View Full Version : house break in today
Today a punk broke into our house and took a tv. It was a classic smash 'n grab: smash the back door, grab the tv.
We've lived in this high crime zip code for 21 years and have never had a house break in. Car windows smashed, petty thefts of outdoor items, etc we've have over the years, but not this.
I have to say that we somewhat invited it since we've got the tv right by the front windows and we don't pull down blinds or have curtains. That is a "no no" in this neighborhood. I think we will install half blinds on the lower windows so that it's not so obvious what is inside here, and that will still allow light to come in.
I do not feel violated or scared or any of those feelings people often feel. The perp did not stick around to rifle through anything else, just--grab that tv and run!
I could work up a little anger about what we found: a plastic implement he brought inside from the patio, a BBQ cleaner. The cops theorize that perp brought it in the house to use on one of our dogs if the dogs got out of line. Now that, I can get worked up about.
But the dogs are fine. Only one of them was alone with him while he was taking the tv and she probably just stood and watched him. They would have barked at the noise of the door broken down, but they were all ok.
The door, by the way, was a modern steel door inside a sturdy frame. Perp & co. were SERIOUS about getting in.
fidgiegirl
10-5-11, 9:59pm
So sorry to hear this, Iris lily! Glad it was only the TV and that no one, human or canine, was hurt.
That is so upsetting but glad that the dogs are OK.
Oh no! Glad you are all alright. How frightening!
Sad Eyed Lady
10-5-11, 10:36pm
It's terrible to have something like that happen, but as fidgiegirl said, just glad all humans and dogs are okay.
If they broke in while knowing there were dogs in the house, they most likely would have done the same thing knowing you were there. Be careful and consider a shotgun.
I expect crimes like this are going to increase everywhere with the economy being where it is and going downhill fast. A TV, especially a nice flat screen, is probably really easy to sell.
One of my personal rules is to never show any flash in public. I drive a ten year old car in good shape, and it doesn't stand out in a parking lot. I no longer wear my good jewelry anywhere. Et cetera. It's sad, but sometimes minor sacrifices are necessary, certainly for the sake of personal security.
I have steel doors too, and they are worthless unless the locks are bolted into something equally sturdy. Mine are not, and I'm considering getting the type of drop bolt that was used by pioneers: a two by four that drops into brackets that are securely screwed into the studs on either side.
My neighborhood is so far safe and quiet, but I'm not counting on it in the future. The times they are a-changing.
Like others, I'm glad you and the dogs are unhurt. Like Alan, my impulse toward invaders goes more to shotguns than resignation.
iris lily
10-5-11, 11:36pm
...One of my personal rules is to never show any flash in public. .. I no longer wear my good jewelry anywhere. Et cetera. It's sad, but sometimes minor sacrifices are necessary, certainly for the sake of personal security...
I do that, too. When we had a rash of muggings in the 'nabe some years ago I took off my rings and stored them. But oddly a couple of days ago I felt moved to wear one and pulled it out of its hiding place. But this perp never bothered to look for jewelry. And typical for the ghetto punk, all he knew was electronics. We've got sterling sitting around, easy to find, that he could EASILY fence for more than the stupid tv.
I have steel doors too, and they are worthless unless the locks are bolted into something equally sturdy.
The door came off on the hinge side, the lock held. That's unusual according to the police.
Yikes. I am sorry this happened to you & glad you're ok - and the dogs too.
If you do get a gun, get trained to use it correctly. They are dangerous in un-trained hands, especially when faced with a scary situation.
loosechickens
10-6-11, 12:54am
Ah, bummer, Iris Lily. You've got a good attitude, given your neighborhood. Glad the dogs are all right, though. You know what's really important.
Holy mama!! I'll echo everyone's comment, glad you and pooches are okay. That stuff puts me in a fury like non other.
Someone broke into our daughter's house many years ago. She and the baby were next door at OUR house at the time, her DH was gone. Many things were taken. Scary feeling.
We've had some stuff stolen, while living in town and even out here in the sticks. I remind myself that it's just stuff and I can always get more stuff.
Please be careful, whoever stole the TV knows that you'll replace it and sometimes they come back for the new one, too.
I hope he's caught soon before someone gets hurt. Glad the dogs are ok. Sorry about your window. Fixing those things are always such a hassle.
Thankful it was only a TV.
I so rarely lock my back door, I know that is bad but I can't remember any reports of theft in our rural area, we're kind of a hidden neighborhhod that not many people know how to find.
Sorry to hear this IL! I'm glad no one was home at the time.
