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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think it's not illegal to keep a baseball bat under our bed for the purpose of self-defence?

74 replies

startingmylifeagain · 26/02/2016 15:51

Had a spate of burglaries in our area lately.
Two nights ago our next door neighbour was burgled. She's elderly and traumatized. They took everything.
We're all a bit worried as you can imagine and taking extra precautions.

So last night I asked DH where our baseball bat was (he used to play and kept it in the wardrobe) and he reminded me that we'd put it in the attic a while back.
This is how our conversation went:

Me: "Oh so let's get it down and keep it under the bed."
DH: "Why?"
Me: "In case we're burgled and need to defend ourselves against thugs!"
DH: "You can't do that."
Me: "Why?"
DH: "It's illegal to keep something like that for the purpose of self -defence."
Me: "Wait, what?"

So who's right, any advice?

OP posts:

suitsyousir79 · 26/02/2016 17:55

Former police officer here - i purchased a police style telescopic baton while i was still in the job and it was legal to buy. This now lives in my bedside cabinet specifically for the purchase of self defense in the caee of a burglary or similar. It wil never leave the house unless i am moving and it is packed away.

The use if force should be legal, proportionate, appropriate and necessary. Its a very fine line and can only be properly tested in court. Its easy to say what you or i may or may not do in those situations until we are placed in them. The main issues arise when people use excessive force in the circumstances.

Wolfcub · 26/02/2016 18:07

I keep a hammer in the bed with me when Dh is away, my mum sleeps with an old police.truncheon under her bed

wallywobbles · 26/02/2016 18:13

My dad had shotguns. He always said to remember to put the second one into the ceiling so you can say you fired a warning shot. (His idea of a joke, I think).

Kbear · 26/02/2016 18:14

We have a hammer in the drawer next to DH's bed for the purposes of smashing a window in case of fire/hitting a burglar with....

We also have a locked kitchen door downstairs so if someone breaks in the back they can't get upstairs... DH works nights and this reassures him we are safe upstairs if he's not there and I can't find the hammer!

Joking aside, consider a couple of bolts across a downstairs door if it's possible - ours is impenetrable. It might stop you worrying about burglars. :)

likeaboss · 26/02/2016 20:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Guiltypleasures001 · 26/02/2016 20:17

When I was a single mum with a rather flimsy back and front door, I had a bat and a large carving knife under my bed. Plus something rattlely sp? Up against the doors just in case

wasonthelist · 26/02/2016 20:22

I'd worry that any intruder would be stronger and/or more reckless/desperate than me and would wrest the bat out of my hand and use it on me.

PaulAnkaTheDog · 26/02/2016 20:25

Surely there is a difference in the eyes of the law between being burgaled and being attacked?

Arcadia · 26/02/2016 20:31

www.theguardian.com/law/2012/nov/25/disproportionate-force-burglars-crime-bill
They are actually talking about getting rid of the need for it to be proportionate!

BoulevardOfBrokenSleep · 26/02/2016 20:34

You might want to check you actually have room to swing your baseball bat in your house...
I have sticks for martial arts stuff, but in most of the house (low ceilings/tight corners) you couldn't actually get enough of a swing to do any damage.

SquidgeyMidgey · 26/02/2016 20:45

in the middle of the night , with a stranger sneaking around my house I don't give a sit about the law

Agreed. All i can say is they'd better pray the dog eats them before my DH gets them.

OvariesBeforeBrovaries · 26/02/2016 20:49

We have our baseball bats near the bedroom door.

We do actually play baseball pretty regularly - it's just convenient that the best place for them is by the bedroom door!

iwouldgoouttonight · 26/02/2016 21:08

We have a baseball bat under our bed, we put it there after we were burgled in the night while us and the DCs were asleep in bed. DS (6 at the time) woke up and heard the burglars and shouted out for us, and we think that disturbed them so they left (with our laptop, camera, etc). I'd have no hesitation in using a baseball bat to protect my family.

Orda1 · 26/02/2016 22:30

Tony Martin. All I'm saying.

SquidgeyMidgey · 26/02/2016 22:33

That was complicated, but if the lad hadn't been there...

PushAPushPop · 26/02/2016 22:38

I have many strategically placed sports items/ weapons in my home and, after being burgled once while i slept I am not ashamed to admit it.

A golf club here, a cricket bat there, a knife in a vase, a "decorative" dagger under my bed....

I don't give a stiff wank about the law, I live alone with my two kids and if any fucker broke in they would soon regret it.

Fedup21 · 26/02/2016 22:39

A policeman once advised us (after investigating our next door neighbour's door being kicked in at 2am) that we'd be daft to have a baseball bat next to the bed, but a full size Maglite (v heavy torch) that we might use to go investigating any strange noises in the night, would be a far better idea...

betsyderek · 27/02/2016 07:09

Another one here in awe of a criminal barrister just dropping in and giving advice.

cozietoesie · 27/02/2016 08:39

A proper fire extinguisher - one of those that projects a spray for a good few feet - is pretty well a necessary item for a house I would have thought. In the event of a modest fire of course.

Southglosmum · 27/02/2016 08:58

Its a really good idea. I'd like to keep something like a legal pepper spray in my chest of draws.

limitedperiodonly · 27/02/2016 10:10

There is always at least one discarded bra on the bedroom floor. It really hurts when you stand on the metal strap adjusters on the way to the loo in the middle of the night. Or so DH complains. I always sidestep them.

This defence mechanism relies on the burglar being barefoot though.

YouSayWhaaat · 27/02/2016 10:17

Proving where a Baseball was actual located BEFORE you smashed a bastard burglars noggin in, would be to say the least very difficult.

ladyofthelake84 · 27/02/2016 10:35

Another one here in awe of a criminal barrister just dropping in and giving advice.

Thanks Betsy, it is really no problem at all. I see it as my way of paying MN back for all the help it has give me over the years.

Tony Martin
I was just waiting for his name to turn up. Tony Martin shot the burglar in the back as he was fleeing through a window. As has been said upthread, you cannot use self defence as a shield for vigilante justice, however much you may want to.

As long as you are acting in reasonable self defence, the law will protect you. Although it is worth pointing out that statistically it far more likely that these defence weapons would be used by members of the family against each other (accidentally or otherwise) than on an intruder.

Sallyingforth · 27/02/2016 10:38

I'm sorry to hear that you have had a spate of burglaries in your area. Have you thought about measures to make the place less attractive to burglars?
There are lots of things you can do to improve security and make thieves go somewhere else. Plenty of advice on line or from local police or Neighbourhood Watch. Some police forces and councils have been giving away security devices and property marking kits.

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