Neighborhood Security ?

[PumpkinStalker]

I would like to know what the percentages are on how often a home intruder is carrying.  I would think that if a lot of these deadbeats had a piece, they would have cashed it in at the pawn shop or with some other deadbeat for greenbacks.  I buy Shinatoos concern about not wanting to get involved in a quickdraw contest in your bedroom.  But I have heard plenty of stories about burglers turning tail and running after hearing the sound of the shotgun pumping at the top of the stairs.  

I guess my thought would be that if someone is brazen/drugged out/stupid enough to enter a house carrying a piece while someone is home, the odds are pretty low that they are going to just let you be when they find you regardless, so perhaps you are indeed better off in an armed face off.  

Probably right.  Hell, some just want to eat a sandwich and sleep on your couch!

[jdubwaldo]

I bet these %s are very low for exactly the reasons described.  

I'll share some stats after my all day class tomorrow.  :)

[chrizow]

i will admit that i have often laid awake at night, thinking about what i would do if an intruder broke in while we were sleeping.  a neighbor of ours had a guy break into their house while they (and their young daughter) were sleeping.  this dude was pretty brazen:  he stood on the front porch, unscrewed the porch light, then painstakingly removed the screen door and the doorknob (or something like that - he had tools).  he runs in, triggers the alarm, grabs a purse, and is gone just as the homeowner is coming down the stairs with a handgun at the ready.  the police came, etc., didn't find anything.  the purse was found the next day in the neighbor's bushes, rifled-through - it seems that the perp didn't run away at all, he just sat behind some bushes nearby while the police were investigating.  scary!

i dont know what i would do.  we dont have a gun, but i have this metal pipe-type object nearby that i could potentially use.  i think the plan is to go out onto the second-story porch and call the police.  hopefully the guy wouldn't come out there.  we could also jump down into the bushes or swing onto the front porch and run off, if need be.  

for the most part, i am just banking on the statistical fact that break-ins while people are home are exceedingly rare.  this, combined with our alarm system, barking dog, etc., gives me some sense of security.  

[LenexatoKCMO]

i will admit that i have often laid awake at night, thinking about what i would do if an intruder broke in while we were sleeping.  a neighbor of ours had a guy break into their house while they (and their young daughter) were sleeping.  this dude was pretty brazen:  he stood on the front porch, unscrewed the porch light, then painstakingly removed the screen door and the doorknob (or something like that - he had tools).  he runs in, triggers the alarm, grabs a purse, and is gone just as the homeowner is coming down the stairs with a handgun at the ready.  the police came, etc., didn't find anything.  the purse was found the next day in the neighbor's bushes, rifled-through - it seems that the perp didn't run away at all, he just sat behind some bushes nearby while the police were investigating.  scary!

Man that is a lot of risk and work just for a purse that may, or may not have anything valuable inside.  Don't these folks realize how many people don't carry any significant amount of cash anymore?  I always think about that in a mugging - I rarely carry much of any cash and I always wonder if that would be a liability, in that the dude might get pissed off when he realizes what a worthless victim I am, and decide to take me to the ATM or something stupid.  I have wondered if I would be better off just permenantly sticking a couple twenties in the unused cash section of my wallet so that a mugger will be more inclined to just be satisfied with that, take it and leave. 

[shinatoo]

Like I said, totally fine with your choice, I just hope people think about what is really involved with pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger. Especially when a moments hesitation could cost you your life.

[loftguy]

Man that is a lot of risk and work just for a purse that may, or may not have anything valuable inside.  Don't these folks realize how many people don't carry any significant amount of cash anymore?  I always think about that in a mugging - I rarely carry much of any cash and I always wonder if that would be a liability, in that the dude might get pissed off when he realizes what a worthless victim I am, and decide to take me to the ATM or something stupid.  I have wondered if I would be better off just permenantly sticking a couple twenties in the unused cash section of my wallet so that a mugger will be more inclined to just be satisfied with that, take it and leave. 

My dad worked in some of the most risky neighborhoods of the city for many years.  He always stayed aware of the current market rate for a "fix".  He made sure that he always carried at least that amount as insurance for that outside chance.

[jdubwaldo]

Genius.  I cringe at what a pain in the ass it would be to cancel/reissue credit cards, go to the DMV for a new license, go through hoops to get a new company AmEx, cell phone, etc.   

