Remain Calm and Possessed...

"Everyone who is in possession of a dwelling house is justified in using as much force as necessary, to prevent any person from forcibly breaking into or entering the dwelling house without lawful authority."
Section 40 of the Criminal Code

Good to know. Particularly in the face of having read in the news of individuals who have put up resistance, successfully, in challenging the criminal activities of goons who have targeted innocent people and/or their 'dwelling houses without lawful authority' and who have themselves been challenged by the law for putting up too much resistance.

As for knowing that one may use 'as much force as necessary' - a qualifier that should most certainly never have resulted in charges laid against those individuals who did take it upon themselves to take self-protective action - it is a sobering thought. In that, one can assume that when criminals engaged in unlawful activity violently targeting others, they choose to victimize the vulnerable. Less capable of fighting back.

In the categories of home invasions there are doubtless various motivations. The most obvious being to loot, to take possession of valuable objects for resale, as an example. The kind of home invasions that take place with deliberation in the knowledge that the home owners happen to be in residence at the time represent another kettle of fish altogether.

In those instances, robbery may or may not be a motivation for the criminally unauthorized entry. In the commission of a home theft situation, if home owners are present, violence may ensue of a completely gratuitous nature. And with that violence the horrendous crime of rape, when it suits the psychopathy of the invaders.

According to a StatsCan analysis of police report figures for the year 2008 there were about 2,700 home invasions that year, which appears to be a stable figure for the years preceding as well. Home invasions are horrible events for those home owners who have experienced them, but as far as the law-and-security establishment is concerned, they do not represent a major source of violent crime in the country.

Anyone who has experienced such an episode will never, without doubt, forget the fear and terror they experienced - without a rape being committed. Characterizing the event lightly would not come close to appreciating what the invaded homeowner felt like during the commission of the crime. And if a rape was included that life-altering event would forever haunt the mind of the victim.

The Canada Safety Council website addresses the issue of home invasions by stating that  anyone finding themselves in the process of becoming a victim, would do well to chill out. As if. "If the unfortunate circumstance of becoming a victim presents itself, remember to stay calm and do not fight back." Likely.

Don't panic? Not on your life.