Home Invasion

[johnnymenudo]

Two occasion where it came close.

1) 14 years old - home alone - parents gone for the weekend -brother left for work. 4 am. Two perps tried to crowbar the back door to my house. Neighbors dog went nuts, neighbor saw two large men run thru my yard and jump the back fence. One was carrying what appeared to be a sawed off shotgun.

2) 18 years old - summer before I start college. Neighbors' homes being broken into at an alarming rate. Of the dozen or so houses in my immediate neighborhood, 6 broken into. Guns, cash, and jewlery stolen. Parents gone for the weekend. Me home alone. Sitting at an arcade (early 80's) talking to some neighborhood kids about the break ins. I tell them I am sleeping with a my dads 12 gauge. 3 more houses broken into that week. Finally catch the perp. Turns out to be the grandchild of one of neighbors visiting for the summer - one of the kids I had befriended and was talking to at the arcade. Turns out he had escaped from psych facility and ran off to hide with grandparents. Turns out that at the age of 16 he had already commited some petty thefts, home invasions, and some animal mutilations. He was put in the psych facility for these things as well as tying up a friends little brother and cutting off a finger with a pruning scissors. Not a nice person.

SO.... it can happen to anyone at anytime. The neighborhood was middle class south side Chicago. Not a bad place by any stretch.

JM

[mrcalm7]

I was having a beer with a cop friend of mine last night and evidently he installs very small remote cameras, mostly in PD's. I asked him about putting one or two outside my home. He said do you want a wireless, or do you want it motion activated where it dials you up remotely. The newer tech stuff is getting truly sophisticated.

Let me say this. I don't condone alarm systems. I think they give people a false sense of security. When the alarm goes off, you know someone has either entered or tried to enter. At that point you are relying on the central station to call and ask, are you okay? That is if you're hooked into one. Then you wait helplessly until somebody shows up. No thanks. I'll fight it out on my terms.

I'd much rather rely on a big-ass fido that is a working dog breed, (Alsatian, Rottweiler, Bouvier des Flandres). Sporting dogs (retrievers, hounds, shorthairs) are too unreliable in the guarding/attack task. A working dog makes a much better detterant and will protect you with his life. But remember there is a certain amount of training this dog requires to make it effective. I also think the perimeter defense notion is a must. Hardened front and rear entrances. Low cut hedges, without any entry into the house blocked from view. The remote camera is intriguing to me because it can catch someone casing your home when you are away, or someone breaking in when you are away. An alarm will never stop someone, just speed up their clock, which for the most part they are on anyways.

Keeping a loaded handgun available is the second level detterant that I would rely on with my life. And being proficient in using that weapon should go without saying. Imagine picking up a gun that you are unfamiliar with at the time of a crisis. You are fighting your fight or flee instinct and now you are confronted with figuring out where the safety is at your moment of need. Now thanks. Also, my wife and oldest son have to put their time in at the range. If I get offed along with the dog, what will happen to them? I don't want to dwell on that so I'd rather they could fight like wolverines instead of lambs.

The handgun as was pointed out by experts on this board and document by Ayoob Massad in his studies on gunfights, is a more versatile weapon in your home. "What's the best home defense gun?" is a question being asked on other threads. The answer is quite simple, anyone that you can use deadly accuracy.

[gburner]

Excellent advice, Mrcalm...good post!

BTW....big-assed fido would make a great band name.

[krept]

well, i'm not going to get into a big argument about this

i see the alarm as but one layer in a system of defenses. just like the physical weapon, the tool.

if you rely on any layer too much (dog, gun, alarm, reinforced door, po po, etc) this can be a calamity. Such is the reason for layering.

cheers

[dfaugh]

I live in semi-rural neighborhood that most would consider very "safe". Rarely lock the doors at it would be pointless, too many easily accessible glass windows/doors (which are hidden from view in almost all directions. Almost every house around me has been burgled, some multiple times (almost assuredly by one of the neighborhood kids and his buddies--not a home invasion type scenario). I work from home as a computer consultant, and have, among other things, a lot of valuable computer equipment around, which is certainly well know to these particular JDs.
BUT, also well known is the fact that I have 5 German Shepherds, plenty of guns, and everyone in the house is "firearms capable". Interestingly I'm the only one that's never been "hit". So, at least in this instance (but probably not much help in a "random" Home invasion) knowing I have the guns (and WILL use them) is as good as having an alarm system.
I did, I THINK, have a possible attempt...this time by my ex-girlfriends psychotic ex-boyfriend (or one of his buddies)...Whoever it was had 2 rude surprises...They tried to climb over (and broke a couple pieces) of my fencing (most of which is 6 foot stockade, but only 4 feet in one area near the house)...First surprise was that on the other side of "short" fence is the stairwell to my walkout basement...for a total drop of 10 feet...Second was the German Shepherd I'd left outside (commonly referred to as "the lunatic dog from hell") which I'd left outside, in expectation he'd probably do something stupid sooner or later...She's my "stealth" dog in that she rarely barks...at least not until its wayyyyyy too late.

[Quartus]

she rarely barks...at least not until its wayyyyyy too late.

Goood doggie!

They tried to climb over (and broke a couple pieces) of my fencing (most of which is 6 foot stockade,

My idea of good fencing has the top rail considerably lower than is customary. I like it a good 2 feet below the top of the fence. Makes the fence more likely to break than to support someone climbing over. Being on top of a fence when it breaks is NOT conducive to silence OR health.