Wouldn’t it be great to do away with the criminals who sneak into our homes or trash our businesses while we’re away? They steal and smash, often for no better reason than to chase a little “fun.”As punishment for theft, Qur’an 5:38 tells Muslims to “cut off his or her hands.” This punishment is still occasionally carried out — right hand, left foot — from Nigeria to Afghanistan.Let’s assume that cutting off body parts won’t take place in a democratic republic such as ours. So how do we prevent crime and protect our belongings when we’re not present? When we’re on vacation or maybe just out buying groceries? After all, we slave away for 30-50 years to collect a few special mementos, comfortable furniture, maybe a little sports car, and the moment we turn our backs, some creep slinks in and steals it.Maybe you’ve thought about setting a trap? We set traps for vermin. We set traps for fur-bearers. In Vietnam, the VC dug and then concealed pits planted with sharpened stakes for ARVN and U.S. troops. In Iraq, insurgents utilize improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which they disguise as innocuous trash or rubble and then detonate remotely.It would be relatively easy to fasten a vise to the table, for example, pad its jaws for our shotgun and run a trip wire from the doorway to the trigger. You could perhaps electrify the door handle. Bingo! One lowlife crackhead out of the gene pool.Heck, I think it would be both practical and moral to catch a thief in his or her own style of treachery, but that’s just me.A number of YouTube videos discuss and even show thieves tripping non-lethal traps. My vengeful side says that isn’t enough for someone smashing my gun case and stealing my Perazzi shotgun or my wife’s heirloom jewelry. My civilized side, on the other hand, recognizes that non-lethal protection has to be enough.If you’re home and someone breaks in, you have a right to protect yourself and your family. You have no idea what a thief has in mind and you may, generally speaking, assume that he or she has no good intention behind his or her actions. Though state laws vary, it is generally accepted that you may actively defend yourself and your family with lethal force.But if you’re not home, the law generally forbids setting “booby traps.” According to ProtectAmerica.com, a booby trap is any concealed or camouflaged device designed to cause bodily injury when triggered by any action of a person making contact with the device. This term includes guns, ammunition or explosive devices attached to trip wires or other triggering mechanisms, sharpened stakes, nails, spikes, electrical devices, lines or wires with hooks attached and devices for the production of toxic fumes or gases.U.S. law says that human life, even that of a criminal, is more valuable than your “stuff.” Placing cameras and alarms, all passive measures, to identify and perhaps frustrate a criminal is fine, but rigging a cocked crossbow to aim at the likely point of a would-be thief’s entry is an invitation to a jail cell and a lawsuit by the criminal or his family.In a survival situation — in the event of anarchy — maybe anything goes. It seems that every society eventually goes through episodes of massive trauma. I’ll bet money that ours will as well, but it isn’t going to happen today. In the meantime, think on this case:WDRB Louisville reported that a booby trap connected to a shotgun landed 56-year-old James Fieldon in jail. He was arrested after police officers went to his home to serve a citation. When police arrived, they found Fieldon trying to disarm a booby trap at his front door. During the process, the shotgun, rigged to blast intruders, went off. Although no one was injured, Fieldon was charged with possession of a destructive device.