Can you attack your burglar?

It might seem a daft question…can you attack your burglar, particularly if they are attacking or threatening to attack you…but up until recently the answer would have been no, or at least not without fear of prosecution irrespective of the threat you may have been under.

Earlier this year the Justice Secretary pledged that an Act of Parliament would be used to clarify the legal situation around the use of reasonable force against intruders. This is on the back of recent high profile cases such as Minr Hussain who chased and beat a man who had held his family at knife point in his home. I’ll be watching developments on this closely over the forth coming months and posting my thoughts in my blog.

All of this prompts me to give my own home security a bit of a review. I spend so much of my time and energy focusing on my first passion of personal safety and conflict management that I forget that protecting my home is another aspect of that. So here’s my top tips for reviewing your home safety:

1. Install or get your alarm serviced/upgraded. Depending on the level of security (or your budget) you want or need you can get get everything from basic alarms fitted to cctv systems installed.Home security systems actively monitor the doors and windows of a house. Once the system is engaged, any tampering with external exits will trigger the alarm. These devices can be configured to multiple external systems including lights and sirens.
2. Install security doors and deadbolt locks. These are relatively are simple to install and provide good home protection. Most criminals look for homes without locks as these homes are typically easier to enter. A house that includes a strong steal door with deadbolts deters most criminals. These homes require additional time to invade, which adds unnecessary risk for the thief.
3. Get a dog. Not to everyone’s liking but they can act as effective deterrents.
4. You could consider a home evacuation plan. This plan can be executed by family members during a home invasion. Home invasion is a scary ordeal but proper escape planning can help. This protection tactic is best used in hostage situations. These techniques are typically used by families of people such as diplomats, senior executives, and celebrities. That all said, even the most humble of us could do with familiarising ourselves with potential escape routes in the event of a fire, for example.