Judge Peter Bowers says burglars 'brave', Prime Minister David Cameron says they are cowards - have your say

9:39am Thursday 6th September 2012 in News

Prime Minister David Cameron revealed he had been burgled twice Prime Minister David Cameron revealed he had been burgled twice

PRIME Minister David Cameron has waded into the row over a judge branding a serial burglar’s offences “brave”.

Sitting at Teesside Crown Court, Judge Peter Bowers apparently told an offender who raided three homes in five days: "It takes a huge amount of courage, as far as I can see, for somebody to burgle somebody's house. I wouldn't have the nerve."

Handing the 26-year-old man a suspended 12-month term, the judge said: "I'm going to take a chance on you."

Mr Cameron has insisted burglars are "cowards" and, revealing he had been burgled twice, branded the offence "hateful".

Mr Cameron added: "I am very clear that burglary is not bravery. Burglary is cowardice.

"People sometimes say it is not a violent crime, but actually if you have been burgled, you do feel it was violence."

He added: "That is why this government is actually changing the law to toughen the rules on self-defence against burglars, saying householders have the right to defend themselves."

What do you think? Is there any truth whatsoever to the judge’s comments or is what he said badly misguided and out of touch with reality? Have you been burgled before? How did it make you feel? Add your comments below.

Comments(25)

commenting scoffer says...
10:19am Thu 6 Sep 12

...can't believe anything this fella says - for example... he spouted in the commons some time ago that 'people in this country in the workplace have every right to wear a christian crucifix' ...now this government has sent a bunch of their lawyers to the european union head office to urge the gravy-train leaders of the ghastly e.u. to 'ban people from wearing a crucifix' ...the u.k. lawyers have now said ...'people will have to choose between their christian beliefs - or their jobs!!' you what ? but then again we are torking about this u-turn government - say one thing - do another!! cleggy and the student grants ?? cameroon about reducing immigration and crime ??? all hot-air and do nowt!! no wonder people are either not voting or realising that you are voting for people who do u-turns as soon as they are elected!! smaller poltical parties should start picking up some gud votes now me thinks!! :)

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goldenbroomboy says...
10:38am Thu 6 Sep 12

I think the point that the judge was making is that the individual concerned does have some good qualities, which he is wasting. This judge sits on the North Eastern Circuit, and so is unlikely to be visiting Woolwich, or Croydon, in the near future, so I fail to see the relevance to our local area.

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ksc says...
10:51am Thu 6 Sep 12

How about this, scrap courts for burglars totally, if they get caught (and it's a really big if) then just give them a small amount of cash for their trouble, a years worth of free food from a supermarket of their choice, as an assistance to the chore of daily living, and free accommodation, until they have a legal job earning £150,000 per annum (after tax) at which point they could then pay rent, but only if they want to, plus complimentary cab journeys to anywhere in the UK, but to show we're not stupid, they would be limited to just 30 or 40 journeys a week (unless the poor old burglar needed to make 60 or 70 journeys a week in which case he or she could) that way people would have very little need to continue stealing peoples property, and we would have no need to rely on old, out of touch fossils jokingly called judges, to uphold our law on burglary.
Of course for the minority of naughty people who continue to burgle after getting this treatment, we could just ignore them and hope they see the errors of their ways, and one day stop doing it.

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joertmclark says...
11:43am Thu 6 Sep 12

I think the judges need to be sorted out in this country.
The justice system is a total shambles.
The criminals of this country get nothing but a slap on the wrist.
It's time for the law to protect the hard-working innocent man.

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j.j. says...
11:55am Thu 6 Sep 12

Much more important than these words is yesterday's decision not to prosecute the house owner who shot 2 burglars. That's the kind of justice we need. If burglars know that they may be killed while carrying out their "work" they may think twice before breaking into someone's house.

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PaulErith says...
1:21pm Thu 6 Sep 12

j.j - Too right. When this kind of thing happens, it still falls to the homeowner to prove that they acted with reasonable force. I think it should be one's right to attack an intruder. The minute they unlawfully enter a home, they should lose their rights. If they're killed, the home owner should be thanked for getting rid of some scum and not arrested. Very good to say the case in question yesterday. On this particular story, the judge in question is clearly an idiot. I wonder if he'd feel the same if his house got broken into?

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paulj says...
4:25pm Thu 6 Sep 12

I feel sorry for the Police... they do all that work catching them (and it is hard to trace a burglar) only for a clown to give a sentence and make comments like this..!

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paulj says...
4:26pm Thu 6 Sep 12

The judge I meant lol... I like Cameron x

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born n breed says...
4:45pm Thu 6 Sep 12

Or the burglars come tooled up with a shooter.

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Polly Staight says...
7:35pm Thu 6 Sep 12

As I have been commenting at great length elsewhere in News Shopper, I believe that burglary is one of the worst things that humans do to each other, it gets right to the heart of everything that defines a human bean. It is similar in terms of violation to rape, paedophilia, or the weirder forms of murder.

It is also true that in recent years (last 50 or so), governments and their agencies have treated this crime with less and less seriousness... You are lucky to even get a visit from the police nowadays... You will of course, eventually receive a "crime number"... so that's ok then!

I suspect as others have commented, that Cameron is behaving in the usual snidey manner beloved of senior politicians of all hues in this country, and that his words are just hot air.

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Bob Downondiss says...
11:46pm Thu 6 Sep 12

We don't tolerate the burglars down West Sussex mates.

