Turning tables on burglars a welcome change in law

Recent aggravated burglary incidents in rural areas have highlighted once again the vulnerability of particularly elderly people living in isolated districts of the countryside who may fall victim to roving gangs of marauding criminals bent on causing terror and mayhem in their bid to steal money from their victims. Although they are still relatively rare, a recent upsurge in violent intrusions into homes has reignited the debate surrounding how much force homeowners can use to repel burglars or attackers in their own homes. The Law Reform Commission's recommendation this week - and the Government's acceptance of those recommendations - has brought some much-needed clarity to this complex but important area of law. Put simply, under existing legislation, homeowners are supposed to retreat in the face of a violation of the home. In reality, though, any burglar in a home can expect to be met with some type of retaliatory force by a householder seeking to protect their own life and those of family and property. Homeowners acting in self-defence have not, in the main, found themselves facing criminal charges if they take on and injure an intruder - unless they use completely disproportionate force to attack a burglar. The best-known case in recent years was that of Mayo farmer Padraig Nally whose conviction for manslaughter was quashed after a retrial in 2006 after he shot dead a trespasser on his property two years earlier. However, just how much force one can use to protect oneself has been something of a grey area and, potentially, as the law stands at present, a homeowner could find himself before a criminal court if he kills or seriously injures an intruder. The Law Reform Commission has at last brought some definition to this debate with its new recommendation which will be welcomed by the vast majority of law-abiding citizens of Ireland. Detailed guidance on what type of force can be used has now been provided which tilts the scales of justice more in favour of the householder. The new recommendation is that a law of legitimate defence is to be enacted which could be a complete defence to someone killing an intruder in certain circumstances in order to protect themselves or their family. An individual will no longer be required to retreat to safety in order to defend their home. However, the legislative proposal clearly states that the use of force only be allowed as a defence when it is necessary and proportionate to the threat which exists. Any such change will be welcomed in rural communities - as it will everywhere - where it must go some way towards countering a growing sense of helplessness among property-owners in the face of attacks by criminal elements. If enacted into law as expected early in 2010, it will at least provide certainty on the rights of householders to defend their property. Removing the ambiguity surrounding the rights of dwellers in their own homes to protect themselves and their loved ones will certainly make some criminals think before they decide to burgle homes in the future. It is crucially important that this change in legislation sends out a message to those who prey on people in their own homes that they cannot simply expect to walk roughshod over the rights of law-abiding citizens by breaking into their homes without consequence any longer. Of course, a proper, vigilant Garda presence and the fear of being caught and prosecuted must remain the most effective way of combatting crime, but Ireland's adoption of a diluted form of the US 'castle doctrine' which designates one's place of residence as a place in which one can enjoy protection from illegal trespassing and violent attack and gives a person the legal right to use deadly force to defend that place, will give burglars and thieves pause for thought before they set out to terrorise innocent people in their homes in the future.