When Home Security Breaks Down

[Kleanbore]

In September, 1966, a fiend broke a panel of glass in a home on Lake Michigan, opened the door and entered, ascended the stairs, and savagely committed the first murder in the history of Kenilworth, IL. The victim was Valerie Percy, one of the twin daugthers of Republican political candidate Charles H. Percy. The murder weapon is believed to have been a WWII bayonet. The crime has never been solved.

The manually-operated burglar arm was a stand alone device that only made noise. It was turned on after the murder had been committed, to no avail.

Percy was elected to the US Senate that year, and the family moved to the Washington DC area.

Percy did not believe in the ownership of firearms by private citizens, and he did not own one. In his new home, Chuck had good deadbolts put in. They always remained unlocked until day's end, at which time everyone in the family was expected to be in the house, and Percy went around locking every lock.

Apparently, he thought that home invasions only happened at night.

Senator Percy gave the commencement address at my college graduation in June, 1967. I cannot remember a word he said.

Over the decades, I have come around to appreciate much about Percy, but not his stand on gun control, and not his ideas on---Strategies, Tactics, and Training

 

[Doc Samson]

I have many family members who have a "head in the sand" or "it can't happen to me" mentality. The older I get, the less I understand it. In addition, I've come to realize that that type of thinking (as well the "go along to get along" type) has landed us where we are today in terms of lack of gun rights, and societal conditions in general. Well meaning under-miners of freedom and liberty are the worst...

 

[jeepnik]

I had neighbors with that attitude. The a house a couple of blocks down the street was invaded by three armed black men at 11 in the morning. Fortunately other than being traumatized no one was hurt. I’ve helped several people with learning how to shoot and selecting firearms since.

Sadly most will likely slip back into their old ways after a while.

 

[armoredman]

My sleepy little town had a teenage girl murdered down the street two months ago - I have used this over and over to hammer to my wife and mother in law about at the LEAST, locking the dadgum doors! I have also installed security lights, MUCH better locks and security doors, etc., and I'm making progress.

 

[JohnKSa]

Most people get serious about security after something happens to them or someone else they know. And they only stay serious about it for awhile. That's a great strategy if the goal is to expend effort without any reasonable expectation of return on investment.

 

[nettlle]

Over 45 years ago my wife and I moved into a new home. About 4 months later someone busted in our back door, blew the brains out of our Doberman all over the kitchen floor, and robbed us. Luckily neither of us were home at the time. Took me about three weeks to talk my wife into coming back home. Understandably so. Had only one communication with law enforcement after that happened about 6 months later. They called and asked if I knew who did it.

Don't expect big brother to take care of you. It's far easier and more trendy these days for them to go after law abiding citizens that are trying to protect themselves rather than dealing with the hassles of dealing with criminals. Sorry. Had to get this off my chest.

 

[JTHunter]

There are very likely several things I could do to enhance my security, particularly as this house is a single story with three "normal" entry points. The storm door on the front doesn't latch well so I added a pair of "hook & eye" closures about 1/3 of the way from both top and bottom edges. The strike plates on both the door latches and the deadbolts have had their standard screws replaced with much longer "grade 8" screws that go into the stud and not just the door's frame. The sliding door has a 1x2 cut to length and lying in the track, preventing the door from being forced. It also has the regular latch on the handle as well as a lock on the track.
Although the windows are "vinyl", they have double sash locks as well as those little "pop-ups" that allow them to be opened at night for "ventilation" (which I rarely do). I also have motion detector lights on both the front and rear of the house and another set on the front of the pole barn.
Of course, if I'm home and they DO succeed in getting in, it is unlikely they will be walking out.

 

[scaatylobo]

In September, 1966, a fiend broke a panel of glass in a home on Lake Michigan, opened the door and entered, ascended the stairs, and savagely committed the first murder in the history of Kenilworth, IL. The victim was Valerie Percy, one of the twin daugthers of Republican political candidate Charles H. Percy. The murder weapon is believed to have been a WWII bayonet. The crime has never been solved.

The manually-operated burglar arm was a stand alone device that only made noise. It was turned on after the murder had been committed, to no avail.

Percy was elected to the US Senate that year, and the family moved to the Washington DC area.