My mate Tony keep ees golf umberella handy. They don't like it up em matey.

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worthy worthing says...
9:49am Fri 7 Sep 12

i say the judge and dave cameron are both cowards as they do not stick up for the british people!

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Locked & Loaded says...
10:03am Fri 7 Sep 12

make ya right there worthyboi cam ron says one thing then clegg tells im off and he changes is choone

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Guess who ;) AGAIN ! says...
11:39am Fri 7 Sep 12

worthy worthing wrote:
i say the judge and dave cameron are both cowards as they do not stick up for the british people!
You mean Burgess Hill not Worthing Tony.


I went to Burgess Hill once, when I got there it was closed !!

A one horse town if ever there was one.

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born n breed says...
2:54pm Fri 7 Sep 12

Bob Downondiss wrote:
We don't tolerate the burglars down West Sussex mates. My mate Tony keep ees golf umberella handy. They don't like it up em matey.
Another piece of completely useless drivel that nobody is intereted in. Why don't you bother people on Twitter!

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Bob Downondiss says...
6:42pm Fri 7 Sep 12

born n breed, dont you mean born n bred you illiterate oaf.

Also 'intereted', wot u no speako de Engerish or wat.

Yes I do use Twitter thankyou.

Bob Downondiss

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jeepo17 says...
9:40am Sat 8 Sep 12

Guess who ;) AGAIN ! wrote:
worthy worthing wrote: i say the judge and dave cameron are both cowards as they do not stick up for the british people!
You mean Burgess Hill not Worthing Tony. I went to Burgess Hill once, when I got there it was closed !! A one horse town if ever there was one.
Doesnt accept your type moosh so they closed the door in your face! lol

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Brian Sewer3 says...
9:55am Sat 8 Sep 12

I put me new union jack flag up yesterday an the posty said whats the occasion i said look bruv i used 2 live in croy an havnt stop celebraten since we move 2 lovely jubbly tarring which is worthing sunshine me 3 kids love it down here an the sun is shining non stop for the last 6 months jealous m8s hah har hah

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plasticfantastic says...
10:10pm Sat 8 Sep 12

Forget the point his is making, burglars should get five years for a first offence. Chances are they wouldn't do it again, and we can all go out without the fear of coming home to finding our houses ransacked, and be able to sleep in our beds without the thought of some scumbag breaking in.

When is someone in government going to have the balls to stand up, and do something about this increasing problem of burglary!

I would happily pay 1% more income tax to build more prisons, put all these serial offenders away. Get rid of community punishments, YOTs, etc etc, they don't work, bang them up hard labour!

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plasticfantastic says...
10:34pm Sun 9 Sep 12

I would happily pay 1% more income tax to build more prisons.

No tolerance for burglars or street robbers. First offence 6 months in prison. Second offence 5 years, no parole, serve 5 years mandatory sentence. I would imagine they probably won't return to burglary or robbery when they come out.

Carry a knife or gun on the street, get caught, mandatory 5 years. If you use it, life!

Have a drunken fight outside a pub, use your feet to kick someone in the head or stamp on their head, that's attempted murder, 5 years minimum sentence.

Is this harsh, or what this country needs to remove the rot from the streets, and make our homes and streets safe places.

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born n breed says...
9:40am Mon 10 Sep 12

Bob Downondiss wrote:
born n breed, dont you mean born n bred you illiterate oaf. Also 'intereted', wot u no speako de Engerish or wat. Yes I do use Twitter thankyou. Bob Downondiss
LOL You mug ! It's meant to say that. If I were illiterate I would be called born n bread.

Oh big deal there is a typo.

Just proves my point about people who use twitter. Only twits use twitter.

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Guess who ;) AGAIN ! says...
11:14am Mon 10 Sep 12

plasticfantastic go look after the traffic boy, leave the real policing to proper coppers. We don't need amatuer anoraks like you giving it the large on our streets.

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Bob Downondiss says...
10:33pm Mon 10 Sep 12

born n breed wrote:
Bob Downondiss wrote:
born n breed, dont you mean born n bred you illiterate oaf. Also 'intereted', wot u no speako de Engerish or wat. Yes I do use Twitter thankyou. Bob Downondiss
LOL You mug ! It's meant to say that. If I were illiterate I would be called born n bread.

Oh big deal there is a typo.

Just proves my point about people who use twitter. Only twits use twitter.
born and bred you know what you can do bro........Bob Downondiss.


No gagging though. ;)

tHanK yOu

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TheEverardedbutt says...
9:32am Tue 11 Sep 12

Guess who ;) AGAIN ! wrote:
plasticfantastic go look after the traffic boy, leave the real policing to proper coppers. We don't need amatuer anoraks like you giving it the large on our streets.
That's Paul all over though!

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Guess who ;) AGAIN ! says...
9:29pm Tue 11 Sep 12

TheEverardedbutt wrote:
Guess who ;) AGAIN ! wrote:
plasticfantastic go look after the traffic boy, leave the real policing to proper coppers. We don't need amatuer anoraks like you giving it the large on our streets.
That's Paul all over though!
Thanks Everhard, so its Paul, hello Paul I'm Joe, everyone calls me Gypo Joe, its a long story though.

Now I do have a history of being more than a little flippant I know. I really do understand you do ya best in a thankless job though. I'm only busting ya b@lls son.

You stay safe as I'm sure you have a family and they come first.

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