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Old 09-20-2015, 10:27 AM
 
Location: 48.0710° N, 118.1989° W
590 posts, read 711,098 times
Reputation: 884

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Quote:
Originally Posted by sfcambridge View Post
Security system signs outside (even if you don't have a security system - our local cops know this works).

Security system. The no-contract, install yourself ones are much cheaper and fine.

Leave on radios. Talk radio stations are best.

Leave on some lights, or have them on timers.

Motion activated outdoor lights.

Get to know and be nice to your neighbors, so that they actually feel some incentive to be an extra pair of eyes/ears. Let them know you will tell them if you ever plan on moving or are having major work done when you are not home.

Make sure you have renters/home owners insurance.

Hide the most valuable things. Keep jewelry in less conspicuous containers, in atypical places.


My apartment was broken into this summer. One neighbor saw the intruder trying to get in the front door for an extended period of time, actually thought he looked suspicious so purposefully looked at the person to get an ID if needed. But he didn't say anything, call anyone, do anything. Even when this neighbor later heard something happened in my wing of the building, he didn't say anything. Bizarre..... My upstairs neighbor HEARD the noise as the robber broke down my door, and actually came out of her apartment and peeked out to see what was going on. She said nothing, did nothing... and just assumed ?I was moving. Even though I never told anyone I was moving. She didn't call me/text me/email me (she had my number and has communicated with me in the past) or do anything.

I live in the midwest in an "urban" suburb close to a major city.

This is what people do when their afraid of getting involved or being a good samaritan. Fear of their actions backfiring on them. I bet they actually wanted to say or do something, however, didn't do so in fear of something negative coming back on them. Its a shame that there were witnesses to your situation that did nothing, wow! I would've put my concealed weapon permit to good use and held the intruder at bay till the police arrived, I would have also been detained and questioned and my permit verified etc...then released.
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Old 09-20-2015, 11:39 AM
 
2,755 posts, read 4,391,790 times
Reputation: 7524
The funny thing is that the cops patrol our area constantly, and are well staffed/funded. I am one block away from the Fire Station. A 911 call and the cops would be there in 2 minutes.

It still stuns me that they did absolutely nothing. This is midwestern suburbia....

It's disheartening... to see where people's natural instincts lie.
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Old 09-20-2015, 12:47 PM
 
Location: City Data Land
17,156 posts, read 12,889,833 times
Reputation: 33164
A. Lock your doors.
B. We have a security system, but if was up to me, we'd get rid of it. Unfortunately, it isn't. Security systems are a waste of money to me. But my wife insists we have it.
C. We have several guns and practice regularly.
D. We have two Great Danes, and although one is deaf, she has very keen vision, and the other can hear and see perfectly. Woe be the intruder who attempts to enter the home with two well armed women and protective dogs. We also have a yappy Daschund who is a useless protector, but she makes a hell of a racket.
E. One of our closest friends lives two doors down, and happens to be a constable. They are also night owls and keep their eyes and ears out for anything out of the ordinary.
We really aren't paranoid. We live to live, and if something happens, we have protection in the hope that we can protect ourselves. But there are no guarantees in life but death and taxes. And hopefully our death will not occur via a burglary or some worse criminal fate.
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Old 09-20-2015, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Johns Creek, GA
17,439 posts, read 65,717,646 times
Reputation: 23561
SeAL Team 6!
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Old 09-20-2015, 01:05 PM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,432 posts, read 2,488,215 times
Reputation: 1784
Window bars could bring more attention to your house (criminals could think that you have something valuable).
But shatter-resistant film will be not visible and probably more efficient.
Window bars can be pushed out of frame fairly easily if your house is not built out of concrete or brick.
But film will strengthen the glass itself in a window frame, and good window frame is not that easy to kick in.

Take look at this 3M window film real video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXRmvtfK3-4


This is a commercial demo, but I trust it too:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6uQAtGMCbY


I think this film will be pretty awesome. A while ago I received $1400 quote for the entire house and decided to wait. But now thinking about covering only 1st level windows. So the price might get reduced down to $600-700. A good way to go I think. I am more concerned about night break-in. This film even if not stops intruder, gives good time advantage to react.

