May have dodged a bullet

Highlander · October 27, 2012, 02:31:13 PM

Terrible thing to say at this point but (from experience of seeing the end result) if someone wants in, in they will get, whether it's through the wall, through the floor, through the window, or staright through the door - most time consuming I've seen was someone cutting through a door with a 1" hole cutter and using the same tool to cut into a one-arm-bandit, and dumbest, taking a major section of wall out, right under a DT (police call as soon as they walked in), or possibly someone breaking in and going straight to the draw (cctv footage) where the manager left the cash that night and there are only 3 people who knew it - the staff on duty that night... duh...

Dave W · October 27, 2012, 09:59:51 PM

That's true, Ken, houses and apartments aren't fortresses. The idea is to make your place secure enough that burglars will take the easier, route and go elsewhere. New locks, better lighting, guard dog, etc., whatever might help.

Hörnisse · October 28, 2012, 09:18:58 AM

I've seen a few of these on doors.

gweimer · October 28, 2012, 09:43:28 AM

Quote from: Dave W on October 27, 2012, 09:59:51 PM
That's true, Ken, houses and apartments aren't fortresses. The idea is to make your place secure enough that burglars will take the easier, route and go elsewhere. New locks, better lighting, guard dog, etc., whatever might help.

I know a lot of that, and I know that locks are basically to keep honest people honest, more than anything. One thing I do when I travel is to leave one light on and the TV. The thing about this break-in was that it took place during the day, when I was at work. I'm checking out a construction company that was doing road work right next to my place that day.

Lightyear · October 28, 2012, 12:09:51 PM

Gary, I suggest buying a cheap timer or two. We have a few and when we travel we set up a lamp or two and a radio to come on at various times - if some is casually casing your place this will throw them off track. You can also pick up a fairly cheap motion detector/alarm that you can set when you leave - you have a set amount of time to turn it off but the turds who break in may be scared off off by racket.

Denis · October 28, 2012, 01:59:03 PM

If you are inclined to have dogs, they are great deterrents. Another big help, if you have a house which happens to have a driveway, is to have a spare car. In my case, I have a car and a truck so one is always at home. Gives the impression someone is there.

Highlander · October 28, 2012, 02:11:16 PM

The best thing is to make it awkward for them...

Another thing to bear in mind about alarm systems is their dual nature to a perp - in a low-crime area an alam bell is a sign to a pro that you have something of value but keeps the am. away - no bell in a high crime area is an invite to the amateur; no interest for a pro - go to a recognised local company if you go the route of a system and not a DIY - the biggies tend to be volume and not quality, whereas a local will be interested in maintaining your business - dual-com signalling (radio-path and phone line - very difficult to dodge) is the "Rolls-Royce" end but I'm not confident in network-based signaling systems - most basic is a device that calls your mobile - cheap-and-cheerful...

gweimer · October 30, 2012, 06:29:10 PM

Well, this was funny. In my mailbox today was a postcard for a home security system. It was a handwritten address and contact. I'd say this guy knows where to find his new sales. Or...his associates are crackheads that drum up the leads for him...

westen44 · October 30, 2012, 07:29:03 PM

Quote from: gweimer on October 30, 2012, 06:29:10 PM
Well, this was funny. In my mailbox today was a postcard for a home security system. It was a handwritten address and contact. I'd say this guy knows where to find his new sales. Or...his associates are crackheads that drum up the leads for him...

I'm not sure if that is a connection, though. Those people trying to sell home security systems are all over the place and tend to be extremely pushy, too.

Lightyear · October 30, 2012, 09:06:00 PM

Quote from: gweimer on October 30, 2012, 06:29:10 PM
Well, this was funny. In my mailbox today was a postcard for a home security system. It was a handwritten address and contact. I'd say this guy knows where to find his new sales. Or...his associates are crackheads that drum up the leads for him...

Nope, they're just trolling police reports - most are open records. When we had an attempted break in about 12 years ago we got flooded with offers for alarm systems.

westen44 · October 30, 2012, 11:03:37 PM

Quote from: Lightyear on October 30, 2012, 09:06:00 PM
Nope, they're just trolling police reports - most are open records. When we had an attempted break in about 12 years ago we got flooded with offers for alarm systems.

I've never had a break in or attempted break in, but get security alarm offers on a regular basis. This has been going on for years, both by phone and with people coming in person. As for the people coming in person, I think those are mostly scams--at least that's what I'm led to believe by all the negative reports I've seen about that in this area.

Pilgrim · November 07, 2012, 12:08:23 PM

Just found this article on turning a PC into a security DVR.... http://www.ehow.com/how_7892669_build-own-security-dvr.html

gweimer · November 07, 2012, 12:28:49 PM

Cool! Thanks.