On the face of it, this is good news, of a householder standing up for his rights, and using reasonable force:
Rock star Ozzy Osbourne has been praised by police for “very courageously” tackling a burglar who stole jewellery from his house.
The singer grabbed an intruder who then jumped 30ft (10m) from a first floor window as the star gave chase at his Buckinghamshire home on Monday.
But of course, this event leaves the definition of ‘reasonable’ in the same old totally unreasonable state that it has long been in. If you are Ozzy Osbourne, and you take it into your head to interrupt a criminal in the course of his criminality using only your bare hands, and not actually hurting the criminal, and you merely chase him away, with his swag, then fine, the Police will shower you in praise.
But if Ozzy had actually smacked the criminal with a chair leg or something, and had done it hard enough to ensure that the criminal would not be in any state to fight back, as would have been entirely reasonable and as would have been very much in the interests of everyone other than criminals, his legal position would now be far more awkward. Never mind that if Ozzy had done this, the criminal might have been caught, and might even – who knows? – have ended up being punished in some way. And Sharon Osbourne would have got to keep all her jewels. But no. Ozzy only managed to chase the criminal away, and the criminal gets to go on being a criminal. Well done Ozzy!
Well, Ozzy did do quite well. At least he had a go, as the saying goes. But he could have done far better, and if he had, the Police would have squealed like outraged, upstaged pigs.
Apparently not the actual police on the job. I had a visit from the local plod last week after a neighbour had been burgled to ask if we had witnessed anything. I said we hadn’t and jokingly added that if they tried it at my place they wouldn’t enjoy the experience. The wpc smiled and said “good for you” and then added, “I didn’t say that”.
Very accommodating of the Old Bill to lay on a grand press conference with all the trimmings. I hope they’ll be as generous to all victims of burglary in future too. Of course its a shame Ozzy never managed to deal full justice to the invader and fillet him. Its a shame also as the saga of Ozzy being led away in cuffs and being put into the dock for defending his family would have been an even greater catalyst than the Tony Martin Affair for Britons to demand civilised laws.
Ozzy should have bit his head off.
Not to hijack the thread too much, but the thing that jumped into my head when I read this was the factoid of the number of burglaries that happen in Britain where the occupant is home has been rising and rising. If anything, that the guy got away is an prime advertisement to the criminal class that the tactic works and is wonderfully feasible. Of course the media don’t see that angle clearly if at all.
The article I read indicated he wasn’t happy with how widespread such crime was since he moved back to Blighty. Perhaps he could be persuaded to be the new poster boy for the Telegraphs homeowner protection law?
Worth a try.
Didn’t you guys just pass something that said if one steals up to 400 pounds one gets a ticket for 80 pounds?
And I’m surprised Ozzy’s in any shape to do anything.
Guys, Ozzy is the prince of darkness. The burglar will be punished.
There were a few other good moments. Sharon made the anti-PC comment that many (here) might think they can afford to lose the jewels, wedding ring and all. She added emotionally that the reason they had so much is that *they* worked very hard for it. She held in very low regard those who merely took from others.
Ozzie commented that they had just been back from LA in America where there are all the guns… and this happens in the UK. I got the implication he might have been thinking a gun would have been a nice fashion accessory… or considering how a burgler’s looks could be improved by some modern artistic styled holes in the torso…
Ozzy should have bit his head off.
Posted by Mike at November 24, 2004 03:32 AM
Yeah, that’s just what I thought.
Bite ’em! Rip his head off!
Chew at least 30 times before swallowing!
She added emotionally that the reason they had so much is that *they* worked very hard for it.
It doesn’t matter a jot how hard they worked. What is important is that they came by their posessions honestly and without imposing on anyone else. People need not ‘justify’ what they have by reference to ‘hard’ work, this is just misleading, moralistic cant.
You folk’s in the old country need to get on board with the Telegraph and get “reasonable force” thrown out and “any force” back for the defense of self at least. I don’t live in a state with a “Make my Day” law, but anyone in my house – who isn’t actually running away – is usually considered a threat to me and mine.
Get the government to recognise the right of self-defense (or defence as you insist on spelling it). Get the government to recognise that effective means are required – and that this means firearms. Then get the “Make My Day” law enacted.
Get the government to recognise the right of self-defense. Get the government to recognise that effective means are required – and that this means firearms. Then get the “Make My Day” law enacted.
Great, thanks for the tip. Now we know what to do we’ll crack on with it.
make my decade
She added emotionally that the reason they had so much is that *they* worked very hard for it.
It doesn’t matter a jot how hard they worked. What is important is that they came by their posessions honestly and without imposing on anyone else. People need not ‘justify’ what they have by reference to ‘hard’ work, this is just misleading, moralistic cant.
Dale, Paul,
I heard the quote on Radio 4 yesterday, and the first thing that came to mind was that Sharon has obviously been away from Blighty for such a while to be proud of having worked for and bought luxury items. I think she was right when she said people will say “they’re rich anyway, so what?” Usually her sort of attitude would be dismissed as rude and garish over here as one is only supposed to be proud of one’s inherited wealth.
And I do wish Ozzie could have taken the guy out, too.
Regards,
James
Maybe all Brits should become criminals and just steal from each other. After all, there is no Bill of Rights in England and thus the police can do what they want. Is it getting to be just one big jail there?
Paul
Alas, no.
Paul,
There needs to be fairness in this,so A National Stealing Day once a week should be instituted whereby we can steal by post code so that nobody gets left out.We would get to the point where we were just shunting the same things about and finally stop doing it.
I don’t know who Paul is, but I suspect he might be in the USA. He ought to be made aware that his own country’s Bill of Rights was modelled very closely upon that of what was, at the time, considered the “Home” country: the Bill of Rights of 1689, which amongst other things protects citizen’s rights to bear arms, and not to have their property confiscated… It is still in force, and should be considered of fundamental importance, but perhaps it’s a sign of the times that it is not. During the passage of the 1997 Firearms Act that took away our handguns, for instance, I believe it was not referred to in Parliament at all. Give up? Fight back? Emigrate? Who the f**k knows.
Re: English Bill of Rights 1689
which amongst other things protects citizen’s rights to bear arms
Only for Protestants!
This constitutional document is well worth a read. Some are now thinking that Fixed Penalty Notices for speeding/parking/etc are void under the section:
For this to succeed one also needs to reference the comments by the judge in the Metric Martyrs case that constitutional bills overrule ordinary bills unless explicitly stated otherwise. See Neil Herron’s website & blog for more info. Any lawyers in the house?
If you want to be horrified and appalled (tautology, yes I realise), read the lead article in this week’s Speccie. Here was a completely innocent person on his way to a perfectly legitimate business meeting … (Link)
Read it and weep.
Interesting. According to another member of the Samengo-Turner family that I spoke to, poor Nicky was in a very bad state indeed after his ordeal at the hands of Blunkett’s Bouncers.
Many of us have indeed suffered at the hands of the very people tasked with the protection of the public. Police in London are now invariably rude, often to the point of being extremely abusive in both verbal and physical manners. I also recently had cause to note that my local police station in Belgravia closes to the public at 11pm and thereafter you must dial 999, even if you are standing outside the police station.
Others may think about how promising the Free State Project may look. I don’t think I will go that far, but certainly either the Isle of Man, or maybe even Bermuda, is beginning to have an increasingly allure for me.