General security tips: thorny bushes/small trees under your windows, maybe also some poison ivy.
Motion-activated lights will be great. Also motion detectors to control outside perimeter that will provide sound alarm inside the house.
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Old 09-20-2015, 02:25 PM
 
51,585 posts, read 25,589,248 times
Reputation: 37787
Quote:
Originally Posted by sfcambridge View Post
Security system signs outside (even if you don't have a security system - our local cops know this works).

Security system. The no-contract, install yourself ones are much cheaper and fine.

Leave on radios. Talk radio stations are best.

Leave on some lights, or have them on timers.

Motion activated outdoor lights.

Get to know and be nice to your neighbors, so that they actually feel some incentive to be an extra pair of eyes/ears. Let them know you will tell them if you ever plan on moving or are having major work done when you are not home.

Make sure you have renters/home owners insurance.

Hide the most valuable things. Keep jewelry in less conspicuous containers, in atypical places.


My apartment was broken into this summer. One neighbor saw the intruder trying to get in the front door for an extended period of time, actually thought he looked suspicious so purposefully looked at the person to get an ID if needed. But he didn't say anything, call anyone, do anything. Even when this neighbor later heard something happened in my wing of the building, he didn't say anything. Bizarre..... My upstairs neighbor HEARD the noise as the robber broke down my door, and actually came out of her apartment and peeked out to see what was going on. She said nothing, did nothing... and just assumed ?I was moving. Even though I never told anyone I was moving. She didn't call me/text me/email me (she had my number and has communicated with me in the past) or do anything.

I live in the midwest in an "urban" suburb close to a major city.
Several years ago, I was walking up the stairs inside an apartment building in a nice area in Indianapolis when a man came up behind me and fell on me. We grappled for a time. I screamed and beat him off and chased him down the stairs. He grabbed my friend's purse on the way out. I was able to hang on to mine. He drove off with a companion who was waiting.

As we came back in the building, people peeked out their doors and asked if we were okay. So they knew what was going on.

We called the police. No one else did.

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Old 09-20-2015, 03:37 PM
 
Location: Backwoods of Maine
7,486 posts, read 10,448,162 times
Reputation: 21460
Whoever said that just making your place a few minutes harder to break into, was correct. If every other house on the street has basically the same locks, and yours are tougher, the bad guys will pass you by.

When we lived in a suburban area, we had just one expensive lock on the place - the deadbolt on the front door. The locksmith said it would've taken him a half hour to drill through it. The handle lock on that door, was just a mid-priced, standard brand lock. The deadbolt was doing the heavy lifting. But here's the thing: you had to use the key on the inside, as well as the outside, to release that deadbolt. No lever-flipping.

We had a rear kitchen door and another door leading down to the basement. Here's what we did. Standard handle and deadbolts on both doors, facing the inside. Again, key required on the inside to open the deadbolt. But on the outside (and the basement side of the basment door), there were nothing but flat plates. No outside door handles, and no key slots for deadbolts. Just blank, flat brass plates. Not much to break into!

The locksmith swore we'd be calling him at least twice a week to get us into the house. Never happened. Of course, you'd need to use caution if you have kids, disabled, or elderly family members.
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Old 09-20-2015, 04:05 PM
 
Location: Kansas City North
6,801 posts, read 11,445,114 times
Reputation: 17024
I've posted this before on similar threads: if you live in a snowy climate and you are going to be gone several days, make arrangements to get your driveway plowed, or at least have a neighbor run their car up and down it a few times to put some tire tracks down. Nothing screams "nobody home" like a pristine drifted over driveway days after it snows.

I also like this product:

FakeTV - The Burglar Deterrent
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Old 09-20-2015, 04:19 PM
 
2,755 posts, read 4,391,790 times
Reputation: 7524
Also remember that most break-ins occur during the day, when people are at work etc..

My place was broken into twice and both times were during the day.
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Old 09-20-2015, 05:43 PM
 
1,173 posts, read 2,257,952 times
Reputation: 1154
Don't put on an automatic email message that you won't be around to answer emails until a set date.

Don't tweet about your trip until you're home.

Don't put it on Facebook that you're going on a trip.

And don't tell people in daily life that you're going on a trip: the grocery clerk, the people at your kid's school, your neighbor's teen son who then tells his friends etc. (Your neighbors and friends may be fine, but who are they relaying the info. to?)

If you use a pet sitter, make sure she or he doesn't have a pet sitter sign on her car letting everyone know that you're not home.

Alley

Alley
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