This is why locks and doors are more important than guns

Status
Not open for further replies.

Jeff White

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 24, 2002
Messages
37,729
Location
Alma Illinois
Doorbell camera video of two armed men attempting a home invasion. They were unable to breach the door and were later arrested after a high speed chase.

https://fox2now.com/news/illinois/w..._app&utm_medium=social&utm_content=share-link

I’m not going to speculate as to why they chose that home, the homeowner and the police aren’t talking. The lesson here is that they were unable to gain entry. I don’t know if the homeowner was armed, in this case she didn’t need to be armed, the bad guys never got in.

I’ve probably read hundreds of posts in this forum about dogs, alarms and waking up out of REM sleep to engage in a gunfight. The way these two charged the door they probably would have been on top of the homeowner before she realized what was happening if the door gave way. Fortunately it didn’t.

These things happen very fast. The door and other physical security measures are the story here.
 
That "donkey kick" strategy seems to be gaining traction in the underworld.

You can take all kinds of measures to secure your home if you live in a standard stick built house.

My wife and I live in a modular home so no amount of anything will help. Not to mention the previous owner put in a sliding glass door at one point and French 9 lites at another.

Our saving grace is living in the sticks.

That, and our stafordshire terrier. The key with her is knowing her barking/growling. I've had her for a decade and there's a distinct difference from barking at a deer/skunk/possum in the middle of the night, and her actually getting aggressive at something that might be a threat.

Now whether or not her responding to a legitimate threat would wake up us in the middle of the night would actually happen, we certainly get plenty of regular wake up calls for the deer/skunk/possum.

My defense pistol is under my pillow so easily accessible.

But "hardening of our home" basically relies on us being rural, given our current circumstances.
 
Agreed. In addition to multiple sophisticated locks…my doors are all wedged with doorstops, too.
Even if the locks were all miraculously defeated, the harder they push, the tougher it will get.

I have contemplated how fast I could sprint from my open doors up to the family bedrooms.
I figure the average criminal invader *might* take 4-5 seconds longer based on home familiarity.

Quality locks, entry doors, and windows are essential.
 
That "donkey kick" strategy seems to be gaining traction in the underworld.

You can take all kinds of measures to secure your home if you live in a standard stick built house.

My wife and I live in a modular home so no amount of anything will help. Not to mention the previous owner put in a sliding glass door at one point and French 9 lites at another.

Our saving grace is living in the sticks.

That, and our stafordshire terrier. The key with her is knowing her barking/growling. I've had her for a decade and there's a distinct difference from barking at a deer/skunk/possum in the middle of the night, and her actually getting aggressive at something that might be a threat.

Now whether or not her responding to a legitimate threat would wake up us in the middle of the night would actually happen, we certainly get plenty of regular wake up calls for the deer/skunk/possum.

My defense pistol is under my pillow so easily accessible.

But "hardening of our home" basically relies on us being rural, given our current circumstances.
3M security film on the glass and a dowel in the track of the sliding glass door.
 
Agreed. In addition to multiple sophisticated locks…my doors are all wedged with doorstops, too.
Even if the locks were all miraculously defeated, the harder they push, the tougher it will get.

I have contemplated how fast I could sprint from my open doors up to the family bedrooms.
I figure the average criminal invader *might* take 4-5 seconds longer based on home familiarity.

Quality locks, entry doors, and windows are essential.
In addition to the 3M security film on all my windows, I also have a dowel in the track of the sliding glass door at the back, security doors over all my exterior doors:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gatehouse-...6-in-x-81-in-Actual-39-in-x-81-75-in/50374788
and bolts on the inside of the garage door to prevent defeating the opener:
garage door lock, right side.JPG

garage door lock, left side.JPG
 
Some VERY good points!
Glad home owners are Ok.
Glad the 2 would-bees flunked kicking & driving classes.
Glad no accidents in the chase, with 2,499 police cruisers :what:participating! (WOW that was a LOT of units responding!)


TAKE AWAYS... how much is a door ring cam again exactly? Under $100? Cheap insurance, add it to your multi-layered approach to your Castle, your HOME.

:thumbup:
 
I wouldn't say that doors and locks are more important. Layers of security and no reliance on just one thing is the key. Each play their part and one shouldn't be relied upon more or less than others.

