Do you sleep with just the screen door locked at night? (Scottsdale: crime, house)

[Guitarmaan]

Now the evenings are becoming cooler, obviously it makes more sense to open doors and windows than rely on the AC when the house is hot. But I'm wondering whether it would be safe to leave the front door open at night and just keep the screen door locked. Is it secure enough?

What do people do?

[SMG]

Guitarman...being that some areas of town are safer than others, that will depend on location. I tend to close my doors and lock them at night. But, if you want answers you ought to disclose your location.

[LBTRS]

I would never do that. All doors and windows on the first floor get closed and locked at night. I do leave second story bedroom windows open.

[azdr0710]

free air conditioning these nights!!

some people have heavier security screen doors with dead-bolt locks...seems those would be OK to use....

each person has to assess their comfort level in deciding whether to keep only screen doors closed....neighborhood safety, home layout, security system set-up, how heavy you sleep, do you keep a weapon under your pillow.....

I'm lucky to have second story windows and doors and a layout uninviting to burglars, so I often have certain windows and doors open all night....but, wow, by morning I'm buried under my down blanket!

[vince3vince]

I would never do that, even in a gated community. I also would never leave windows open (or blinds for that matter) in the front of the house. Only occupied bedroom windows that were accessible only from the back of the house I leave open at night.

[Guitarmaan]

ok, well the consensus seems to be "no way"

I live in Chandler, and it certainly seems safe enough. But you never know. I haven't left my front door open while sleeping at night yet, and I guess I won't try it. I don't know strong those metal screen doors really are.

[CheyDee]

We have heavy, decorative, security screen doors on all of our doors, such as these. The whole point of our having them is to leave our regular doors open in beautiful weather. There is no way for even a child to fit through the openings, even if the screens were cut, however someone could cut the screen and stick their arms through if they wanted to. With that in mind, we don't have things like chairs, beds, or any items of value close to those doors. The locks require keys to open from either side, so we feel perfectly safe.

If someone wanted to get in that badly, they'd have an easier time breaking a regular window than trying to get through those doors.

[sasha7]

Is it really that bad? I am used to have all windows open all day and all night. I just looked into home security systems. FRONTPOINT SECURITY is the best reviewed 1

[KurtAZ]

Sasha...you are looking at Old Town Scottsdale, lock up everything on the first floor. Guitarman...I live in Chandler and keep most windows open except the front ones on the first floor and lock all the doors at night. I guess it depends on where in Chandler you live, you can pull up crime stats for your area but the big thing is not presenting an easy target for someone to break in. Windows and doors...if someone wants something in your house...are not always a large deterrent but an open door for instance is just saying "Come on in and help yourself". A sliding glass door is probably less of an invitation since it is in your back yard and if someone is already in your backyard...they were probably intent on breaking in in the first place.

I guess the best advice is to use your own judgement and gauge your comfort level with the safety of your neighborhood.

[Voebe]

Here's the question:

If we tell you, sure, we leave our screen doors open, and then you leave the screen door open, and then you experience a burglary or a home invasion - how stupid will you feel when you tell the police, "Well, they said on an internet forum that it was okay"?