Do you have deadbolts? The other locks are really useless. Found that out by personal experience a number of years ago when someone broke into our house.
We found our dog's leash thrown out in the back yard. The big bed he sleeps under was moved. I guess they were trying to get to him. He was okay.
Because of your location, you might consider bars on your doors too. I'm glad you're okay.
Sorry to hear...the thought of knowing a stranger violated one's home like that is hard to deal with. We live in a supposedly "safe" area yet go through rashes of these kick the back door in, grab and run thefts. I know it is a matter of time before it happens to us. Also a major motivator in not buying a new flat screen. Another thing going on in our hood is smash the car windows in the driveway and grab whatever they can. DH lost a laptop that way recently even though it was hidden under a pile of papers. Replacing the windows was a major expense too.
iris lily
10-6-11, 10:45am
...Another thing going on in our hood is smash the car windows in the driveway and grab whatever they can....
yeah we had that a few months ago. Before that, it was a span of about 3 years with no crime. Prior to the no-crime period our car was stolen (I had forgotten to lock it) and DH was the hero who found it stashed in a nearby neighborhood.
When you replace the TV make sure you don't put the boxes out in such a way that it tells them you have replaced it with new....Dsis was told this by police and it is a good practice for all new valuable things bought new...
I'm sorry to hear of this, Iris. I have always classified my home as a sanctuary and safe-haven, and how dare anyone invade/violate that space (of anyone)! How about a house alarm?
If they broke in while knowing there were dogs in the house, they most likely would have done the same thing knowing you were there. Be careful and consider a shotgun.
I can't believe I'm in agreement with alan but I am. The end is nigh....
I can't believe I'm in agreement with alan but I am. The end is nigh....
I think the simple act of admitting agreement proves just the opposite. We've only just begun....
When I lived on a farm, our house was 'broken' into - we never locked the doors - when we were gone overnight once. The milk money was taken as was the cheap liquor. The worst part was that our three border collies were locked up in the bathroom... Which rendered them terrified for a week, because they were forced to spend the night sleeping next to the dreaded BathTub! Our elder girl shook for days afterwards, and wouldn't go near the bathroom door for weeks and weeks. Poor darlings.
The worst part was that our three border collies were locked up in the bathroom... Which rendered them terrified for a week, because they were forced to spend the night sleeping next to the dreaded BathTub! Our elder girl shook for days afterwards, and wouldn't go near the bathroom door for weeks and weeks. Poor darlings.
Oh no! The Dreaded Evil Bath Tub!
I know it was traumatic for the doggies, but this had me laughing!
I'm sorry this happened to you, Iris Lily. I've heard of break-in victims being advised by the police to check out the local swap meets. Apparently thieves are either stupid or brazen enough to sell the stuff not far from the scene of the crime.
I'm sorry this happened to you, Iris Lily. I've heard of break-in victims being advised by the police to check out the local swap meets. Apparently thieves are either stupid or brazen enough to sell the stuff not far from the scene of the crime.
If you put me in a room with my tv as well as others, I couldn't identify it, I didn't even know what brand it was when the police asked. Fortunately, DH did. It was a mediocre flat screen medium sized tv, nothing showy. The police department has tools that we can borrow to inscribed identifying info like address or some other code, perhaps we'll do that the next time.
Sorry to hear it Iris lily, but glad you're not letting this make you paranoid, and you're keeping things in perspective.
In 2010 the property victimization rate declined by 6%, compared to the average annual decrease of 3% observed from 2001 through 2009. This is an amazing statistic, considering the number of unemployed, directly from the Dept. of Justice.
In my experience good relations with neighbors is the best deterrent to crime. Also in my personal experience guns in the home are most likely to be used on a member of the household and/or stolen and used for more crime. So I'm not a fan of keeping guns for anything except overthrowing an unaccountable government (dubious success for that method these days, more effective to occupy a public space for a few months:idea:) or shooting a marauding dog killing your livestock, unless you're a hunter. The rate of total violent crime victimizations declined by 13% in 2010, the number of stranger victimizations declined significantly too. I'm sorry, but I'd rather lose a tv than add to that statistic by killing some stupid poor punk for taking it. Definition of "overkill"?
Just had a potential buyer drop out because there was a drive-by shooting in the neighborhood. Glad they dropped out, since clearly they are ignorant that it's young black men who bear the burden of victimization of the VAST majority of violent crime in this country, and I don't know of any white middle class couples EVER being victimized by drive-by's in the 20 years I've been associating with the neighborhood. If those folks don't get that and care about why that is, then they don't belong in this neighborhood.
