In article ,
Steve Harris wrote:
In article ,
(Jaques d'Alltrades) wrote:

it is the duty of a citizen to try to apprehend someone in commission
of a serious crime *BY ANY MEANS AT HIS DISPOSAL*.

There is no such general legal duty. There very few situations where the
citizen is legally obliged to take an active part in crime fighting.
They are unlikely to occur in a garden.

And, in all cases, you are required to use only reasonable force,
according to the circumstances. If those burglars had gone tooled
up, Martin would never have been charged.

What the hanging, flogging and burglar-shooting brigade don't realise
is that the doctrine of reasonable force is primarily to protect the
innocent. If burglars know that they are likely to be shot at whim,
some will not do it and others will carry a gun and shoot first.
Those are, after all, the only rational behaviours.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.