Someone tried to break in to my house last night

Mods: Please move this to the Lounge. I posted in the wrong Forum.

This is totally weird. I live on a very quiet dead end street that gets very little traffic. This morning I went out to get the paper and there was a cop in my driveway. He asked me if the poll sticking into the mail slot that goes into my garage was mine. Uh, no.

Someone had gouged out the old and no longer functioning button that used to open that garage from the outside. This might have taken a bit of work. Then, when that didn't work, they tried to open the garage by sticking a poll through the mailslot to hit the button in the garage. If they had been successful they would have gotten into the garage and could have gotten into the house since I don't lock the door from the garage to the house. I will now. We also added a cover to the garage door button so no matter how long the poll, it can't be touched from that angle.

The neighbor had four tires taken off of her grandson's car that was being stored in her car port and a house down the street had some entrance attempt damage.

The cops took the poll and dusted for prints, but it sure wasn't like on CSI.

I am considering getting a gun. Seriously. These people were bold. If they had gotten in who knows what would have happened. My damn cats wouldn't have done diddly squat.

Mz Pip
:dem:

A Roper poll? Zogby? What a novel way to try to break in!

(I know you mean pole, as in a long stick, but I just couldn't resist)

But I wouldn't get a gun. Just my opinion. A good alarm system would be better.

I hope that doesn't ever happen again

The alarm protects your home even if you're not there. If it's monitored by an alarm company, they'll dispatch the cops--and possibly catch the guy in the act.

very discomforting to find the perceived safety of one's home violated. :( Sorry you had to go/live through this - though I am glad to hear they were unsuccessful.

I was seven months' pregnant and some people tried to break in at about 2 am. We had no exit from our second floor bedroom. They banged on the door for a while (which woke me up) but before we could respond they busted in the window on the front door.

We called 911 and my husband yelled at them, and by the time the cops arrived (very short time) they had run off. The cops saw some kids running away from our block.

We thought that they were in the house. Their footsteps on our front porch sounded like they were inside. When they broke the glass we thought they were breaking things in our living room. It was terrifying.

Here's the worst part. Less than a year later a very old woman in a house a few blocks away was murdered by a 15 year old kid trying to steal her car. Apparently she told him to get out. He beat her to death.

The police who responded to the call told us to get a gun! We didn't. We installed an alarm system and eventually we moved. We now keep a baseball bat under the bed.

If I were to get a gun I would get a shotgun and keep the ammo locked in a separate place. You don't even have to load the shotgun. Just the sound of a shotgun being cocked will chase off anyone in their right mind.

keep the ammo IN the shotgun, never ever never try to bluff someone with an empty firearm

Leaving a loaded gun around is an invitation to tragedy imo.

I raised my kids around guns. taught them gun safety, and handling, and marksmanship. the first thing I did when they were old enough was take them out and demonstrate how powerful and how much damage a gun could do, I also let them shoot on a regular basis(takes away the mystery).


All I can say now is I pity the poor bastard that breaks into my daughter's house. he he

I grew up around guns but never wanted one when my kids were little. But now that they are grown and out of the house it's not an issue anymore.

I guess it bothers me that someone would be so bold as to try to do this. Our garage is right on the street. There are lights. We do not live in the middle of nowhere. It is very unsettling to think of someone with a saw or screwdrive working away at a lock where anyone who drove by could see.

Mz Pip
:dem:

That's how you get shot.

And I was burglarized. Cops told me the same thing, "Get a gun." Yeah right. Next someone breaks in, guess what is the first thing they steal. I live in a better place these days and haven't locked my house in 20 years.

By the way, cats are great "watch dogs." They won't stop a burglar, but they will let you know when one is around.

Seriously. This book was written by a long-time house burglar after he got caught and sent to the pokey.

He provided numerous tips on how to avoid having your house broken into. They include:

1. Keep lights on all night long, lighting up all doorways and windows.

2. Even better - get those lights that are motion-activated (this could be a problem if you have deer or other critters outside though). The light coming on as somebody sneaks toward the door is a major deterrent.

3. Put special bolt-locks in any windows that can be accessed from the ground (some thieves even use ladders). These are bolts that actually go through both the window and the sash. You use a special key to unlock them from the inside.

4. Use a double-bolt lock on all doors. Heavy-duty. Don't keep your key in the lock (we had done this). Instead, keep the key nearby so you can get out in the event of fire, but somebody busting your door window can't turn the key and walk in.

5. Better yet, have a heavy-duty door with no windows in it. Have a peephole and always use it.

6. Cut down any bushes or trees that obscure windows or doors.

7. In short, light up your house like a Christmas tree and make sure that people can see all windows and doors from the street or sideyards.

8. Start a community watch in your neighborhood. This means that neighbors look out for one another and call 911 whenever they see anything suspicious.

9. Get an alarm system, so if somebody gets in anyway the motion sensors will go off.

We followed this advice and still do in our current home.

thorny plants under the windows and a 3 foot margin of 1-3" crunchy pebbles around the foundation of your house. Set the pebbles up to act as drainage too. If egress needs to be made through a window for whatever reason, a blanket can be thrown over the prickly plant.

