21 Things Your Burglar Won’t Tell You
June 8, 2011, Submitted by: Ken Tweet
1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste… and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.
4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it..
5. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.
6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.
7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom – and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.
8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door – understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.
9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)
10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.
11. Here’s a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.
12. You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me.
13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television.
14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.
15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.
16. I’ll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he’ll stop what he’s doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn’t hear it again, he’ll just go back to what he was doing. It’s human nature.
17. I’m not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?
18. I love looking in your windows. I’m looking for signs that you’re home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I’d like. I’ll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.
19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It’s easier than you think to look up your address.
20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it’s an invitation.
21. If you don’t answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.
Here’s an idea…
Put your car keys beside your bed at night.
If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It’s a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won’t stick around. After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won’t want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.
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Lots of good pointers in this piece. It is however focused on urban dwellers, and rural people have a number of problems that are not associated with living in the city.
As an example, I live in a very rural area and my closest neighbour is a mile away. From my yard you cannot see anything but pasture and forest. No one is going to see a suspicious person on my property, and most days no one would see a strange vehicle going down the road either. Police response time is measured in hours, not minutes.
While an audible alarm will deter burglars to a degree, if your alarm system is not monitored by an alarm center it can be pretty worthless. Savvy burglars know that rural homes rarely have monitored alarms in remote areas because the home owners often have problems finding key holders to attend if they are away. The burglars also know that police will not get there for quite some time. A fake alarm company sign at the gate will do as much as the real thing.
We have found that there are only two items you can depend on to thwart burglars in a remote area. A 12 gauge shotgun and a big dog. A sign at the entrance to your property advising that there is a guard dog lets them know there is a 4 footed patrol. A few deer and moose antlers hanging on the garage lets them know the occupants are armed without resorting to any nasty signs about “beware of owner”.
Most crooks will look for easier targets.
It’s interesting that I was reading through your comment, I had thought of the exact solution that you mentioned in the last paragraph
For the reasons that you mention, a rural location is not necessarily safer than an urban location. There is power in numbers, so to speak.
Burglars, especially former Marine Recon, Army Rangers, or SEALs, know how to deal with dogs. If the dog barks, then the crook knows where the dog is and about how big it is. Dogs are dealt with by using “doggie darts”, which are either hollow rounds filled with an ultrashort-acting barbiturate or a paralytic substance like curare or poison-arrow toxin. These rounds can also be fired with an air-rifle equipped to fire needle-tipped, hollow rounds like zoos use. These can be fired through a window if the dog shows its head.
I hate alarm systems. When I was a Marine Recon, we had devices to bypass wired alarm systems and could even transmit a false signal. Now, wireless alarms and cell phones can be jammed, and even bypassed, by using wireless jammers. See the article in Wikepedia on “cell phone jammers”.
@Wolfy; Don’t recall any of that exotic stuff. We used “hushpuppies” to kill dogs, not put’em to sleep. Too many variables for that, sounds farfetched. This ain’t PETA. The hushpuppie was an S&W Model 39/59 with a can on it. Worked real good at hushing the puppy, permanently. Guess they use an M9 with a can,now. Did you happen to be in MEU/SOC Det 1? That’s yes or no. Everybody in the desert had a Warlock unit. I know Navy SEALs and Rangers and Force Recon marines….they aren’t burglars. Oh, yeah, you’ll find the occasional scumbag, anywhere, even in these troops. But they will be that way because they aren’t any good, they just have to be tuff enough to survive the training and get through. They’re the kind that JUST does enough to get by. They’ll get caught just like the other low-life scumbags that are burglars, just because they think they’re SO good and won’t get caught. Hypo-darts, typically can’t be fired through windows, ask a big game keeper. If it’s sturdy enough to make it through the window, you might as well use a bullet. As far as people being “the burglar’s best friend”, you are sooo right. People just deny the possibility and don’t think about it or prepare for it. That makes it easy. Survive well. Enjoy.
Thank you for the car alarm tip! I just tried it out and worked perfectly
@ K.J. , In your situation you are spot on. It was once written herein that the ( State Police of Many States ) upon final arrival will give the same advise, ” We can’t get here in time to protect you. You need to do it yourselves.” As a follow up the dialogue would go if you have shoot then drag them inside before you call us. It has always been odd to me but, over and over I’ve experienced how urban/city folks are afraid of the dark in the back woods. While conversely, individuals from the outback are uncomfortable in the city at night. Gives us a bit of an edge. Though a 10 gauge and a back up… Well we could go on about which and what to have, depends on where you are and what you may face. Signs are good and are dogs better, you still have to keep your guard up… Survive-All…
You know something, if these crooks have this much ambition why don’t they go out and get a job?!!
