Home of friends burgled today---so sorry for them (Houston, Mart: 2014, insurance)

[loves2read]

We have friends -- girl who went to school w/our daughter--who lives inside the Loop in SW part of town I think (haven't been there in few years and don't know Houston that well)...

she teaches, has two young kids, and a husband who has to travel for work at times
She came home from school today and found their house was broken into and robbed--
stole pretty much anything of value, including her Aggie ring, a keepsake ring from her grandmother, her camera and other electronics including her son's Ipad, and casual stuff like their liquor...

I know there is nothing really to be done when something like this happens--burglaries happen too often and the goods are gone too quickly for police to really make any attempt to recover what was stolen or likely catch the thieves...

Just really feel so sorry for them...I know she probably felt sick when she saw what happened...and it likely scared her kids as well...

Anyone else had someone in similar straits recently?

[HookTheBrotherUp]

'Sorry to hear about that. It is odd... whenever someone I know gets robbed, I take it personally. Odd, isn't it? I mean I get pissed, even though it was not me. Of course, it is always good no one gets hurt, but it pisses me off when these low-lives revert to robbing people for things they worked and paid for. This is the mentality of too many theives, they have been "helped" by all sorts of programs that won't make them work, and treated to entitlements all their lives that they feel entitled to take your things if they can't afford them.

I hope she saw all these things before her kids did, I know I'd like to see the damage first. Do you know if she had her IPAD password protected (PIN)? If so, and if she registered it, she can track it, not only finding the IPAD, but also the culprit(s). Let us know what happens.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201472

[colcat]

So sorry! I can't even imagine how they must feel! So violated! The one place you should feel safe is in your own home.

[aero100]

Had the same thing happen to me years ago. It was a run of the mill burglary - and the police really don't do anything but give you a slip for your insurance. Even with an alarm they know how to get in and out of the house quickly, and more likely than not the police won't show up for the alarm call for many minutes if it's HPD (neighborhood patrols are faster).

I did improve my security by adding cameras (if the alarm goes off and I see people in my house I call 911 myself - the cops respond much faster to a confirmed burglary in progress than an ADT alarm call that more often than not is Fido or kitty getting caught by a motion sensor).

I have also noticed a smile on my face every time an intruder who is counting on a lackluster police response or overstressed legal system is instead shot and killed by a homeowner.

[ilikeme]

Originally Posted by aero100

I did improve my security by adding cameras (if the alarm goes off and I see people in my house I call 911 myself - the cops respond much faster to a confirmed burglary in progress than an ADT alarm call that more often than not is Fido or kitty getting caught by a motion sensor).

I have a similar set-up. My alarm company does call both HPD and our private neighborhood security patrol, but I also have cameras set up. If I get a push notification on my iPhone from the alarm company or they call me, I can pull up the cameras and see what is going on all around the outside of my house. I can then confirm with alarm dispatch that there are intruders there or call HPD and security myself to confirm what alarm dispatch has told them. All parts of the house have 3 layers of sensors (window/door contacts, glassbreak detectors, and motion detectors) so if it is an intruder they should at least trip 2 of them, which the alarm company will see. The motions are pet friendly and my cat has never set them off.

There are also smoke detectors throughout the house that are tied to the alarm, if one of those gets tripped they immediately dispatch the fire department without verification first.

[crono_clone]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

'Sorry to hear about that. It is odd... whenever someone I know gets robbed, I take it personally. Odd, isn't it? I mean I get pissed, even though it was not me. Of course, it is always good no one gets hurt, but it pisses me off when these low-lives revert to robbing people for things they worked and paid for. This is the mentality of too many theives, they have been "helped" by all sorts of programs that won't make them work, and treated to entitlements all their lives that they feel entitled to take your things if they can't afford them.

People have been robbing and stealing from each other since the beginning of history, way before any of these entitlement programs were even a glimmer in a politician's eye. I would just chalk it up to basic human nature, that bad people will always do bad things.

[PedroMartinez]

Any security footage?

I had some buns and ground beef stolen a week ago, and here is what my camera caught?



I'm wondering if it may have been the same guy.

[vwgto]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

Any security footage?

I had some buns and ground beef stolen a week ago, and here is what my camera caught?



I'm wondering if it may have been the same guy.

I think you held the rewind too long on that tape...

[FabulousE]

Sorry that happened. I had my purse stolen when I was in high school. I was lucky enough to get it back. The only thing that was missing was a few dollars.

[aprilhenwood]

I think it would be best to have a big dog in the house...my sister-in-laws house was broken in. They went to the mall that time and leave the other dog chain up outside. When the thief came in he didn't realize there was another dog in the house. This lab-German shepherd mixed dog got hold of this robber. The neighbors saw him running out from the house and called police.