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Criminal Law (Amendment) (Protection of Property) Bill

I am not entirely sure that I agree with my hon. Friend’s argument. The Opposition say that a burglar would assume the worst in such circumstances. If that is the case, it might be an argument in support of the Bill. However, if my hon. Friend is right—in this context I suspect that he is—it would not have that deterrent effect at all, because burglars would assume, as criminals always do, that they would not get caught and that the lesser rules would apply. They are not very intelligent people, which explains why they undertake such business, although I suppose that we can think of the famous jewel thieves whom we sometimes see in fiction.