"Self-defence" to be revived in Britain?

People who take on thugs or thieves to protect themselves or others are to have legal guarantees that they will not be prosecuted, Jack Straw will announce today. The strengthening of the law on self-defence to give confidence to “have-a-go heroes” that the law is on their side will be promised by the Justice Secretary at the Labour conference in Bournemouth. Mr Straw is planning to make the law spell out more clearly than before that people’s use of “reasonable force” in defending themselves, their properties, or others is permissible. He wants “good citizens” to know that when they act – for example by chasing after a thief who has snatched a handbag – they will not end up having the law used against them. Many people fear that if they take on an intruder in their own home, for example, they will end up in court. [With good reason. It has happened often]

Mr Straw has asked Justice Department officials urgently to come up with provisions that state clearly in law that people who act bravely to defend themselves, their friends or strangers will not end up as victims. He will say today that the plan is part of Labour’s drive to reform the criminal justice system in a way that better balances the system in favour of the victims of crime. He will promise that a swift review of the law – aimed at bringing forward amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill this autumn – would be aimed at ensuring that those who “seek to protect themselves, their loved ones and their homes, as well as other citizens, have confidence that the law is on their side. “How each of us reacts if we encounter a burglar or a street robber has to be a matter of individual discretion – there’s a critical line between responsi-biity and recklessness,” he will say.

Mr Straw has himself taken action in four incidents in the past 25 years, twice helping to apprehend thieves at Underground stations, once against a street mugger and once helping to catch a burglar at a club in his Black-burn constituency.

He will say: “I know from personal experience that you have all of a milli-second 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 believes that a key part of citizenship is knowing that “the system will stand up for you if you stand up for fellow citizens”. He will say: “Communities with the lowest crime, the greatest safety, are the ones with the most active citizens, with greater sense of shared values, inspired by a sense of belonging and duty to others, empowered by the State and also supported by it – in other words by making a reality of justice.”

Mr Straw’s announcement comes just two years after Whitehall last gave detailed consideration to changing the law on “reasonable force”. But in January 2005 Charles Clarke, then the new Home Secretary, ruled out giving householders and members of the public more freedom to fight back against burglars and thugs. In his first major decision after taking office, Mr Clarke showed that he was willing to take politically unpopular decisions by defying calls by the country’s senior police officers and victims’ groups for a change to the law. After discussions with chief constables and prosecutors, he said that the existing law allowing “reasonable force” was “sound”.

Mr Clarke’s decision followed confusion in Whitehall, with ministers at odds with each other over how to respond to a campaign to toughen the law on the use of reasonable force. Tony Blair, as Prime Minister, said that he was minded to change or clarify the law but Lord Falconer of Thoroton, QC, then Lord Chancellor, did not want a change in the law. Sir John Stevens, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and his successor Sir Ian Blair both wanted the law toughened.

Mr Straw’s announcement today is a clear indication that he is determined that the new Ministry of Justice is going to be on the side of the public rather than being seen as a ministry for judges, lawyers and the rest of the legal profession. Guidance issued by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers says that anyone can use reasonable force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime. The public is not expected to make fine judgments over the level of force used in the heat of the moment. “So long as you only do what you honestly and instinctively believe is necessary in the heat of the moment, that would be the strongest evidence of you acting lawfully and in self-de-fence. This is still the case if you use something to hand as a weapon,” the guidance states. But the guidance says that there is a difference if a person chases a suspect running away.

In a speech to the conference today Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, will promise a policy of zero tolerance towards wrongdoing ranging from antisocial behaviour to serious and violent crime. She wll announce a new fund worth tens of millions of pounds to help the police to use new technologies, such as handheld computers, mobile fingerprinting units and weapon-detection wands, that will enable them to spend more time on the streets and less in the station.

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