Posted on 01/09/2012 3:23:41 PM PST by fightinJAG
If you missed this thread of a few days ago on a 14-year-old boy shooting an intruder in N.C., or if you didn't see all the responses, it's definitely worth checking out. The thread is also linked at the "read more" button below.
On that thread, I asked for freepers' thoughts on whether there were things that made some homes more vulnerable to home invasion than others. (It seems like it would be obvious that a more rural or remote home would be more vulnerable, but news reports in my area do not substantiate that assumption at all. Homes in crowded suburban neighbors get hit, too.)
Also, it's clear that, for various reasons, not every person in a household is going to be able to use a gun, even if one is available. I asked about ideas and discussion on ways that might deter invasions in the first place, although it goes without saying that nothing is foolproof and no one wants to live in a total fortress environment.
A poster suggested I make my questions into a stand-alone thread, and I decided to do so. Reading reports of several local home invasions in today's news, as well as a rash of "smash and grab" buglaries, had nothing to do with reminding me of the topic. Right.
So, yes, we know about guns and dogs (and tips regarding those are always still welcome). But what other things might be unobtrusively effective in deterring home invasions or allowing them to have a "happy" ending (dead perp)?
In the comments on our local crime stories, I saw that some people were using baby monitors to be alerted to noises around their back doors, etc. Thus, allowing them more time to investigate or prepare if a break-in developed.
(Excerpt) Read more at freerepublic.com ...
Thanks for your post.
I don’t understand the cargo nets though. I’m guessing they can’t easily be cut through?
Some random thoughts...
A dog; motion sensor lighting; dead bolts; alarm warning sign
(no actual alarm which I see as after-the-fact worthless).
Important: Be careful as to who knows I have anything of value.
If someone gets in when no one is home they might steal my TV and VCR...
...but they won’t find anything else of any value.
If someone “tries” to get in while family are here...
they are all armed and trained as to what to do...
...(dialing 911 is the last item on the list).
All the houses in our neighborhood that are hit do not have alarm systems. They walk/drive right by the ones with alarm system signs out front.
Good ideas bookmark.
“...Develop a reputation of a “crazy” person that no one wants to deal with...
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Very good point; I am that guy.
“...portable boat alarms...”
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Tell me more?
I have a specific technical question that I know Freepers can answer.
I have a large window on the attached garage to our house. When you walk or drive down the street, you are able to look in this window into the garage and see if there are any cars inside. In other words, if you see no cars, it might be safe to assume no one is home.
I do not want to put giant curtains over this window and I need and appreciate the light that comes in.
Can someone tell me the specific brand and store or supplier where you can get a reflective film coating for windows that allows light in, but does not allow people to see in? A mirror type film or the like. One way glass so to speak.
I’ve looked online but am not sure what really works and is cost effective.
Thanks in advance for the help.
“...I do not want to put giant curtains over this window...
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Then you do not want to take your security seriously.
It does wonders. I believe meatloaf at post 16 has it down pat also.
Would a white, half curtain work? Your house is probably too nice for this, but I rented a shack where I would paint the inside of the glass a thin white, leaving a portion nearer the top clear so that I could see the sky.
Any hardware store should have that window surfacing that you mentioned.
“Rule #1: Don’t be a member of an immigrant community known for harboring gangs and smuggling in cash and expensive jewelry past customs and IRS agents, and then keep that undeclared property in your home so it can’t be taxed or counted against you when you apply for welfare benefits.”
Actually, you bring up a good point, that I’ve mentioned before, which is the following:
In general, people will NOT invade a house unless they know that there is some kind of a payoff possible. For example, if they know that there is some nice jewelry, it might be worth an invasion. So how do they know if there’s jewelry? Well, you have a plumber that you really trust, which is fine - he’s 52 years old, really nice, and has been in business for 25 years. But what about his 22 year old assistant (who might speak broken English, or who might be a red-blooded American)? That’s where the problem starts. This 22 year old may actually be background-checked (although not necessarily), and may be as clean as a whistle, but he may also have friends from high school that he tips off, for a cut of the action. You simply never know. So now the assistant knows your house, and sure enough, his ‘friends’ get the booty.
So, for the above, what can be done? The best answer is to MINIMIZE the number of strangers that go inside of your house. And the way to do that is to not need a plumber, but to change the water heater yourself - or do the tiling yourself. Or, at worst, hide EVERYTHING of value if you do bring outsiders in.
In fact, here in Houston, one big Air Conditioning company, Weeks (I believe), now advertises that they run background checks on all of their employees. They even go as far as advertising that Air Conditioning repair is the NUMBER ONE trade studied by incarcerated criminals here in Texas. It’s a nasty way to draw customers, but that’s life. What Weeks doesn’t mention is whether they perform background checks on the ‘friends’ of their workers...which, of course, they don’t, since that is virtually impossible.
So, it’s a lot to expect everyone to be functionally capable in the key trades (i.e., electrical, plumbing, AC repair, etc.) as I am, but it’s not as hard as it might sound. For example, I had an instructor once say that 90% of AC problems are electrical-related (as opposed to freon). Well, I’ve dealt with 6 problems, and, sure enough, all 6 have been electrical (4 capacitors, 1 relay, 1 condenser motor). They are not hard to troubleshoot. Likewise, nearly everything one needs to know about residential electrical work can be found in a basic book on the subject. Likewise with plumbing. Still not comfortable with it - make junior learn something useful, in addition to wasting his time being a ‘Communications’ major.
I have a rule amongst my family and friends.
If you didn’t call ahead, then you are uninvited and I am not answering the door unless you do call.
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I could not agree more. I do not open the door to anyone that I am not expecting. No one should ever feel obligated to open their door to anyone.
Ladies, this particularly applies to you. Further, keep your doors and windows locked. Many criminals find their way into a victim's home via an open window or door.
Here’s a trick I heard to keep your car from being broken into. Leave an empty holster on your dashboard.
I think that I’ll comment on every posting on this topic...as this is critical stuff, given what happened in Argentina and will likely happen here, once people add up our national debt and compare it to our ability to ever repay.
“DJ Jamb Armour Combo Kit”
Agree - at worst it buys you time. It’s not hard to make a door “human-proof”. Of course if they ram it with a truck, you’re out of luck. But then that goes back to my first post on this. You simply don’t want them to have a strong reason to invade. If they don’t have a strong reason, they likely will give up when they encounter resistance. Let them hit the airhead down the street.
I like the baby monitor idea, and we have about a dozen of them.
“One way glass so to speak”
That only works if it is dark inside. If the lights are on it is no good. What about mini blinds you could open for light or close for privacy?
“Few intruders will persist with an alarm blaring.”
Correct. A key point here is to make it AS DIFFICULT AS POSSIBLE for the bad guy to find the alarm controller and disable it. You need to have the controller, and the horn, in places where it will be difficult for a criminal to find. So, if the controller is in a closet - then secure the closet door, as if it’s an exterior door. Make him spend a LOT of time trying to get through it, to get to the controller. Same for the horn.
Ping
Hope one of these categories helps you. As you'll note, some are quite reasonably priced (and can be used around your house as well)!
“Finally, a beware of dog sign — even if you don’t have a dog — can be a “discourager.””
Good point. Bad guys seem to have an irrational fear of dogs (which I, and I’m sure, most of you, love). They are simply scared to death of them. In fact, they found ancient Roman ruins with tiling that also said “beware of dog”, or Canis, as they called it.
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