What would you do if someone tried to break into your home? Do you have confidence in the police?
1 December 2022, 09:54
No-one can ever condone vigilantism.
But can anyone be surprised that father-of-two Adam White reacted as he did when faced with the horror of two thugs trying to break into his home.
What would you do?
Your wife and two young children are inside while two people armed with crowbars and bolt cutters try to force their way onto your property.
This is your home. You are a law-abiding citizen. You work hard for it. It's the place where your family should be able to feel safe and secure.
But can you really trust the police when confronted with a situation like this? Or will you hear the words 'here is a crime number so you can claim on your insurance'.
White gave chase in a Mercedes 4x4, knocking over the stolen bike. The burglars were left with serious injuries including a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and broken bones.
White ended up being sentenced to 22 months in prison for causing serious injury by dangerous driving while the two career criminals trying to break into his home escaped with a suspended sentence.
He lost his savings in legal fees and the criminals are now trying to sue him for £1million. One of the criminals even went onto TikTok to boast about his tv appearance after the case was featured on Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody.
At the time of writing a GoFundMe page for White has received more than £100,000.
No-one is condoning vigilantism but there has to be some common sense and Bedfordshire Police need to ask themselves some serious questions.
On their website they proudly state they are 'Protecting people and fighting crime in Bedfordshire'. I would argue that on this occasion they fail on both counts.
They did not protect the White family or fight crime.
In a statement about the case they said "Our officers work incredibly hard to put criminals before the courts and disrupt their activities, but we know that the outcomes received do not always tell the full story. In this case, there were no winners.
“This episode is an important reminder that people must not take the law into their own hands. Such actions can have enormous consequences.
“The best thing you can do when a crime is happening is to call 999 so that we can dispatch officers to the scene to apprehend those involved and protect the public from further harm."
Really Bedfordshire Police? How can you say that it is in the public interest that a person with no previous convictions can be sent to jail while protecting his property and his family while career criminals walk free.
Maybe you should be asking yourselves why White felt the need to give chase.
Are you providing a service good enough that hard-working people feel you will come to their aide? Do you actually investigate burglaries?
Because this case has done nothing to promote confidence in the police.
