Home break in!

[UncleFeet]

... I went in and some junkie was climbing through the window and had gotten himself tangled in the venetian blinds.

All he could say was 'Sorry! Sorry! I thought this was robbos flat, sorry!'

...mate of mine had a similar experience many years ago....found a bloke climbing in the window at night, and just gave him a colossal smack in the face...intruder fell back out the window and took off. A short time later the perp returns with 2 boys in blue saying 'this man attacked me on the street'...old mate busted for assault...

 

[lawry]

Would take my dogs any day over any fancy locks or alarms.
I have some toys that I have worked hard for and more importantly I have 2 young kids (4&5) + wifey at home to worry about as I am away a bit.
Like most, our street has had break ins or prowlers but for some strange reason no one has popped into our yard for an unwelcome visit.

I would like to think its because we just live in an OK area but it more than likely is because we have an overly alert Border Collie(the brains) and a 45kg Pit Bull x Rottweiler(the Brawn)

I have had a few dogs in my 39 years and I have found that our dogs at the moment that have grown up with our kids from babies, are particularly
protective of them which is good to know when you are interstate.

 

[Fred Nurk]

For those who're advocating dogs, consider this;
If they really want to break in, they'll not think much of taking out the dog first. Since most of the examples in this thread are also family pets, its not an easy thing to wake up or come home to...

Granted, it should stop most opportunistic junkies.

 

[XYGTHO]

Yep always wary of this with break ins in our street. Our little old house still has old windows but most have bars or screens. We have so many squeaky toys and a baby gate everywhere that they would be walking through a minefield lol. I have a cricket bat by my bedside just hope I never to use it. I AMA quite person but when it's spur of them moment I am another person would hate to think what I'd do to someone if they were caught by me in my house with our 1yr old daughter in the front room.
We keep a good presence and I reckon most crime would know the house prior. Next door to us keeps getting broken into but they (just a couple) both work at the mines and are gone weeks at a time plus the front windows are hidden by shrubs. We often see their light on but when home they lock themselves in with the zircon runnings so never know if it's them. Offered to keep a copy of their roster so we'd know but they said na.

 

[Mammy]

After we got burgled back in 96, we installed a Wormald system around the house.
One day, a power outrage caused the alarm to trigger and cops were called.
When I got home the cops were there waiting for me. It was a false alarm
but the cops were convince I had been ransacked. How else do you explain the mess.
Fucking embarrassing.

 

[cjaty]

Just an update on this about 2 months ago I was two houses down having a beer with the neighbour,only to see four kids ride there bike into my yard,so I wander down to see whats happening only to see one of them holding my wallet in his hand!I asked where he got it from and he said they found it in the long grass about three hundred meters down the road.All my credit cards still in it[cancelled anyway]medicare card and all my other stuff.Most importantly the first picture of my son we ever took[its on the fridge now]My neighbours and I must walked the street four or five times looking for my wallet and walked past it every time,they never found who broke in but a few months after the dude who lived about three houses down got done for dealing,he,s moved on now and a lovely french lady has moved in and all of a sudden the foot trafic in our street has halfed.

 

[astars]

i dont think you can beat living in a apartment complex with security.

 

[willsy01]

i dont think you can beat living in a apartment complex with security.

Yes you can. Castle with a drawbridge and a moat full of crocodiles.

 

[driftking]

Yes you can. Castle with a drawbridge and a moat full of crocodiles.

I hear crocodiles are poor investment, they lose half their value as soon as they hit the water however piranhas are a pretty good investment, also using electric eels instead really helps keep the cost down, Between them and my solar power my castle is free from running cost 90% of the year.

 

[0psi]

Bloody amateurs, I've installed a Justin Beiber in the front yard, no one comes near the place.

 

[willsy01]

I hear crocodiles are poor investment, they lose half their value as soon as they hit the water however piranhas are a pretty good investment, also using electric eels instead really helps keep the cost down, Between them and my solar power my castle is free from running cost 90% of the year.

I disagree.......crocodiles have a longer lifespan than a piranha or eel. So the cost vs life ratio is surely in favour of the crocodile.

 

[driftking]

I disagree.......crocodiles have a longer lifespan than a piranha or eel. So the cost vs life ratio is surely in favour of the crocodile.

Fair point but the reproduction/spawn of a piranha would surely out do a crocodile. Over time.

 

[my02]

i dont think you can beat living in a apartment complex with security.

That's what my neighbour thought.

He lost his new KTM last Friday night, chained up inside his garage which sits in a secure complex in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.

It appears that the thieves knew a thing or two about security roller doors.

Hope he was insured.....

 

[0psi]

Yeah I've had a few friends have things nicked out of 'secure' apartment carparks, fortunately nothing as expensive as a bike.

Has anyone here had any experience with claiming higher end bikes on home and contents insurance?

