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Pepper Spray? legalise it or not?...

just wondering what peoples opinions are on this? after reading the experience of warpig1and their burglar encounter.... beryllium (Fri 12:52 21/Jul/06)

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Answers 1 to 16 of 16

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B00
(Fri 12:55 21/Jul/06)
Knowing our crazy laws though beryllium, you'd get sued by the would be burglar for blinding the git!
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Pippa68
(Fri 12:59 21/Jul/06)
BOO is spot on there..unfortunately!

I know of a couple of women who have bought pepper spray off the internet..although they haven't used it yet ;o)
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beryllium
(Fri 13:04 21/Jul/06)
Question Author
och!!! it only blinds for 40 mins or so.... big babys if they can't handle that lol....
tis an 'us or them' situation.....
I just keep a jiff squeezy lemon with ammonia in it.....
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Pippa68
(Fri 13:18 21/Jul/06)
A door key in the eye is gonna smart isn't it?
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Miss Zippy
(Fri 13:21 21/Jul/06)
The problem, of course, is that if pepper spray was legalised then would-be muggers, buglars or rapists would have easy access to it to use on their victims. Hairspray has largely the same effect so carry a small can of that in your handbag.
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beryllium
(Fri 13:38 21/Jul/06)
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crims are going to be carrying offensive weapons anyway, regardless of their illegality , to use against legal citizens .

Fight or flight? if we continue to concede to these hoodlums, then they win.

a door key would most definately blind someone if your fast enough, but a rapist? or a burglar/killer is going to have a greater need to win.

Hairspray? again if your fast enough and can aim directly....

So, if i carried pepper spray, and i'm confronted with a baddun in my face, i'd spray and run.... after all... i dont want to breath in the stuff.

Would i feel safer? yes.

Better than carrying a gun? yes.

Do I feel safe in my own home nowadays? not really.

Kill or be Killed?

I am so wishing I lived in a time where this question would never have been asked.
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Ward~Minter
(Fri 14:00 21/Jul/06)
Offensive weapons are only an offence if carried in public. some are prohibited per se (i.e flick knives, knuckle dusters etc) However Pepper spray is actually comes under Sect 5 of The Firearms Act, insofaras as it omits a "noxious thing".

Whilst it would be illegal therefore to possess pepper spray (made for the purpose) there is no law to say you can not make your own. It must be kept in private AT ALL TIMES.

Basically chop up the strongest peppers money can buy (from an Mexican outlet will be best) and put into a powerful water gun with neat alcohol.

This will safely blind any intruder.

I don't know if this answer will be banned but I have stressed it must only be used as self defence IN THE HOME. Even then its use must be reasonable in the circumstances and only used if you could JUSTIFY it in a court of law.
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beryllium
(Fri 14:09 21/Jul/06)
Question Author
Thank you! thank you! thank you! mr Ward~Minter, what a fab recipe ;-) off to get my birds eye chillies now....
now, in points of law.... and housework lol... what excuse would be needed for me to be using such a concoction for the house?....
any uses? ie: for killing off bugs on my household plants? etc....
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Ward~Minter
(Fri 14:32 21/Jul/06)
Well you do not need to justify its mere existence in your house. Admittedly I have a baseball bat with 6 six inch nails through it very close to my front door. No problem being it being there. If somebody broke in I would have to justify its use (even its threat). But a bit of imagination there would not be a judge in the country who would convict you of anything.
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beryllium
(Fri 14:48 21/Jul/06)
Question Author
I haven't read the 'with reasonable force' laws, but, if I ever need a defence man, you're hired!!! :-)))
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Ward~Minter
(Fri 15:00 21/Jul/06)
http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution /householders.html

official govt site.

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beryllium
(Fri 15:20 21/Jul/06)
Question Author
so, not allowed to chase 'em with an AK eh? damn.... might have to rethink my next career move then...

http://static.flickr.com/19/22605097_fdc1814c1 b.jpg

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warpig1
(Fri 15:40 21/Jul/06)
thanks for the website ward minter, its always handy to know exactly where you stand in cases such as this.
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jake-the-peg
(Fri 17:47 21/Jul/06)
Nice precis of the law WM - there's too many people who don't understand and think they can't defend themselves or don't understand why after disbling someone it's not ok to then continue to attack them.

I think you may have a problem with the nail in your bat and possibly the same problem with a pre-prepared pepper spray. It could be construed as falling into the bit about pre-prepared traps.

Baseball bats without nails or handy tins of chilli powder are everyday items and are just as likely to be effective.

But start with every day sensible precautions like a door chain and decent locks door and windows - unless you keep large amounts of cash on the premises - burglars are lazy and will always pick the easy targets
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Ward~Minter
(Fri 18:03 21/Jul/06)
jake the peg, forgive me if I am wrong but I think you may be thinking of the old "going equipped just in case" scenario. This of course would make it illegal, say for a security guard, to get "tooled up" just in case. If he has reasonable grounds for believing an attack WILL happen he can carry "legal" offensive weapons.

There is no stated law that says you can not have even the most hideous of weapons in your home (i.e my baseball bat). The key is reasonable. If i faced a knife, gun, mutiple aggressors, a pit bull terrier, the fact I have such a deadly weapon in my home is no point of law. I would just have to justify my "reasonableness" for the use of force NOT how that force was used.

Given I could kill a man with my fists (said pratically NOT like i am Rambo!!!) a weapon in the home is not a problem. Assuming it is not prohibited of course in law i.e "real" pepper spray, some guns etc.
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jake-the-peg
(Fri 22:42 21/Jul/06)
If you really think it's likely that you're going to face multiple armed attackers with pit bulls I suggest you need to either

a) get a new line of work
b) move to somewhere quieter like moss side
c) get some serious councelling!

Answers 1 to 16 of 16

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