To me, living free means exercising wise caution, but living fearlessly. In no way am I putting up bars or fences -- more effective to be all the more friendly to people in the neighborhood, who then know you KNOW them, and we'll either watch out for each other's best interest, or we'll all know who to come after if they don't! Because we're not around much to keep up our end of the bargain, we've decided to sell the city house, to someone who "gets it", if we can.
I can't believe I'm in agreement with alan but I am. The end is nigh....
Same here. I just solicited advice from an old boyfriend (now a very good friend) who was a small town sheriff as to what gun to buy, and I joined the NRA. This, from a child of the sixties.
I'm glad your dogs are safe and the punk wasn't smart enough to take anything of value. I'm not sure I would be as mellow as you are about it. I think I would have a short freak-out followed by some righteous outrage that someone had the nerve to break into my house.
Although my first impulse would call for a shotgun (which I don't own), my second would be to call a realtor. My dream house would feature a stout fence, a locked gate, a moat, and razor wire. And maybe a turret. In the 25 years I've lived here, the most excitement we've had--besides a drive-by firecracker incident--was some hapless drunk driver who led the local gendarmes on a merry chase down our dead-end lane, and then--realizing he was trapped--he fled his car and was rattling around in people's patios until he found his way into the woods. Hours of activity ensued.
My kind, helpful 80-something father was violently mugged in his own front yard (mostly because he was being kind and helpful--and old), so I'm not particularly sanguine about inner-city crime.
iris lily
10-7-11, 10:13pm
...
In 2010 the property victimization rate declined by 6%, compared to the average annual decrease of 3% observed from 2001 through 2009. This is an amazing statistic, considering the number of unemployed, directly from the Dept. of Justice.
National overview crime stats don't mean much to me, I'm more interested in
1) my neighborhood
2) nearby neighborhoods
3) my city
in that order. Our 'nabe is up in crime although I don't know about the city.
My kind, helpful 80-something father was violently mugged in his own front yard (mostly because he was being kind and helpful--and old), so I'm not particularly sanguine about inner-city crime.
I hope your father is okay, JaneV2.0. I have no use for people that pick on the elderly. >:(
I share your dream house vision. We don't have any of those things, but we do live in a quiet area and we have a long driveway through dense trees, so very few people venture up to see us uninvited. At least not after dark.
He came through it with only a persistent elbow injury and lived many years afterwards--he was healthy and tough and had survived combat in the Pacific, after all. I think he was chagrined that he wasn't able to fend the creep off, though. It still makes me mad thinking about it, even so many years later.
Although my first impulse would call for a shotgun (which I don't own), my second would be to call a realtor. My dream house would feature a stout fence, a locked gate, a moat, and razor wire. And maybe a turret.
If there are two available, would you please let me know after you've decided which one you want?
I'm sorry your house was broken into, Iris Lily! I find it interesting that many people's reaction is to immediately get a gun, similarly to when I told folks about gunshots on our street a couple of weeks ago. In either case, possessing a gun would have been totally useless, because many crimes are not prevented by owning or carrying a gun. You wouldn't get your 6 year old child a gun if you were afraid he/she would be a victim of sexual harassment would you? Of course not. You'd train the kid what perps were likely to say and do, and what to do in those cases. Guns do work well in certain situations, such as when a perp intends to assault or kill you in your own home, or in the case of the marauding dog/wildlife situation described earlier in the thread. A firearm does nothing to protect dogs or property when you're not home, nor does it protect against stray bullets intended for some other target. If you have property crime, a strategy such as putting blinds up to reduce a perp's ability to case the house is called for. Sheesh. And I thought the "get a gun" attitude was because I am in Arizona.
I'm sorry your house was broken into, Iris Lily! I find it interesting that many people's reaction is to immediately get a gun, similarly to when I told folks about gunshots on our street a couple of weeks ago. In either case, possessing a gun would have been totally useless, because many crimes are not prevented by owning or carrying a gun. You wouldn't get your 6 year old child a gun if you were afraid he/she would be a victim of sexual harassment would you? Of course not. You'd train the kid what perps were likely to say and do, and what to do in those cases. Guns do work well in certain situations, such as when a perp intends to assault or kill you in your own home, or in the case of the marauding dog/wildlife situation described earlier in the thread. A firearm does nothing to protect dogs or property when you're not home, nor does it protect against stray bullets intended for some other target. If you have property crime, a strategy such as putting blinds up to reduce a perp's ability to case the house is called for. Sheesh. And I thought the "get a gun" attitude was because I am in Arizona.