Pro burglars make a good living at thieving and don’t pay taxes. What would you do if you can’t find a job and have the skills to do that kind of work? As the unemployment rate goes up, so does the burglary, robbery, and car theft rate. There are plenty of good targets for those who dare. Sometimes it’s like taking candy from a baby. People will buy a big flat-screen TV but won’t buy a solid-core, three deadbolt, high-security front door for the same price. Crime happens when good poeple do nothing!
@Wolfy; Yeah, some people get what they deserve because they don’t use their brain. Still, the burglars are scum. Regardless of their service. survive well. Enjoy.
@ Phil S. Nice little tips. This should help people to avoid the criminal scum better.
The “Smart Key” idea has real merit for many circumstances as regards life style and location… Survive-All…
@ Ken and the M.S.B. clan… Here’s number 22, personal experience: The people that your realtor bring to see your house which is up for sale… And the realitor taking pictures of your house with it’s antiques, rugs, etc… to enhance their potential for a sale, set you up for that work a day robbery. Survive-All…
Otter, your comments about the real estate market procedures is bang on. I was a police officer for a long time and what you describe works as a veritable catalogue for B&E artists. Another NO NO that realtors do all the time, and it is becoming more common due to the poor housing market, is the Open House. Nothing like letting every Tom, dick and Harry in to see first hand what you have and how best to break in to the home.
I always tell people I know that if they are selling and have a realtor who is actively marketing their home, to remove firearms, valuables and things you just can’t live without, from the home and store them at a relatives or close friends while the property is on the market.
Thanks for the car-alarm tip!
I made the mistake of letting an unknown mow my yard, since I had seen him around here and there. I wasn’t at home when he broke in, but my ex and my dog were home. My dog was inside when the lawn-mowing thief cased my place, so I guess he didn’t figure on a dog being there. The ex woke up barely in time to see the thief quickly climbing out the window with my dog biting at his leg. Thief got the remote control, nothing else, but the tv had been moved around on its table. The only reason I figured it was the lawn-mowing guy was because neighbors told me they’d heard rumors, so now they believed them.
A few years later, I was by myself and heard noises outside that could have been a critter, or a person trying to break in. I cranked my shotgun just in case it was human, and that caused running sounds. I planted yucca around my windows soon afterward (the pointy, make-you-bleed kind, not the food kind).
LOL
There is nothing that gets peoples attention faster than the slide bars/action noise when you are working the pump of a shotgun!
Good pointer on the use of plants that bite. Keeps people and unwanted animals at bay, and it looks a whole lot nicer than barbed wire or broken glass set in cement. I have done the same thing in a couple of ‘weak’ spots, but used Hawthorn as things like Yucca do not like -40F.
@ K.J., Thanks, you laid out all of the between the lines common sense I hoped people would root out for themselves. Having you with your credentials state it thus should open some minds. Survive-All…
@ K.J., Oh, man you make me laugh! “faster than the slide bars/action… of a shotgun!” Well, as you are west of the Mississippi… I can tell you that “weak” spots are like we used to say in Bridger, Wyoming (” -40″ )… There’s nothing between us and the north pole except a barbed wire fence and it blew down 20 years ago. That kind of cold has it’s own security. Keep them coming K.J. … Survival-All…
Good tip on the car alarm; here in Texas nothing beats a heavily armed and gun proficient household with a few big dogs!
I did string some thin heavy gauge wire about 9 inches up across some main areas for a few weeks when the local kids were deciding if my house was the best to vandalize.
It sure did make for a funny moment when I came out of the dark and they took off running just to end up on the ground faster than I could have expected myself:) The cops came and their mothers were called to pick them up; no more problems here.
(I just wish I could have used my paint ball clay mores and scarecrow sprinklers!)
I have been off work so not used car for a few days and been mainly in the house.
When I went to the car last night there were neat piles of gravel from my drive placed on the top of each of the four tyres on my car.
Obvious to me that someone is going to come back and see if the gravel is still there to see if I am away on holiday. I leaft one stone on each tyre so it is obvious that the stones have moved and I am aware of what is going on.
What everyone should understand is…A lock only keeps honest people out. No one home is exempt. All are a target. Some very good suggestions here, and a good list of examples.
Thorny plants under windows may work, but if a theif/rapist wants in your house, he will wear gloves, long sleeves, or jacket. Remember that tall bushes can be used as cover by the offender. It is a good idea to use motion lights in blind areas.
No car alarm in the world will stay on until the battery dies. This burglar clearly isn’t in the car-burgling business. 60 seconds is the norm.
I really enjoyed the article and the tips Are a big help I’ll be telling my mom this
Great Information. I love the tip about the car keys and alarm. That should give you plenty of time to get your gun that is next to the keys at your bedside.