No wonder the police are losing mana in the eyes of the public. Well, this member of the public. Instead of investigating if charges will be laid for a farmer defending his property and peacefully arresting the two crims, they could have said "We are investigating the possibility of awarding a medal."
The first message, the message the police are sending, sends a signal - don't even consider defending yourself, or your property, or trying to stop a crime. The second message, the one we rarely hear, is a message to our fine citizens that society will back the actions of the brave and of the good. That's not the message we are hearing. It's time we changed the message.
Related Link: Police to investigate the right to protect life and property
The first message, the message the police are sending, sends a signal - don't even consider defending yourself, or your property, or trying to stop a crime. The second message, the one we rarely hear, is a message to our fine citizens that society will back the actions of the brave and of the good. That's not the message we are hearing. It's time we changed the message.
The police are investigating an incident in Waikato in which they say a shotgun was fired while a farmer was capturing two intruders.
They say the man and his wife confronted two men who were taking petrol from the rural Morrinsville property in the early hours of Monday morning.
The farmer reportedly fired two warning shots and blocked the men's vehicle.
Police say he then ordered the pair to get out of their car and lie on the ground, before restraining them with a friend who came to his assistance.
The suspects have been charged and a separate investigation is underway into the circumstances surrounding their capture.
The police say it is too early to comment on whether charges will be laid against the farmer or anyone else, and they're considering a range of issues.
Related Link: Police to investigate the right to protect life and property
This is just bloody hopeless.
ReplyDeleteThe message is very clearly that it's more important for subjects ("citizens" seems hardly appropriate here) to behave like cowed victims, than owners protecting their person or property.
Effectively, it puts police on the side of the criminal.
I have to disagree Zen.
ReplyDeleteThe police should and are acting completely appropriately by conducting criminal investigations into the actions of all concerned.
It may be that the people in the car were not trying to take petrol, but were lost and had stopped in to the farm house to ask directions. The farmer and wife being complete loons, seeing a car pull up and happen to park by the petrol tank threatened the innocent party with a gun.
Hypothetical and possibly far fetched true, but in principle I think the police should suspect everyone until they have established a reasonable idea of the truth.
"far-fetched" is right.
ReplyDeleteOn the balance of probabilities:
The farmer and his wife are perfectly sane people who just want to get on with making a living.
they're sick of thieves operating in the local area, virtually with impunity.
The thieves are..um..brown people on the dole.
The farmer and his wife knew perfectly well that had they instead rung the police first, the criminals would have got away scot-free and the police wouldn't have followed the matter up.
Hi Anon,
ReplyDeleteI think you are half right. I fully expect the police to investigate the circumstances of the "citizens arrest " and in the event something untoward arose, then, shock and horror, a new completely unexpected charge is laid.
When the whole story starts out with "we'll be investigating further to see if we should lay charges against the farmer ..." then the story has already gone off the rails. They don't need to say that, they dont even need to *investigate* that. What they need to do is simply investigate the fact that two alleged burglars were captured - and see what unfolds from there.
The message is still wrong (IMHO).
Anonymous said: It may be that the people in the car were not trying to take petrol, but were lost and had stopped in to the farm house to ask directions.
ReplyDeleteHaha, you're having a laugh right?
Well he could have just blown them away and planted something on them and claimed self defence.
ReplyDeleteSave us all a lot of trouble.
The bottom line is the cops either can't or wont protect people, particularly those in rural and isolated areas. So they're doing it for themselves.
This is becoming a trend as even the cops known damnned well they have a snowballs hope in hell of getting a conviction from any jury.
But then I'm not sure how much safer I'd feel with some of the four foot tall engrish as a second language charged for rape bastions of law and order showing up at my home anyway.
You're better off with Labour!
The right to defend yourself is inseparable from your right to life and the right to remain alive.The reason the state was created was to act as an objective protector of this right.We,the citizens, delegated,but NEVER surrendered,this right to the state for the sake of law and order prevailing over vigilante anarchism.
ReplyDeleteWhen the state st6arts acting as a rights violator itself its time to fear and fight back.