[ThaMexican]

Cameras as pretty cheap now a days. try a security system like that and the chances of someone breaking in go even lower. Make sure they see the camera so they know they are being recorded. I have a security system and I keep thinking about cameras, in fact I have 2 but do not have the recording part . I looked on internet and some are all the way down to 300 dls, so it is not  that bad for some extra pace of mind.

[staubio]

Cameras as pretty cheap now a days. try a security system like that and the chances of someone breaking in go even lower. Make sure they see the camera so they know they are being recorded. I have a security system and I keep thinking about cameras, in fact I have 2 but do not have the recording part . I looked on internet and some are all the way down to 300 dls, so it is not  that bad for some extra pace of mind.

In our condo property downtown, cameras have so far proven useful to provide entertaining footage of an unidentifiable person stealing something. The footage isn't good enough to identify people.

[staubio]

It sounds like, from the discussion, that the deterrent is a much more compelling argument for having a gun. Sounds like I need to patch up a remote that plays a cocking shotgun and a gunshot sound through my stereo.

[LenexatoKCMO]

It sounds like, from the discussion, that the deterrent is a much more compelling argument for having a gun. Sounds like I need to patch up a remote that plays a cocking shotgun and a gunshot sound through my stereo.

Yeah, its interesting that the police seem to have decent luck catching folks by having the media show pictures from people robbing stores, etc. but you never see footage from say a parking lot break in.  Are the cameras not as good as what is in the store or do the news channels just not give enough of a crap about the crime to show them?

[staubio]

Yeah, its interesting that the police seem to have decent luck catching folks by having the media show pictures from people robbing stores, etc. but you never see footage from say a parking lot break in.  Are the cameras not as good as what is in the store or do the news channels just not give enough of a crap about the crime to show them?

Truth be told, we've never thought about shopping our footage to TV. We've had only a couple of problems in our lot. Once, a car was stolen and our camera company lost the footage in a HD crash. The next time, we've had 5 car windows broken and random stuff taken and we can see the guys just running around the lot having a good time. Not sure if it would make compelling TV.

[jdubwaldo]

Speaking of, don't know if anyone saw this footage on NBC last night.  I think it makes our neighborhood look like some kind of battle zone.  Thanks NBC for scaring people out of the area. 

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local ... p-7fA.cspx

I talked to them, I'm just starting to work on getting support from local businesses, but they apparently didn't like my pro-neighborhood comments.  Or the ones about the media glomming onto anything negative that happens in KC MO.  Or the fact I didn't want to go on camera to draw any sort of attention to myself at the moment.

[mlind]

I just got an email from my former neighborhood group saying that, on one particular block, 100% of the houses kept their outside lights on all night and there was a significant reduction in crime.

[chrizow]

i dont know why anyone would turn off their porch light at night - esp. in KC where neighborhoods can be very, very dark at night.  in hyde park, people have floodlights all over their houses and garages, on all the time.  our neighbors to the rear of the house have this giant floodlight at the peak of their house that illuminates the entire backyard (theirs and ours) like a streetlight.  

[jdubwaldo]

Totally agree.  Some people don't understand this.  The rest are oblivious, a.k.a. Out To Lunch, as I like to say. 

[PumpkinStalker]

Very stupid to not have lights.

I'm switching the mode on our motion lights to the "dual brite" which means they are on all the time at night but at half brightness.  When motion is detected they go to full brightness.  They also have a flash feature withc flashes them on and off 2 times before staying on to attract attention to them.  Obviously it uses more electricity and burns bulbs out faster but....well, kinda worth it right now.

[dangerboy]

esp. in KC where neighborhoods can be very, very dark at night.

KCMO has one of the highest ratios of streetlights of any city in the country.  Voters approved spending money on a super high level of streetlights a few years ago, in large part to help prevent crime.  I can see a noticeable difference between KCMO and most of the suburbs where it is much darker, especially on foot or bike.

[chrizow]

i dont doubt that KCMO has more streetlights than the burbs, but a lot of them are non-functional or something - there are lots of areas of midtown and the east side that are pretty freaking dark.  i've also noticed some waldo area blocks that are super dark.  closer to our area, the 4300-4500 blocks between troost and paseo seem especially dark - which, combined with an unusual number of crackheads and weirdos walking in the middle of the street, can create a rather "dawn of the dead" experience over there at night.  

[jdubwaldo]

It's dark as hell on our street - the street lights all function, but the light is shaded by the trees I think.  And all of them are one side of the street.  Maybe that is the deal?