London and England riots

[Moot]

As far as im concerned, if your there watching or setting fire or thieving things, your involved and expect to face the consequences. The police have to step up from this passive push forward, fall back approach to something more aggressive. If they dont show a strong hand this will just keep happening.

Being a witness to a crime does not make you a criminal conspirator.

 

[Clark]

Hit Bham City Centre, Aston, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sutton Coldfield and Erdington now.

 

[Moglet]

There have been reports of groups of people in East Ham getting together and attacking the rioters if they come near their property. I think that's the only thing they will understand.

 

[Omnis]

There have been reports of groups of people in East Ham getting together and attacking the rioters if they come near their property. I think that's the only thing they will understand.

Yeah, see? This is what I was talking about.

 

[dhandeh]

Being a witness to a crime does not make you a criminal conspirator.

But it does make the job a lot harder for the police to gain control.

There have been reports of groups of people in East Ham getting together and attacking the rioters if they come near their property. I think that's the only thing they will understand.

And If they did, who do you reckon will be prosecuted!?

 

[Moglet]

Yeah, see? This is what I was talking about.

The trouble is, these rioters are tooled up with whatever they can find and the innocent civilians are not. They're too scared to fight back as they'll just get stabbed or maimed.

If one of these rioters gets attacked by someone defending their property, the rioter can sue for damages and you can guarantee that the person who was defending their property will be arrested and charged instead. It's the messed up way this country runs.

 

[Touring Mars]

Can someone explain something to me? Is the neighborhood that's being destroyed inhabited by a bunch of pansies? How are they letting a bunch of hoodlums just ruin everything? Why aren't these people being thumped by the neighborhood before they cause any more damage?

It will probably start to happen, as Moglet has just pointed out. That said, the rioters are one step ahead (so far anyway), organised via mobile networks and social media websites. Local residents are probably terrified at the prospect of hundreds of feral youths rioting, armed with knifes, machetes, petrol bombs and anything else they can get their hands on (including guns). It is also happening in many areas, and often without much warning at all.

If it continues, I can see more and more resident groups getting organised and standing up to the rioters - but they really ought not to be faced with this. The police and even the army can only do so much - but faced with an entire generation who have no regard at all for the law, it is a tough ask to expect peaceful, law abiding citizens to have to face them down themselves.

 

[Omnis]

That's pathetic. I mean, I totally understand the fear of being maimed. I can't believe you're not allowed to defend yourself though. I mean, what happens when these hoodlums break down your door and enter your house?

Send in the army... exterminate all chavs.

 

[Danny]

Absolutely despicable.

Idiots, the lot of them.

 

[Biffy]

Can someone explain something to me? Is the neighborhood that's being destroyed inhabited by a bunch of pansies? How are they letting a bunch of hoodlums just ruin everything? Why aren't these people being thumped by the neighborhood before they cause any more damage?

I know you guys don't have guns, so that's probably why. But, damn, that is frustrating.

Things are getting very tense, so I can see a lot of that happening if these riots continue. Enough is enough now. I'd expect if riots continue tomorrow, people are going to fight back, as people have been sick of these yobs for years. Chances are they won't care who gets prosecuted, if people threatened to tear down my neighbourhood, seeing all this, I and many other people would not just sit down and take it.

EDIT: Blackberry have offered to help the authorities in catching the conspirators, should be effective but it's a bit late now, it's already kicked off.

 

[Moglet]

That's pathetic. I mean, I totally understand the fear of being maimed. I can't believe you're not allowed to defend yourself though.

You are, but only if you're attacked first, and you can only use 'reasonable force'. Unfortunately that's not determined by the individual and if someone came at me with a knife, you can guarantee that my idea of 'reasonable force' wouldn't be the same as someone who was stood watching.

 

[rocko100]

Here in the good ole US of A it would take two seconds for some old guy to get out a shot gun and...

 

[Touring Mars]

That's pathetic. I mean, I totally understand the fear of being maimed. I can't believe you're not allowed to defend yourself though.