Percy did not believe in the ownership of firearms by private citizens, and he did not own one. In his new home, Chuck had good deadbolts put in. They always remained unlocked until day's end, at which time everyone in the family was expected to be in the house, and Percy went around locking every lock.

Apparently, he thought that home invasions only happened at night.

Senator Percy gave the commencement address at my college graduation in June, 1967. I cannot remember a word he said.

Over the decades, I have come around to appreciate much about Percy, but not his stand on gun control, and not his ideas on---Strategies, Tactics, and Training

I have seen and heard far too many who tell me they have a baseball bat/golfclub/knife to defend IF they ever hear the glass break or door kicked in at 'O' dark 30.

I am sad for them , they dont see that the PROPER TOOL for any job already exists.

Do not use a hammer to fix a flat tire.

And bats are for playing ball !.

 

[Jeff White]

I would be much more comfortable in my retirement if I had a dollar for every crime victim who told me they never saw the need to lock things up or take other precautions because “those things don’t happen here”.

 

[armoredman]

I would be much more comfortable in my retirement if I had a dollar for every crime victim who told me they never saw the need to lock things up or take other precautions because “those things don’t happen here”.

That is what I am fighting right now - it's never happened here, so it WILL never happen here...until it does. The sis in law has actually left the drivers door to her car OPEN all night...not just unlocked, WIDE OPEN! I have corrected this.

 

[AlexanderA]

About the only reason anyone would break into my home would be to steal..... the guns themselves. Ironic.

 

[The Night Rider]

All I can really add to this is that I remember when I was a kid neither my grandparents nor my mother ever locked their house.

I remember driving home from Fort Carson to Omaha on Christmas Eve and I got to Mom's house at 11:30P and she wasn't home and the house was unlocked.

I remember going to my grandparents house and we would come in through the garage and come in through the kitchen door and nobody ever knocked on the door they just opened it up and came in.

I learned better when I was in the Army because if I left anything unsecured it was either stolen from me or I would come back to my room at lunch after morning inspection and everything in my Wall Locker would be scattered all over the room.

Working as a security guard checking doors to make sure they were locked was part of my job. At least once a week I would find an unsecure door on the city building and have to write a report and go in and check out the building.

I was a roving guard and I always found it odd driving from place to place I would drive through a neighborhood and see people's garage doors wide open in the middle of the night.

One night I'm pretty sure it was in within the last 2 weeks I was working, I was doing the security check at The Acacia Park Hotel in downtown Colorado Springs.

I got to the end of the hall and instead of opening the door to the stairwell to go down I opened the wrong door and walked into somebody's apartment.

I should have backed out shut the door and continued my rounds. To cover myself I called out and said "Hey it's security. I'm inyour living room. I'm sorry.I opened the wrong door. I just wanted to make sure that you knew I was here."

I called that guy three times before he woke up. To be fair he could have been nodding. But I can't imagine being that oblivious to your surroundings

 

[JERRY]

Most of the time it is the home owner that has failed. Either through neglect or purposeful omission of security and safety and defense measures.

 

[nettlle]

We solved our "neglect" by moving from the city to out in the country years ago knowing that we were outnumbered. We decided a purposeful dedication to moving away from criminals was better and letting the rest of the victims do there purposeful security and safety defense measures was better for us. Too bad for them.

 

[Blue Jays]

"…I learned better when I was in the Army because if I left anything unsecured it was either stolen from me or I would come back to my room at lunch after morning inspection and everything in my Wall Locker would be scattered all over the room…"

Hartman:
Jesus H. Christ. Private Pyle! WHY is your footlocker unlocked?

Lawrence:
Sir, I don't know, sir!

Hartman:
Private Pyle, if there is one thing in this world that I hate, it is a unlocked footlocker, you know that, don't you?!

Lawrence:
Sir, yes, sir!

**********

In all seriousness locks are something about which I carefully utilize.
It only takes a moment and will discourage the low-effort opportunist.

 

[nettlle]

deleted

 

[jmorris]

Percy did not believe in the ownership of firearms by private citizens, and he did not own one.

To the point he lost a loved one and still "stuck to his guns" (pun intended).

I give him more credit than the ones we have now that just want the rest of us disarmed while we fund extra armed security for them...

 

[Creaky_Old_Cop]

Home security here begins with Bonnie & Clyde. 500+ pounds of teeth. Of course, there is the wireless alarm and the video...but Bonnie and Clyde will set folks to flight.

