From: James Walton, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear Cybershooters, One of the more curious pieces of advice given by the Police during the furore over Tony Martin was "don't keep a weapon in the house for self defence as it may be taken from you and used against you". This appears to be conventional thinking for the Police and I have heard the same advice from several sources, eg anti-rape advice . This advice strikes me as strange, because: (a) A burglar may be equipped with tools, eg screwdriver or chisel, that can be pressed into service as a weapon (b) Any house or garden will yield dozens of items that could be used as weapons, eg kitchen knives, rocks (c) A burglar intent on doing harm will surely bring a weapon with him (d) A burglar can kill you with his bare hands anyway (e) Surely the possibility of being disarmed outweighs the danger of facing a potential attacker when helpless Anyway, my point is this: although we have all heard cases (mostly US) of Policemen being disarmed and shot, is anyone aware of a real case where a UK householder was injured after being disarmed. Or is this just bunkum? James -- I'm sure there have been cases but I think it is a largely irrelevant argument that the police are putting forward; many police officers are shot with their own guns but as a percentage of attacks on police officers it is a very small fraction. Weapon retention training is the key. I would say it is more of a personal decision that something that the police are in a position to comment on. Whether or not you are likely to be disarmed by a burglar obviously depends on how strong you are, what you are armed with, etc. Steve. -------[Cybershooters contacts]-------- Editor: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website & subscription info: www.cybershooters.org
