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BURGLARS
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A
homeowner was arrested after a burglar plunged from the
balcony of his top-floor flat. The intruder suffered head
injuries and is fighting for his life after falling
around 30ft on to a concrete path. Later police arrested
the owner and are investigating whether the intruder was
pushed. The incident happened when Patrick Walsh awoke to
find the man rifling through his flat. They argued and
the confrontation moved towards the rear window of the
flat.
It is believed the intruder then smashed the window and
clambered out on to a narrow ledge and fell to the
ground. Mr Walsh phoned police and officers found the man
on the ground outside the smart Victorian apartment block
in Chorlton-cum-Hardy. He was taken to hospital with
serious head injuries. Officers arrested Mr Walsh on
suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and
are trying to establish whether the intruder was forced
out of the window. (Source: Daily Mail, Aug/07)
Only
eleven householders have been prosecuted for attacking
intruders in the past 15 years, Ken Macdonald, the
Director of Public Prosecutions, said. Mr Macdonald said
the low total, which included only seven domestic
burglaries, proved existing laws give the public adequate
protection to defend their property. Charles Clarke, the
Home Secretary, has come under fire from the Tories for
ruling out a change in legislation to allow people to use
extreme force against intruders. The opposition has
argued that the law is biased against homeowners, a view
overwhelmingly supported in opinion polls.
But Mr Macdonald said an informal trawl of Crown
Prosecution Service files had shown prosecutions for
attacks on burglars were extremely rare. He said,
"The law is on the side of householders. Those who
attack intruders will only be prosecuted if they use very
excessive force." The most well-known of the 11
prosecutions was that of the Norfolk farmer Tony Martin,
who was jailed for murder, later reduced to manslaughter,
after he shot dead a fleeing teenage burglar. They also
included a householder in Manchester who left a burglar
with brain damage after hitting him several times with a
shovel.
The CPS also listed several cases in which no prosecution
was brought over that period. A robber died after being
stabbed by a newsagent in Manchester, but the CPS did not
bring him to court and prosecuted the surviving robber,
who was jailed for six years. Patrick Mercer, the
Conservative MP who has tabled a Bill to allow
householders to use all but "grossly
disproportionate" violence against intruders, said,
"What about those who have stood trembling in
indignation and horror, fearing what the law would do to
them if they were to tackle the person who was violating
their home? I challenge Mr Clarke to publish the names of
these people, the silent majority." (Source: The Independent)
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