http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7015502.stm
Things must be getting desperate in the UK if suddenly they are encouraging “vigilante” justice. Unarmed of course, LOL, because we wouldn’t want criminals to come to any harm.
Supposedly they are a “safe” country, yet I cannot imagine the US government doing a similar push.
Things must be getting desperate in the UK if suddenly they are encouraging “vigilante” justice. Unarmed of course, LOL, because we wouldn’t want criminals to come to any harm.
"Enforcing the law, securing justice, is not just a matter for 'them' the courts, the prisons, the probation service, police - but for all of us. "
Supposedly they are a “safe” country, yet I cannot imagine the US government doing a similar push.
The law protecting people who intervene in criminal situations is to be urgently reviewed, Justice Secretary Jack Straw will announce.
He will say self-defence law works "much better than most people think, but not as well as it could or should".
Mr Straw wants to reassure victims or witnesses in England and Wales that they can use reasonable force to stop and detain offenders.
Both he and the home secretary are due to address the Labour Party conference.
Later, the Bournemouth gathering will draw to a close with the traditional send-off delivered by deputy leader Harriet Harman.
'Good citizens'
In his speech on the final day of the conference, Mr Straw will say: "I know from personal experience that you have all of a millisecond to make the judgment about whether to intervene. "In such a situation, the law on self-defence works much better than most people think, but not as well as it could or should.
"The justice system must not only work on the side of people who do the right thing as good citizens but also be seen to work on their side."
Mr Straw has intervened four times to stop criminals, including three times when he managed to detain the offender.
In 1980 he overheard a burglar breaking into a members club in his Blackburn constituency, chased them down the street and detained them until police arrived.
In the mid 1980s at Oval Tube station in south London he came across an 11-year-old boy who had just been robbed by a man and detained the offender.
At the same tube station in the early 1990s he chased a man who had attacked a woman, but did not catch him.
Then in 1996 he chased a man who had robbed a member of the public and detained the suspect until police arrived.
'No recklessness'
Mr Straw wants people to be aware the Criminal Law Act 1967 allows them to use reasonable force to apprehend suspects, but was not advocating recklessness, his spokesman said.
The justice secretary will state: "Enforcing the law, securing justice, is not just a matter for 'them' the courts, the prisons, the probation service, police - but for all of us.
"How each of us react if we encounter a burglar or street robber has to be a matter of individual discretion - there is a critical line between responsibility and recklessness."
The Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service, judges and other government ministers are expected to be consulted during the review.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's speech will cover, among other issues, Labour's commitment to give local people more information about the performance of local police, and tougher checks on people travelling to the UK.
