Ever answer your door with a gun in your hand?

[shropshire 0]

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That's the only thing in the garage I really care about. Well, that and my wife.

You keep your wife in the garage?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[shropshire 0]

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You keep your wife in the garage?

Damn beat me John .. I should learn to read the whole thread and know that there are other 'pedantic' folks in here

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[AggieDave 6]

This thread brings up some interesting thoughts and points that I think some folks have missed. It isn't their fault, it is just that they haven't been exposed to it correctly (movies/TV get it very wrong typically).

Burglary of a habitation (as it is called in Texas) is typically conducted in the day time M-F between 8am and 5pm. The overall stats I've looked at pushes the time more before lunch, between about 9am and 11am. Burglaries don't typically happen at night. Why? Burglars want your stuff, not you. So what they end up doing is knocking on your door and if someone answers, they'll have some sort of BS story about selling magazines or similar. Something that most people would turn away. Also, it is rare that the burglar goes through the front door. They would rather go around the back of the house and go through a window. Contrary to Lifetime movies or even worse, alarm company TV commercials, burglars don't want to be seen and the alarm means nothing to them (I'll cover alarm problems later).

Burglary of a Motor Vehicle typically happen at night, later at night when folks are typically sleeping. They want your car in your driveway, since you may have forgotten to lock it while wrestling your kids into the house. Many time burglars don't pick individual vehicles or people, they pick a neighborhood or apartment complex and start off trying for unlocked doors. If they find a car that has something in it they want (GPS left on the dash, iPod or cellphone in plain view), then they'll break the window, get it and go.

Theft, occurring on your property (stealing a lawn mower from your garage or shed for example) happens at all hours and is more of a crime of opportunity than planning. If you don't lock your shed or if you keep your garage door open, you're asking to be a victim of theft.

Burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a felony. The big one, the home invasion. This is the worse of the bunch, since with the previous three theft crimes no one gets hurt, you just lose stuff. Insurance helps you recover some, most or all of that stuff. With the home invasion, it is hard to know what the motivation of the suspect is. Sometimes the suspect is a known person and the reason for the home invasion is due to some sort of past history. There has been a rise in seemingly random home invasions, though. Typically a team of two to three people force their way into your house, detain you and your family, then take your stuff. Sometimes the victims are injured, sometimes they are just traumatized. Sometimes they are killed.

Alarms are popular, but they don't seem to prevent a burglary, they just limit the amount of stuff that is taken. Since an alarm takes 30-60 seconds to go off, then the answering services takes up to 5 minutes to call through the key holders then notify a local police agency and that agency then has to dispatch an officer, the burglar knows they have time. Their only big problem is being seen by a neighbor. So the burglar knows they can get in, get your Xbox, TV and other quick to sell items out of your living room and get out LONG before a police officer has the opportunity to arrive on scene. Ever see that police officer driving hard in traffic with out lights or siren? Probably going to a call like a burglary alarm. Most departments have severe limitations on code-3 responses, so unless someone is being actively assaulted, they run with no lights or siren.

For BMVs it is simple. Don't leave valuables in your car and if you do, don't leave them out where you can see them. Lock your doors. If you have a hot stereo in your car and you drive around showing it off (listening to it loudly), guess what, a thief knows you have a hot stereo.

For simple theft, once again, put it away, lock it up. Keep your garage/shed door closed and locked.

For home invasions, those are the more complex situations. That takes a specific mindset. Answering the door is step one. Why open the door? Why not keep it closed and locked with a deadbolt and talk through the door? If it is a friend, you can look through a peep hole and you'll know it is a friend. Just because someone says "Dominos, got your pizza" doesn't mean they're telling the truth. Blocking part of the peep hole to block the person at the door, but allow you to see out is a trick used to make it seem like your peep hole is dirty and that the person could be legit. What about opening your door with a hotel style swing lock or chain? I can get through those with a single kick. A neat trick is to get one of those big rubber door stops/wedge. Stick that where it would stop your door against the carpet. If you're at the door and someone wants in and you're not armed, then if they get in, you're in serious trouble. You won't have the opportunity to run back to your night stand to get your weapon.

So in summary: don't open the door to answer it, look through the peep hole and talk through the door. Keep it locked. Keep your stuff put away and have renters or home owners insurance.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[kallend 2,182]

Thanks, Dave, that was very informative.

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Ever see that police officer driving hard in traffic with out lights or siren? Probably going to a call like a burglary alarm. Most departments have severe limitations on code-3 responses, so unless someone is being actively assaulted, they run with no lights or siren.

Aren't they also allowed to use lights and sirens when late for coffee and donuts?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[davjohns 1]

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Thanks, Dave, that was very informative.

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Ever see that police officer driving hard in traffic with out lights or siren? Probably going to a call like a burglary alarm. Most departments have severe limitations on code-3 responses, so unless someone is being actively assaulted, they run with no lights or siren.

Aren't they also allowed to use lights and sirens when late for coffee and donuts?

We taught some decision making like that in the Academy. However, you can also look at the clock and get a different story. I have called / written more than one Chief / Sheriff to describe following their marked car driving like crazy in order to get back to the station for shift-change.

I've also seen many marked cars driving far too fast on the freeway when far from their jurisdiction and in civilian clothes. They were clearly at a training event and OK with making cops look bad by speeding with the knowledge they will not get pulled over.

Then, there's one of my favorites...illegal parking (in a handicapped space) because the cop is too fat / lazy to walk in order to take a routine report.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[dannydan 5]

yes also... and i've drawn down on a thug at a jobsite because he had a beef with me for saying something to him From across the lot about pissing on an OscoDrug store wall. That could of been a real bad scene, but his real good buddy came out of the store and saw wat was about to happen if pissy pants brought his hand back around front from his back side like he was wanting to. Good thing he didn't. Wanna stay on topic so i'll close this uP! ;)

[TheBachelor 5]

Not in my hand, but tucked in the waistband of my pants and covered by my shirt. Similar story to others -- not sure why someone was pounding on my door late at night.

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

[masterrig 1]

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That's the only thing in the garage I really care about. Well, that and my wife.

You keep your wife in the garage?

Probably better than keeping her under the stair-way in the basement!


Chuck