You are. But there is a difference between protecting the homestead against a lone intruder after the family silver, and facing a rioting mob armed with petrol bombs and hell bent on destruction.

 

[Moglet]

This is brilliant:

*LANGUAGE WARNING*

 

[Joey D]

If one of these rioters gets attacked by someone defending their property, the rioter can sue for damages and you can guarantee that the person who was defending their property will be arrested and charged instead. It's the messed up way this country runs.

It's the same way in the states, or at least in Michigan. If I shoot someone who is breaking into my home and say I only hit them in the leg, I can be sued for damages by that person. Some things don't make sense to me.

 

[dhandeh]

You are. But there is a difference between protecting the homestead against a lone intruder after the family silver, and facing a rioting mob armed with petrol bombs and hell bent on destruction.

👍

Sky news just had a pair of brothers on the phone, whose 5th generation buisiness has been burnt to the ground. Honest hard working people always come out worse, while these scum will get away.

 

[Biffy]

This is brilliant:

*LANGUAGE WARNING*

If it only it was a Carlsberg umbrella.

"Carlsberg don't do riot weapons, but if they did..."

 

[Omnis]

This is brilliant:

*LANGUAGE WARNING*

Hilarious.

Yeah, riots are pretty nuts I guess. Resistance would be like prodding the wasp's nest. There has to be some threshold though or some way to deter the destruction.

 

[Danny]

Another Language Warning. Sums up my thoughts on this neatly.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Is anyone watching BBC news right now? They were speaking to the deputy mayor of London and he said:

"There are no water cannons on the UK mainland"

"Can't you get them from Northern Ireland?"

"We could, but what good will that do right now? The police can handle this, with the right space"

What a bloody moron!

Water cannons have little use in UK streets, our city planning isn't like that of Europe which often has a central square with radiating roads. It means that in the UK water cannons can easily be outflanked and out manoeuvred rendering them big fat targets.

 

[Omnis]

I at least imagine they'd be able to put themselves out.

 

[dhandeh]

Another Language Warning. Sums up my thoughts on this neatly.

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

 

[Clark]

These scumbags deserve to die now.

In Birmingham:

'The Childrens hospital has been hit. Rioters were smashing windows and attempted to bomb steelhouse lane police station. My friends mum was there and was escorted out of the hospital by police. I assume other people were too!! :/'

 

[Moglet]

Anyone got any Death Race style mods that would adapt to fit a Yaris?

 

[rocko100]

If I was in London I'd grab a (insert something heavy) and attack the rioter's for all of 2 seconds before 20 rioter's tackle me

 

[DQuaN]

Ealing is rioting too now. Apparently my local nandos is on fire!

Brb, need a new home cinema!

 

[Clark]

 

[dhandeh]

Ealing is rioting too now. Apparently my local nandos is on fire!

Brb, need a new home cinema!

Get me one!

 

[Neal]

After seeing the large numbers of spectators mixing with the thugs it's understandable that the police can't use strong enough force to bring the scumbags down, the acting chief of police has asked for law abiding people to get off the streets but it's unlikely this will be followed by enough people to allow the police to act.

I think it's fairly likely that this is going to continue tomorrow so as drastic as it sounds I think a curfew should be considered so that the police can act without being accountable for spectators being caught up in it. I'm not sure if this is even slightly possible but the police can't do much in the current situation.

 

[Moot]

You are, but only if you're attacked first, and you can only use 'reasonable force'. Unfortunately that's not determined by the individual and if someone came at me with a knife, you can guarantee that my idea of 'reasonable force' wouldn't be the same as someone who was stood watching.

You are allowed to murder someone in order to defend your property (perhaps not with intent to murder though). You don't have to be in danger, they don't have to be attacking you. But you are not allowed to fatally wound them if they are fleeing with back to you.
This has been confirmed by several recent court cases.
You are allowed to stick a knife into a burglar, you are also allowed to shoot him (if you legally own a gun that is). But this must be decided in court, you will get arrested for murder by the police, then the court will acquit on grounds of rights to defend.
But I expect it's not that simple. But the recent cases show you can kill and be given the right to do it.