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05/19/2008 01:16:23 PM · #1 |
We have a prowler roaming our neighborhood. Our neighborhood seems like the type of place you can leave your garage door up and your doors unlocked, but apparently not. There have been two instances of cars being rummaged through and one stolen (keys were left in it) in the last few months.
Last night they got the house next door to us. The bottom feeder left all the car doors and trunk open and took just the registration and valet key? Anyone know what they can/will do with that? Why did they not take the car?
We̢۪re considering a security camera. Anyone have any advice or suggestions?
We keep everything locked, the cars are all in the garage and the gates stay locked. I don't leave anything out worth taking but I'd like to catch the SOB before they advance from cars to garages and houses.
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05/19/2008 01:22:40 PM · #2 |
| Perhaps the simplest advice is right in front of your eyes, Loud Dog. :) |
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05/19/2008 02:11:13 PM · #3 |
Good one, James. ;-)
Motion detectors that turn on the lights in front of your house. Same thing in the backyard. Good insurance. And if you want to get fancy, an alarm system directly connected to some security company and/or the police.
About the car registration: Some people look for registration information to be used for a stolen car of the same model. They can then sell the stolen one and to the buyer everything seems legitimate. |
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05/19/2008 02:30:26 PM · #4 |
Got two loud dogs!
The lights in the front of the house are always on at night and pretty bright. Side yard has a motion light if someone wanted to jump the fence. I think we are okay, but I don't like this person in my neighborhood. |
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05/19/2008 03:20:23 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by LoudDog:
Got two loud dogs!
The lights in the front of the house are always on at night and pretty bright. Side yard has a motion light if someone wanted to jump the fence. I think we are okay, but I don't like this person in my neighborhood. |
It strikes me that you're not as at-risk as you might think you are. You seem to have taken all the requisite precautions to deter just about any intruder.
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05/19/2008 03:37:11 PM · #6 |
I had a problem like that when I moved into my house. Where I live, we have detached garages and ours was easy to break into. They didn't mess with the cars (I keep mine locked anyway), but they (I have no idea if it was the same people each time) broke in 3 times, and stole some tools, bikes and my lawnmower.
The police came and made a report, the insurance company paid for the stuff, but I was worried about the same thing you are: What happens when they get a bit braver and decide its time to graduate to actually going into the house?
I installed an alarm system. They had a deal and it cost a couple of hundred dollars plus about $30/mo to monitor it, but I've had no problems since. It could be the signs are deterrent enough, I dunno. |
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05/19/2008 03:45:53 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by LoudDog:
Got two loud dogs!
The lights in the front of the house are always on at night and pretty bright. Side yard has a motion light if someone wanted to jump the fence. I think we are okay, but I don't like this person in my neighborhood. |
better than a camera...depending on what type of dogs you have this is what you do....leave your car unlocked and the windows slightly open to invite a burgler, then have the dogs sleep in the car on the floor boards...when the would be robber opens the car he(?) will get the surprise of his life, and your dog might not be hungry in the morning ;).
That sucks that people are doing that, I hope you can do something to get rid of them. My wife suddenly realized one day that her wallet was missing but she chaulked it up as losing it. Months later a couple came knocking on our door looking for my wife, they had her wallet. They were cleaning out the gutters on their parents house it found it under a bunch of leaves on the roof. Credit cards, SSN card and drivers license were still in there but all cash gone, we figure it was kids that just wanted quick cash and not deal with the cards...thank goodness for that. |
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05/19/2008 03:50:05 PM · #8 |
On a more serious note, if you do want assume the expense of a security system, post a the sign of one of the competitor's systems.
"All war is deception" Sun Tsu. |
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05/19/2008 05:04:24 PM · #9 |
We had a similar issue in our neighborhood earlier this year. Two groups-one breaking into cars (even locked ones) and one breaking into fenced in yards/garages and stealing metal stuff (push mowers, ladders, copper downspouts) to sell at the scrap metal yards.
The neighborhood started a program of people leaving all exterior lights on and a group of guys rotated sitting out on their front porches to smoke or read a paper once it got dark. We also worked with the Police department, who were gracious enough to leave a couple of ver marked Police cars around the streets, rotating them around in front of peoples' houses each day.
They ended up catching a local kid and his new thug friends for breaking into garages/yards. Appearantly these thugs scooped this kid up and he ran with them, then they started finding stuff near his home (not their's) to steal. I never heard if they caught anyone for breaking into the cars. The local kid said his friends weren't brave enough to try for a car.
We were lucky enough to have a cop/firewoman couple own our house last, and on top of that he was a hobbiest woodworker and kept all his expensive tools in the garage. He secured the garage by placing a padlock in the overhead door track (he didn't park in there so didn't need to open the door from the outside) and placed a "kickplate" on the walk-in door frame. It is a piece of angle iron bolted to the frame with a hole cut for the door's deadbolt to enter. That way if you tried to kick the door in the dead bolt would have to break through the iron and 2x4's in the frame. It is pretty secure. Oh and he deadbolted the gate that leads from the fenced in yard into the alley, so you can't access the yard from the alley (unless you just came out the gate).
My $0.02,
-drew |
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05/19/2008 07:19:28 PM · #10 |
Six Bouvier des Flandres and a miniture Dachshund with ears that can hear a fly fart 2 blocks away to alert the Bouviers. We aren't bothered by pan handlers, solicaters, petition gaitherers or even the bible thumpers any more. It might not stop some of the really stupid people, but if someone did try to get into our house, they would be very sorry afterwards. It is hard to do anything about the slash and grab types though that hit the cars out on the curb or in the driveway.
It's unfortunate, but most of this is drug related any more. Even the so-called "safe" neighorhoods aren't safe anymore.
Mike
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05/19/2008 07:28:12 PM · #11 |
| german shepherds preferably, mine is wayyyy overprotectiveof me to the point that we cant have guests over sometimes |
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05/19/2008 07:58:05 PM · #12 |
| LoudDog - like was already said, you seem to have taken reasonable precautions already. Car prowls are one of the most common form of neighborhood crime and no community is spared. I live in a pretty protected spot and we had a group go through our neighborhood a few years a ago. For the most part they look for unlocked vehicles and garages and don't mess with having to actually break in. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. |
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