 

[JohnKSa]

Just something to think about.

An incident in an acquaintance's neighborhood reminded me that many people who say they rely on dogs for security don't have the proper mindset for that kind of setup. A woman was charged by a large, aggressive dog while she was out walking two of her dogs. She immediately picked up the smaller of the two dogs. Which is an understandable reaction but exactly the wrong one if the dog is there to provide security. If a dog is to provide security, then defending it isn't reasonable. In an attack, when the dog engages, that provides the defender time to take action. You don't risk your life to keep a bulletproof vest from being shot and a security dog is a tool in exactly the same manner. It's there to give the person some time to either create space or to better their defensive situation in some other way. It should be considered potentially expendable, just as a bulletproof vest will need to be replaced if it is shot.

If a dog is truly there for security, then defending the dog in an attempt to prevent it from being injured/killed is a terrible idea from a tactical standpoint, unless that can be done without risk to the defender. If the dog is a pet, and the defender knows that it will be defended if it is attacked, then the dog is NOT there for security and is actually a potential detriment/liability to the security plan (other than possibly acting as an alarm) and the defender should plan accordingly.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Always believed in the military idea of 'defense in depth". One time I suggested to a friend he put spike strips below some of his windows when he went away.
I joke an excellent home defense long arm would be an M-1 Carbine-or an M-16-with a bayonet attached. "WHAT'S THE SPIRIT OF THE BAYONET!!!!!"
Bats. Used properly, pretty effective. What martial arts videos I have seen on bats/canes emphasize striking low, throw your opponent off balance, get him down on the ground, then striking his vulnerable points.

 

[Kleanbore]

What martial arts videos I have seen on bats/canes emphasize striking low, throw your opponent off balance, get him down on the ground, then striking his vulnerable points.

Using more force than is necessary can defeat a self defense case.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

"WHAT'S THE SPIRIT OF THE BAYONET!!!!!"

"TO KILL WITHOUT MERCY!!!!"

In, up, twist, out!

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

We were taught to aim for the throat.

 

[DoubleMag]

We were taught to aim for the truck, which was behind us (a.k.a. as, TURN AND RUN AWAY if you can)

Ready
''Aim''...
RUN! ! !

 

[Creaky_Old_Cop]

Just something to think about.

An incident in an acquaintance's neighborhood reminded me that many people who say they rely on dogs for security don't have the proper mindset for that kind of setup. A woman was charged by a large, aggressive dog while she was out walking two of her dogs. She immediately picked up the smaller of the two dogs. Which is an understandable reaction but exactly the wrong one if the dog is there to provide security. If a dog is to provide security, then defending it isn't reasonable. In an attack, when the dog engages, that provides the defender time to take action. You don't risk your life to keep a bulletproof vest from being shot and a security dog is a tool in exactly the same manner. It's there to give the person some time to either create space or to better their defensive situation in some other way. It should be considered potentially expendable, just as a bulletproof vest will need to be replaced if it is shot.

If a dog is truly there for security, then defending the dog in an attempt to prevent it from being injured/killed is a terrible idea from a tactical standpoint, unless that can be done without risk to the defender. If the dog is a pet, and the defender knows that it will be defended if it is attacked, then the dog is NOT there for security and is actually a potential detriment/liability to the security plan (other than possibly acting as an alarm) and the defender should plan accordingly.

You actually make a good point. Dogs should be considered a deterrent, but NOT completely relied upon for protection. Dogs that are trained to protection level, are like unattended loaded and cocked guns, and take a well trained handler to control them. However a breed that is protective by nature, a great thing to have as a companion and alarm system.

Batteries and power fails, so all the electronic gewgaws people rely upon also fail. Even a non protective natured, yet barking dog performs it's first duty as a roving audible alarm. My mastiffs are a protective breed by nature and by instinct, but are primarily for companionship. However, their intimidating look and bark if someone comes around, and talent for chasing coyotes off my land is definitely a plus.

I live on acreage, 6 miles, and fifteen minutes MINIMUM from any 911 assistance, outside of town, and have no neighbors close by, but what we DO have out here is an illegal problem and them using the desert around here as a travel corridor, and having two big dogs is a force multiplier, but not the end-all-be-all.