Re G

Important family law case from the Court of Appeal in Re G wherein the Court, apparently faced with the lesser of two evils, adopted the wise course of a more moderate (yet still religious) education for children in the Jewish Orthodox faith. An excellent commentary appears in the UK Human Rights Blog here.

I think that maybe the children should have been taken into care - religious indoctrination of children amounts to child abuse no matter what the faith. Controversial? Oh yes.

So Beat Up That Burglar, It's OK.

So the Government is looking to ‘clarify’ the law on what constitutes ‘reasonable force’ in defending one’s home from burglars. Why? Most people understand the concept. If you assault a burglar in protection of your property – even if you use a weapon such as a baseball bat – you’re acting reasonably. If you detain him, tie him up and subject him to a repeated beating with said bat then you’re not acting reasonably.

The problem here is the public perception that the Government, by even mentioning this issue again is tacitly acknowledging that it’s actually OK to ‘overstep the mark’ and they won’t be prosecuted if they do.

But how does one ‘clarify’ this concept? No legislation can take account of every scenario. It’s impossible. Apparently the Prime Minister envisages the law will be that home owners can do whatever they like provided it’s not “grossly disproportionate” to the threat. In other words, the line is being pushed further back, allowing occupiers to use force that may well be disproportionate. If this is right, my fear is that we’ll end up like the U.S. where ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws have led to perpetrators being shot and killed, sometimes before entering the property, and the authorities actually praise the perpetrator for it afterwards. We seem to be going that way with the judge in a recent case here telling two burglars who had been shot that they should have expected it. He may well be right, but open the floodgates just a touch and the line between what is reasonable and what is not could actually become less clear.

The current law works well and any change, if necessary at all, could be handled by issuing guidelines to the CPS that shifts the balance on whether to prosecute homeowners or not. Of course, we all know why the Government is announcing this now – votes. There seems to be a public appetite for a Government-approved green light to beat ten bells out of anyone entering their home. What they seem to forget is that those perpetrating these offences are likely to be more prepared in future – possibly by taking along weapons of their own. A can of worms may well and truly be about to be opened.