It would help to understand the suggestion to "get a gun" comes from this specific incident, not some other incident that may or may not happen. If a person knowingly enters a house with dogs inside, and brings with him/her a tool of some sort to deal with the animals, he/she would also be extremely likely to do the same thing with people inside and be fully prepared to use violence against them in order to get what he/she wants.
What I don't understand is people who refuse to take responsibility for protecting themselves and others against potential violence. A weapon in the home is a defensive tool. Why would anyone be against that?
When DH gets back from being out of town, I expect we will have a review of security measures. Windows coverings for sure will go up, and I suppose he will want to turn on the security alarm (it's not monitored.) I hate the security alarm but will live with it if we can just have the doors on monitor and nothing else. I truly dislike paying a service to monitor, though.
He has a shotgun, at least I presume it's a shotgun because he's a farm boy he brought a gun or two into our marriage, but the guns have been stored, untouched, for 20+ years.
So let me ask: how would I, theoretically, learn how to use a shotgun? Can I do that at a shooting range? I absolutely will not have a gun lying around without me having had actual practice in shooting it. Just having someone show me parts and loading doesn't cut it.
So let me ask: how would I, theoretically, learn how to use a shotgun? Can I do that at a shooting range? I absolutely will not have a gun lying around without me having had actual practice in shooting it. Just having someone show me parts and loading doesn't cut it.
Yes, go to the range and make a day of it. It's fun and you'll quickly become comfortable with your preferred weapon.
"If there are two available, would you please let me know after you've decided which one you want? "
Will do!
http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-object-064.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons.php)http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-object-064.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons.php)
"If there are two available, would you please let me know after you've decided which one you want? "
Will do!
http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-object-064.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons.php)http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-object-064.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons.php)
:D :D :D
It would help to understand the suggestion to "get a gun" comes from this specific incident, not some other incident that may or may not happen. If a person knowingly enters a house with dogs inside, and brings with him/her a tool of some sort to deal with the animals, he/she would also be extremely likely to do the same thing with people inside and be fully prepared to use violence against them in order to get what he/she wants.
What I don't understand is people who refuse to take responsibility for protecting themselves and others against potential violence. A weapon in the home is a defensive tool. Why would anyone be against that?
I will argue that the perp purposely broke in when nobody was home. Therefore in that situation a gun is useless, since in only isolated cases have dogs ever successfully shot anyone ;) The dogs probably alerted him that no one was home, since if someone were home likely they would have been shushing the dogs or some sort of activity would have resulted from the dogs' barking. In fact, a voice-activated thing that says "Shush, Fido!" in response to a dog bark would be an awesome home-break-in deterrent.
In any case, I neither think guns are totally inappropriate nor think that not having one is a refusal to take responsibility for protecting oneself. Either way you go, you are accepting a certain set of responsibilities, and it's up to each person to choose what they are comfortable with. Not everyone wants to go learn how to shoot a gun, deal with cleaning and maintaining the thing, storing it, etc. What if you have little kids? What if you have a teenager with a drug problem? What if a member of your household struggles with depression or some other mental disorder that would make having an available gun a big risk? I'm playing devil's advocate here-I actually do own guns and have shot them at a shooting range. However, I chafe at the idea that a gun is the only or best solution to any crime and the idea that every person should own a gun for self-protection.
When DH gets back from being out of town, I expect we will have a review of security measures. Windows coverings for sure will go up, and I suppose he will want to turn on the security alarm (it's not monitored.) I hate the security alarm but will live with it if we can just have the doors on monitor and nothing else. I truly dislike paying a service to monitor, though.
He has a shotgun, at least I presume it's a shotgun because he's a farm boy he brought a gun or two into our marriage, but the guns have been stored, untouched, for 20+ years.
So let me ask: how would I, theoretically, learn how to use a shotgun? Can I do that at a shooting range? I absolutely will not have a gun lying around without me having had actual practice in shooting it. Just having someone show me parts and loading doesn't cut it.
Our local shooting range has programs specifically for women to learn the basics...not sure about St Louis but it might be worth checking into if you're interested. Personally, I would think a small pistol such as a .22 or 9 mil would be an easier choice to learn, unless your intention is to deter by the sound of putting a round in the chamber or you don't own any and don't want to buy one.
gimmethesimplelife
10-9-11, 11:37am
Im just glad you are ok and nothing priceless was taken - a tv can be replaced, but your life and the life of your dogs can't. Rob
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