The only things I have that are of any real value that could be stolen are my bikes and TV. TV I figure would be easy to replace but then again it's probably too big to make off with any ease, bikes on the other hand can just be wheeled away and I've got 40k worth of bikes in the household. Eek.

 

[Mad Hatter]

A few weeks ago I came in through my back door to see some bloke legging it out my front door.
He had forced the front door and made his way into the garage and was heading back through the house with my new bike.
Dropped the bike when dog tried to eat him (who`s a good boy!).
Police suspect thief toured the streets on weekend looking into peoples open garages and came back during the week to smash and grab what he liked.
Happened at 10:30 in the morning.
Probably knocked on the door and no answer (outside in back yard) so forced open the door.
Upgraded the security since (and keep the dogs hungry) but unlikely the prick will be caught.

Couple of things that came out as a result.
Despite thinking that we would like to get our hands on the low life, the call from the police officer attending my house that the offender was armed shook me. He used a screw driver or some other sharp tool on the door so If I had managed to get close he would have probably stabbed me.
Lucky he didn`t stab my dog.

I still have my bikes and dogs. Door sort of works (lock fine but just can`t open the bloody thing easily) so I`m happy.
Very suspicious of strangers in the street now. Lots of random pics on my phone.

Cheers.
MH

 

[Bryce88]

Having read through all these posts I think I am more paranoid now than I was before. My family and I have just moved out of a unit where I literally knew all my neighbours and felt very safe to a house on a corner block where I know no-one and feel very exposed.

There has been a lot of thefts within our street (I guess they think there is money in our area) and I am very paranoid about a break in (only in fear of my families safety though). I am trying to think of ways to deter thieves, however not sure what to do? Dogs are a no because it's a rental and the wife is allergic, the house already has window locks, dead locks etc. Is this as secure as you can get?

I was thinking of buying some dowel rods and jamming it in the window sills, and as a last resort there is already a lump of 4x2 next to my bed. My other thought was get some security stickers saying the house is alarmed or monitored, but at the same time would that just encourage thieves because they will think you have something worth stealing?

I hate low lifes...

 

[scblack]

i dont think you can beat living in a apartment complex with security.

The EASIEST place to steal stuff from is a garage in a unit complex.

Past residents have keys, security is usually not that great at all in reality. Security is only as good as one person forgetting to close/lock an access door.

Apartment complexes don't have that great security.

 

[pharmaboy]

Having read through all these posts I think I am more paranoid now than I was before. My family and I have just moved out of a unit where I literally knew all my neighbours and felt very safe to a house on a corner block where I know no-one and feel very exposed.

There has been a lot of thefts within our street (I guess they think there is money in our area) and I am very paranoid about a break in (only in fear of my families safety though). I am trying to think of ways to deter thieves, however not sure what to do? Dogs are a no because it's a rental and the wife is allergic, the house already has window locks, dead locks etc. Is this as secure as you can get?

I was thinking of buying some dowel rods and jamming it in the window sills, and as a last resort there is already a lump of 4x2 next to my bed. My other thought was get some security stickers saying the house is alarmed or monitored, but at the same time would that just encourage thieves because they will think you have something worth stealing?

I hate low lifes...

Std advice is always to make your house less appealing than the neighbours (it's an arms race)

1. Don't motivate the thief by them being able to see laptops, wallets, iPads etc from outside

2. Don't give them somewhere to hide - they hate being able to be seen while breaking in - so fences , hedges don't help

3. Security lights do help - they are disturbing at night as they wander round checking the place out

4 front door not so much of problem , but back door and back windows are

Most thiefs are opportunistic , but also remember they can cost you more in the the act of the breakin than the theft $1000 for a new window or door after a jimmying.

 

[johnny]

I was thinking of buying some dowel rods and jamming it in the window sills, and as a last resort there is already a lump of 4x2 next to my bed. My other thought was get some security stickers saying the house is alarmed or monitored, but at the same time would that just encourage thieves because they will think you have something worth stealing?

I hate low lifes...

Dummy cameras are a good deterrent. don't try and look too high-tech, just look protected and vigilant - essentially just that little bit more than the other houses around you.

People won't think "there's something in there worth stealing", they will think "too hard, what does the next place look like". Increase the difficulty and costs of attempting a break in, couple of "beware of the dog" stickers don't hurt either, maybe some old shooting targets with holes punched in them up against the garage for good effect (ok, that last one is a joke).

* As Pharma above says, security lights are also very good, especially if you can hide the sensor itself and just have the light.

 

[Sappa]

There is only limited things you can do with a rental.
I do the bare minimum to the front yard. Patchy grass, in-frequent mowing. Out the back it looks totally different.
But at the end of the day I don't care about property as long as my kids and I are safe. Yes it may be a pain to replace my bikes but that is why I have insurance. Just remember insurance will not replace people.