBC Pierre? And yet every bit of it is true.

Lots of people disbelieved Riven's life story as well.

But there you go.

I don't give a rat's arse about 'credibility' on a net forum. How odd.

TantePiste · 25/06/2011 15:55

How are the people in the house supposed to know that the people breaking in are just there to burgle, anyway? Even if the house breakers inform you they 'only' intend to burgle you, why should you believe people who have used force to break into your house? And should you serve them tea while you all wait for the police to come and mediate the situation?

Must be my Americaness because I'm not getting the concern for persons unknown who break in on terrified people minding their own business. It isn't like the home invaders called in advance or were responding to a written invitation.

Maelstrom · 25/06/2011 15:59

Well, I don't know who DBC Pierre is, so I can't comment about it, and agree you have every right to have a strange life: my exh's aunt claimed her rather difficult husband was a roman centurion in a previous life. We respected her belief, which is not the same as saying that we accepted it, but at the end of the day, it was none of our business. :)

welshbyrd · 25/06/2011 16:04

I completely agree with your whole post gomummygo

A lot of poster have focused on guns/knifes/heavy objects - just bear it in mind, while a burglar may enter a home unarmed, if disturbed, there are a houseful of objects/weapons to hand in any home, whether it be a knife block in the kitchen, so a child baseball bat under the stairs.

A burglar entering someones house unarmed, does not suggest that have no intention of violence? it clear that they have no intention of disturbing the person asleep/person away for weekend, unfortunately unless they know the victims personally,you can never be sure that a family is not asleep upstairs

begonyabampot · 25/06/2011 17:11

well obviously a burglar wears a burglars uniform, a rapist - his rapist suit and a murderer - his murdering uniform. Simples, it's not that difficult. Or you could just ask them their intentions and act accordingly.

LeQueen · 25/06/2011 18:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Desiderata · 25/06/2011 18:10

There is much more to this story than meets the eye.

Wait on the result of events. The rest is pure speculation.

Desiderata · 25/06/2011 18:11

Burglers do not enter houses they know are occupied. They don't enter houses where there are dogs. They don't enter houses where known obstacles stand in their way.

Wait on the evidence ..

edam · 25/06/2011 18:28

I can think of three sets of people in my town who have been burgled while they were in, all within the last year.

I met Erwin James recently - the murderer who writes for the Guardian amongst other papers (served something like 24 years). He said when he was committing crimes he didn't stop to think about the effect on the victims. That came much later, years into his sentence.

begonyabampot · 25/06/2011 18:43

'Burglers do not enter houses they know are occupied. They don't enter houses where there are dogs. They don't enter houses where known obstacles stand in their way.'

Really, must have just been a dream then when it happened to us.

Desiderata · 25/06/2011 18:48

I hate this propensity on MN to quote word for word. I do believe you'd have to be a saint in order to spout a generality without being generally slaughtered.

So, OK, you've been burgled with all three deterrents in place.

Statistically, that's called unlucky.

Gooseberrybushes · 25/06/2011 18:52

we were burgled when we were in, i think there's a heck of a lot of opportunist criminals

there are planners and there are opportunists

they prob avoid dogs i imagine

begonyabampot · 25/06/2011 18:55

Desiderata - there is a reason why words like 'most', 'many', 'some' and 'generally' are there to be used.

Gooseberrybushes · 25/06/2011 19:27

got to say I completely agree with Desi about the speculation

olderandwider · 25/06/2011 19:32

The report in Independent said there were four men "attempting to break in" when there were two men and a woman inside.

I think the more the odds are against you, the more you have to be prepared to use lethal force. Not judging what happened in this situation, but 2 men (one quite old) and 1 woman v 4 men is not exactly favourable odds, is it?

Desiderata · 25/06/2011 19:39

Ah! Everyone disagrees with Desi!

onagar · 25/06/2011 19:55

Burglars are not rapists. Rapists are rapists. Reasonable force against a rapist allows quite a lot of force, but not murder

garlicnutter I see someone has already made this point, but I want to ask you properly what you meant by this sentence and how you think it's possible to tell them apart.

Gooseberrybushes · 25/06/2011 19:57

Well I think you're right about the speculation for sure. Just not the other thing. I think it's the difference between planned crime and opportunist crime often.

CheerfulYank · 25/06/2011 20:13

Well, it all comes down to "ifs". If a burglar decided to choose my house despite the large, barking dog and if we couldn't get safely away and if the burglar was armed and I thought there was a threat and if I could get my hands on something, then yes, I would use it.

This scenario is highly unlikely, but it's not impossible.

LeQueen · 25/06/2011 20:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.