Call for Stronger Self-Defence Laws in Victoria Amid Rise in Home Invasions

In an effort to address the growing concern over home invasions in Victoria, a crossbench member of parliament, David Limbrick from the Libertarian Party, is pushing for a review of the state’s self-defence laws. He argues that current laws are unclear and do not provide enough protection for residents who may need to defend their homes against violent criminals.

Limbrick proposed that the Law Reform Commission should conduct a review of these laws, suggesting that they be modeled on those in the United Kingdom. He emphasized that the existing laws in Victoria offer some exemptions for self-defence, but he believes they could be strengthened to give people more peace of mind.

"At the moment, in Victoria, there’s some exemptions for self-defence in your home, but we want them to look at strengthening that so that people who are defending their own home against violent criminals have more peace of mind that they won’t get into trouble themselves," Limbrick said.

He explained that the current legal framework leaves too much uncertainty. "There’s no real certainty. If someone invades my house and I’ve got a baseball bat and I hit them with it, it might be left up to a court on whether I get into trouble for that or not," he said.

"I think most people naturally feel that they should be able to defend their home without fear of legal consequences, as long as they don’t go over the top. I’d like to see it that if you’re protecting your home, protecting your family, and a bad guy gets hurt in that process then, you know, they’ve found out the hard way that you shouldn’t get into trouble with the law," he added.

The rise in home invasions has been a growing concern, with data from Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency showing that the rate of residential aggravated burglary has almost doubled in the last couple of years. While this rate is still lower than non-aggravated burglaries, the trend is alarming.

"In the United Kingdom they’ve got what they call ‘castle doctrine’, where effectively if someone comes into your home and you defend yourself against an intruder, then you’re pretty much protected from harm as long as you don’t do anything egregious," Limbrick said.

Victorian Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny, however, defended the current self-defence laws, stating that they are proportionate and that Victorians should contact the police in emergency situations. "Our self-defence laws here in Victoria are proportionate, and Victorians are encouraged — in fact we plead with Victorians — to please continue to call Victoria Police in any emergency situation," she said.

"Self-defence laws are about what is reasonable, what’s a reasonable amount of force in any situation. Those are our laws already in Victoria. They are proportionate," Kilkenny added.

The opposition has not yet made a clear stance on the proposed review, but they have pointed to the state government’s bail laws and police funding cuts as contributing factors to the rising crime rates. The government has described its recent bail laws as the toughest in the country, with further reforms being introduced to address serious robbery and home invasion offences.

As the debate over self-defence laws continues, Victorians are left to navigate a complex legal landscape. With home invasions on the rise, the question remains: should the law be reformed to give residents more confidence in protecting their homes?