We have lights. They are on. There are streetlights and the garage is right on the street. These people stole all four tires off the neighbors car in her car port which is right up on the street.

Can't really do much about making the windows visible from the street. Our garage is on the street level and the house is below it.

A motion detector alarm wouldn't work for us since we have pets that move around at night.

I hope the police will frequent our street more often.

Mz Pip
:dem:

With the neighborhood I live in, I don't ask questions first.

get a gun but learn how to use it

a gun and take lessons. Two years ago there was a serial rapist in town that was also wanted for murder in another state. I couldn't sleep at night and finally I thought fuck this. Bought a 9mm, took lessons and now I sleep great!

And I would not hesitate to use it if someone is breaking into my house.

If you catch a burglar in your home, his life is forfeit.

Heck, even if you did get charged, there isn't a jury in America that would convict you.

When I was in college I was alone in my first floor apartment- there was a hill that rose outside my bedroom window. One night while I was asleep I was woken up when a man tried to kick in the window. I was by myself (a 20 year old girl) and was absolutely terrified. He ran away when I started screaming, but I made my friends sleep over every other night that week.

That must've been so scary. It's a shame you can't train "attack cats".

If I was a crook I wouldn't try that stunt unless I was positive that no-one home.

Unless you know how to use a gun (and are prepared to actually use it) it's more of a danger to you than anybody else.

but then a few motion detector lights may be just as helpful, and less deadly.

Granted you live on a dead end street, i also live in the boonies. 2 motion detector lights that come on whenever my place is approached has given me much more confidence than you might realize. But, yeah, i also have a gun. In the closet. Unloaded.

these are desperate times. Lock up. Be safe.
dp

nothing in the world quite as useless as an unloaded gun in the closet with the ammo upstairs, and oh ya lets put on a good sturdy trigger lock while we are at it.....hope your criminal intruders are very patient people

Seriously, take a look at the statistics related to accidental gun deaths. Leaving a loaded gun lying around is the most dangerous thing anybody can do.

If you must have a gun in the house, know how to use it, be prepared to use it, and keep it locked up.

A friend of mine was having his house broken into, but the gun was downstairs, which is where the burglers were. So my friend's dad, who was upstairs too, bellowed as loud as he could, "Get the gun!"

The burglers sprinted out of that house in record time!

We are turning into the goofy, fearful,violent twits the gopers want us to be. Get a grip.

I have a LOADED gun

Was your post directed at me, or someone else?

i never stated the ammo was upstairs, downstairs, wherever, nor that it was trigger locked.
"locking' was in ref to her home/garage doors.
I said unloaded. I can load a clip as fast as i need to.

Patience, nor intelligence for that matter, is not what i expect of those with criminal intent on their minds.

nor is intelligent response from some of the gun crowd here either, but then i digress. . .

dp

but can you do it in the dark,half asleep, in your jammies on a thursday?????

i'm confident enough in my abilities.
what is yet to be proven is if you are stupid enough to find out.

as i've already stated, intelligence is not expected from some, once intent is known.

dp

For one thing, owning a gun is useless if you aren't home when someone burglarizes your place. Worse yet, if they find your gun, now you have an armed crook in the neighborhood.

If you are home when they decide to break in, yeah, it can come in handy; there is no getting around it, but if your ammo is located somewhere else in the house, all you've got is a metal paperweight in your hand, not a gun.

If you do decide to keep your gun loaded, I'd suggest you put a heavy-duty lock on your bedroom door as well, and I'd seriously recommend you take a course on gun safety. (I'd recommend it to anyone who decides to get a firearm) No need in shooting yourself in the foot while cleaning your gun, and there's definitely no need to have your kids in your bedroom potentially finding your gun when you are at work.

If you are going to own a gun, be sensible about it. Too many people approach them with such a cavalier attitude, and few have had any formal education on guns.

When you're not home, put your gun in something such as a safe in your room, a real heavy-duty one if you have the luxury, and lock your bedroom door to keep the kids out. When you're home in your room, you could keep it under your bed. When someone breaks into your house when you're home, just roll out of your bed and reach for it.

P.S. Don't shoot your wife or husband, unless they're trying to kill you with his unreasonably high standards or her incessant nagging. No, I'm just kidding. Don't shoot family members...no, not even the in-laws or your mother-in-law who insists you should vote for Bush because of his stand against gay marriage. (Yes, I meant "his") :)

Mine are grown and gone.

I would definitely take a gun safety class. It's been years since I've fired one of those things and am probably pretty rusty. My dad was in the police reserves and taught me how to shoot and clean and handle a gun. But I do need a refresher course.

But you make a good point. If no one is home (not realy likely since my husband works at home) the gun could get stolen.

I could get a pack of dogs but the cats wouldn't like that at all.

Mz Pip
:dem:

"Thundering Herd"-our 8 dogs- got done, all we would have to do is mop up the mess and sweep up the pieces.