In my house, there are secured doors/locks, security systems, dogs, firearms and trained people that live here to give us a force multiplier against potential and actual threats.
 
I’ve always said a strong door is only as strong as your windows and walls.

Plan accordingly.

I agree. Vulnerability is not limited to doors. Still doors present the easiest access for a forced entry so that deserve a lot of attention. A few weeks ago I read an article based upon a study home invasion access points. Doors accounted for about 80%. The remaining 20% were mostly windows. So we should pay attention to our doors, but that is not to suggest laxity when it comes to othe possible entry points.
 
Love the LE interview... he refers to the armed thugs as "two gentlemen..." "she seen them..." "she stated something to them..." (Not that I would criticize his grammar and choice of words in person... he looks like a big, tough dude!)

Man, the police had the whole force on their tail. That's a lot of patrol cars! It's nice to see it end like we all hope: with law enforcement catching the bad guys. Let's hope the criminal justice system takes care of remaining business instead of it ending up being "catch and release."
 
If you’re not educated about physical security you’re probably wise to have a security expert do an on-site survey and make a list of things to do for your house from basic hardening all the way up to alarm recommendations. Then it’s your decisions how far to take it.

Remember that if your door is solid - and more importantly opens outward… it can’t be kicked in - but it can be pried outwards… as always physical security is only as good as your weakest point since that’s where a serious bad actor will enter if his (or she) can find that weakness…

Most that would try to enter a dwelling to do bad things do not want to encounter anyone inside and will avoid it if at all possible - they’re just ordinary burglars. A very few are the exact opposite and are looking to rape, rob, or kill… those are the ones you want to prepare for…
 
Where I live, most of the recently-built houses have glass front doors, or at least glass panels alongside the doors. And not to mention, glass patio doors in back.This is fashionable, but it's crazy from a security viewpoint. No wonder "crimes of opportunity" are going up.
 
I am always surprised when people enter their home, how many fail to turn around, and lock the door. I've encouraged friends and family to do so, and for the most part, they think I'm being extreme. You Tube is full of videos of home invaders that just walked right in. The lock is right there, use it!
 
Get all: impact resistant windows, keep doors and windows locked, armed homeowner, large dogs inside, electronic alarm.
Those last three are in order of importance; I'd rather have a GSD or two inside than a electronic alarm, if I had to pick, fortunately I don't.
 
The nice thing about alarm systems and good doors/locks/windows are that they can function 24/7. To the "I gots my gun and dawgs" crowd, what happens when you are away from home with you dogs? I am a strong proponent of layered security.
I agree with layered security but there's nothing wrong with having a good dog or two and a gun for two of your layers. Motion activated flood lights are good too. thieves don't like standing underneath lights. Chopping down the bushes around your home is a layer too as thieves don't like standing out in the open underneath floodlights. A fence is a layer. a Safe is a layer. an alarm is a layer. Good rapport with the neighbors is a layer. and reinforced doors, windows and locks are a layer. The guy in this video couldn't mule kick that door down. That was a solid door. Here's another video of a mule kicked door that went a different way.
 
To the "I gots my gun and dawgs" crowd, what happens when you are away from home with you dogs? I am a strong proponent of layered security.


The "dawgs" ( 2 American bulldogs ) are a layer that sounds an alarm BEFORE a breach is attempted. Warning the approaching person and wife or myself.

The other layers are great when we aren't there. Dogs may or may not be here.

Their primary job is to alert us.

One drags his bed to block the front door, as soon as Wife goes to bed.
The other will go stand at the door, a few minutes before the mall delivery. One bark when mail carrier steps into porch. If a different carrier or not normal time; more serious barking.

Different layers, different jobs
 
The "dawgs" ( 2 American bulldogs ) are a layer that sounds an alarm BEFORE a breach is attempted. Warning the approaching person and wife or myself.

The other layers are great when we aren't there. Dogs may or may not be here.

Their primary job is to alert us.

One drags his bed to block the front door, as soon as Wife goes to bed.
The other will go stand at the door, a few minutes before the mall delivery. One bark when mail carrier steps into porch. If a different carrier or not normal time; more serious barking.

Different layers, different jobs

The problem can be when the "Dawgs and guns" are the ONLY layers.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top