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46,000 is a fairly good size city, IMHO. Our town has 250.
I locked the front doors of our house when I installed the doors. I made a big deal of giving my wife the keys to her new house. She unlocked the doors, and they have not been locked since that year.
My truck came with only an ignition key, and the door side vent does not have a latch. I was thinking about replacing the latch once. I dropped it off at a mechanic for servicing, and the next day when I picked it up, he had locked the doors. Then I understood why the door vent was missing it's latch. [so I can reach inside to unlock the door].
I read in the news where statewide we do have a few break-ins each year. No matter how rural you are it is still going to happen on occasion.
Sometimes kids will bang-up mailboxes with a ball bat, often they end up injured in the process.
Beekeeper, we had some teenagers tear up a mailbox the hard way once where I used to live. Been out drinking and one was laying down in the back seat with his feet hanging way out the window. Driver decided to cut a corner and said feet found the mailbox on the edge of the road. 2 broken ankles, and numerous broken bones in the feet. Driver arrested for DUI and wanton endangerment.
The only places I left unlocked were more than 30 miles from a town of any size, and more than 2 miles off any road. Then my rationale was that if someone wanted in, they would get in, and I didn't want to have to repair doors and/or windows in addition to being robbed. Even at those places I locked up anytime I was sleeping.
My wife and I never lock our cars. It's pointless if someone really wants into your car they'll just break a window which is more expensive than anything that I keep in my car. Late last fall a couple of cars on our street were broken into we were missing a change cup with maybe $5 in it and a bottle of Mt. Dew so $6.50 total. Our neighbor who had about the same value of things taken from his car was out $350 because the thieves broke his drivers side window to get into his car. All it takes to bust a car window is either a spring loaded center punch available at any hardware store. Or the carbide electrode off the end of any spark plug.
We leave our keys in our trucks. The keys to the house are still in the drawer where the previous owners left them a little over a year ago. I had an iPod Nano swiped out of my truck once when we lived on the other side of town (three blocks away), probably by some dopey teenager. Oh well. We do lock our doors when we're in Anchorage or Fairbanks, and I lock them when I'm out hiking and am parked on the side of the highway or at certain trailheads. Our street is pretty safe, though.
My wife and I never lock our cars. It's pointless if someone really wants into your car they'll just break a window which is more expensive than anything that I keep in my car. Late last fall a couple of cars on our street were broken into we were missing a change cup with maybe $5 in it and a bottle of Mt. Dew so $6.50 total. Our neighbor who had about the same value of things taken from his car was out $350 because the thieves broke his drivers side window to get into his car. All it takes to bust a car window is either a spring loaded center punch available at any hardware store. Or the carbide electrode off the end of any spark plug.
So you aren't concerned that someone may steal the car? Locking car doors is all about deterrence. A car thief doesn't want to chance being seen messing with a locked car when he can find one just as good unlocked.
So you aren't concerned that someone may steal the car? Locking car doors is all about deterrence. A car thief doesn't want to chance being seen messing with a locked car when he can find one just as good unlocked.
How is a car thief any different than a person breaking into your car to steal your stereo or what ever else they can find ? Both run the chance of being seen messing with a car lock or breaking a window to get inside. Contrary to what TV and the movies would have you believe stealing a modern car isn't real easy. I'd guess that most cars that are stolen are left running to warm them up in cold weather or left running as the owner runs into a gas station/home/store to get something. Or the owner leaves the keys in the vehical so they know where the keys are.
Also look at the likelyhood of something happening. The likelyhood of a teenager walking down a street looking for money, stereos, cd, gps's, ipods, and cell phone is alot greater than a car thief stealing your car. So if you don't keep any of the above in your car to me at least it makes more sense to leave you car doors unlocked vs. locking them and having the person break your window so they can take a look around.
When we lived in a town of 1500, I only locked the door once in 11 years, when I went on vacation to Italy. Now that we live in a "city" of 30,000 I do lock up. I don't lock the car but I do put it in the garage at night. I never leave anything valuable in the car. If the thieves want my 2001 Ford Escape with crappy brakes that much, good luck to them.
How is a car thief any different than a person breaking into your car to steal your stereo or what ever else they can find ? Both run the chance of being seen messing with a car lock or breaking a window to get inside. Contrary to what TV and the movies would have you believe stealing a modern car isn't real easy. I'd guess that most cars that are stolen are left running to warm them up in cold weather or left running as the owner runs into a gas station/home/store to get something. Or the owner leaves the keys in the vehical so they know where the keys are.
I think it is called a "crime of opportunity". If you leave a door open and someone walks in and steals something, it is not treated the same as someone tearing your door down or tinkering with the lock to obtain access. The latter has intent and is a more serious crime.
OD
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