B&E - couple of questions...

[eKirts]

Hello fellow gunnutterz,

Hopefully this is the correct spot, if not... please feel free to move it.


Sometime during the weekend my house was broken into whilst we were away in Ottawa... When we arrived home on Sunday around 3pm we noticed the window and the doors window had been smashed

Couple of things were taken... laptop, buck knife, airsoft gun... all our personal items were strune about the house...and lots of glass...
Thankfully my safe and guns were untouched with no noticeable trace of forced entry on the door of the safe... doesn't look like the crook(s) bothered or didnt know what it was.
The police were called and have been through the house too look for evidence/prints... gave them all the information we could

My questions to you all is....

Should I be worried now that the person/persons know that there is a safe in my house and the potential of them getting a firearm. I have recently unbolted the safe and moved it to another location in the house and bolted it back down into concrete... but my other half is now worried that some one may come back to attempt to get them....potential paranoia, but I'd rather appease both our worries and have some further input from some people who might have some experience in this situation.

I have bought a whole wack load of locks and will be replacing the door that they broke into with a solid door with no window and will have multiple locks on each door... I am also thinking of buying a few security cameras to have on aimed on the doors..... are there any other suggestions that anyone has?

I have thought about a dog... but I do not want to put another life in potential danger

I'm constantly overwhelmed by this sick feeling of what could have actually happened had the crook been more interested... They had to scale a Garage, or three 7 foot fences to get into our backyard in order to break the back door... so I feel like we have been watched... it could just be a fluke that we weren't home when this person broke in.


Thanks for your time guys... input is greatly appreciated


eKirts

 

[Viper989]

Most people that break into houses in the Toronto area are crackheads. They break into your house to get anything they can sell for cash fast. Most break and enters are crime of opportunity and I don't think they were casing your house. That being said, it doesn't mean that if they saw the safe that they might not decide to come back better prepared to get into it. I would suggest possibly looking into an alarm system as most thieve realize that they have a short window in the house until Police arrive on scene. I understand sometimes it might take the Police a long time to arrive but the thief will not take that chance so they will grab what they can easily carry and leave.

 

[profeser]

Buy a dog!, its a great form of house security

 

[Dukester]

Sounds like young punks, and while there is the off chance they would come back it is rare.
If you are going to get a dog, get it because you want a pet to train and love. They take a lot of time and effort ( we have 2 GSD's ).
I recommend a quality alarm system. You don't need to go overboard. I had one at another house, and even though I am around the house most of the time I miss it when we go out. Lots of options these days for monitoring etc...
Relax and don't let the little pricks turn your life inside out.

 

[fenceline]

They might come back. They might not. Someone else may randomly break in, or they may not. Do what you can to be comfortable in your own home without having to feel like you are a prisoner in your own home. It all depends on how far you want to go with personal home security.

Dogs, alarm systems, bars on the windows, steel doors with heavy locking systems, cameras, motion lights, vegetation cut back or away. At the end of the day every security system is defeatable, it all depends how much someone wants your stuff. Even if you remove what they want, if they think its there and they want it they will try as long as it is worth their time.

Security is an illusion. You just have to make the intruder believe it works or that someone else is easier.

 

[Noltz]

Security is an illusion. You just have to make the intruder believe it works or that someone else is easier.

Quoted for truth.

-Better doors
-Better locks
-Hide your safe. Papers, jewelery, guns in there.
-Good fake jewelery in her jewelery box
-Insurance pays for new TV, Laptop and other stuff.

If it makes you feel better, get an alarm. But average response time to an alarm is 12-20 minutes. Average B&E is 4-6. You would have known earlier that you were robbed but it probably wouldn't have stopped it. IF the thief decides to come back, new doors and a new Alarm Co. sticker in the window MAY discourage him.
Some thieves will avoid dogs, but others will distract them with something from your fridge. First stop is the master bedroom, so don't put your safe in there. Real, quality cameras WILL help the cops if they can see faces and license plates. Those cheap CMOS camera kits are junk.

Other than that, realize again that police CANNOT protect you or your property. Your best defense is to make someone elses house an easier target than yours. Property can be replaced.

 

[eKirts]

Thank you for the input, helped quite a bit

after a couple days of thought combined with your responses I feel better about the situation. I have added double cylinder deadbolts on all the entrances in the house and have secured the safe in another area that is more suitable; behind a door and added a couple deadbolts...

If it makes you feel better, get an alarm. But average response time to an alarm is 12-20 minutes. Average B&E is 4-6. You would have known earlier that you were robbed but it probably wouldn't have stopped it.

I thought the same thing after we were reading a bit about alarm systems... I'll start with cameras for now... at least I would be able to see the bastard. Thanks for the tip on the CMOS cameras.

Have thought about hooking up a motion detector to a water cannon...might be worth while? hah... no one should be back there anyway when no one is around, since you can't wander into the back yard...


Thanks again guys... noob to the situation... hopefully no one else has to deal with the same thing.... but, sadly its a fact of reality...