I left for work this morning and saw cop cars and caution tape at a house down the road. I went to get a coffee at Starbucks this morning and in the same plaza was a jewellery story with caution tape and cop cars. The two are connected!
The robber invaded the home of the store owner at 6:45 pm last night, stole his car and keys to the store and then proceeded to rob the store which is in the plaza down from where I work.
http://www.cfrb.com/news/565/750587
Good lord, that's horrible!
Crime is coming closer to our house, too, and it's getting scary. Most property crimes like that happen (quite literally) on the other side of the tracks. But we live three blocks from the tracks, and home invasions are starting to occur in the houses on this side of the tracks -- the ones that abut the tracks.
The scary thing is that DH still thinks he lives in a small town, and whenever he leaves the house while I'm in it, he leaves the door unlocked. Sometimes it's hours later -- after I've had a shower, after I've taken a nap -- that I find the door unlocked.
Home invasions scare the shit out of me. I'm here alone all the time, and here most home invasions end in the homeowner being murdered over a fucking TV or DVD player. If someone wants to kick in my door I've got no way out because of the way the house is set up. There's no back door. Besides, I can't leave the dogs behind to be shot.
anastasia Wrote:Home invasions scare the shit out of me. I'm here alone all the time, and here most home invasions end in the homeowner being murdered over a fucking TV or DVD player. If someone wants to kick in my door I've got no way out because of the way the house is set up. There's no back door. Besides, I can't leave the dogs behind to be shot.
One of the reasons why there are significantly fewer home invasions in the USA than in many other countries is because of gun ownership. People are much less likely to break into your home with you in it, if they think you might shoot them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_invasion
"Few statistics are available on home invasion as a crime, because it is not technically a crime in most states. Persons charged with "home invasion" are actually charged with robbery, kidnapping, and assault charges."
http://ww4.ps-sp.gc.ca/en/library/public...6_ch1.html
"United States (1996): residential robberies account for 13.5% of all robberies (377,335 recorded robbery incidents at a rate of 142 incidents per 100,000 population);
Australia (1997): residential robberies account for approximately 7% of all robberies (21,261 recorded robbery incidents at a rate of 115 per 100,000 population);
Canada (1997): residential robberies account for approximately 3.6% of all robberies (29,590 recorded robbery incidents at a rate of 98 incidents per 100,000 population). 3 "
In Canada it is abut 9 per 100,000 for home invasions.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9243
"The widespread civilian possession of handguns also helps the police do their job. In countries such as the United Kingdom (where handguns are banned) or the Netherlands (where handguns are rare), the home-invasion burglary rate is 48 percent to 59 percent, and many home-invasion burglaries lead to assaults or rapes.
In the United States, only 13 percent of house burglaries take place when someone is home, and studies show this is because about half of U.S. homeowners have a gun. And handguns are by far the best guns for home defense, because they're easy to maneuver in confined spaces and hard for criminals to grab."
I believe Gary Kleck (Professor of Criminology, Florida State University) has done much work on how handguns in the home are a preventative to crime.
I would never suggest Anastasia or anyone else who is absolutely uncomfortable with guns go out and get one -- that is a recipe for disaster. But for someone who is not adamantly opposed, who is willing to be educated on gun ownership and proper safety procedures, a handgun may fulfill a need.
anastasia Wrote:Home invasions scare the shit out of me. I'm here alone all the time, and here most home invasions end in the homeowner being murdered over a fucking TV or DVD player. If someone wants to kick in my door I've got no way out because of the way the house is set up. There's no back door. Besides, I can't leave the dogs behind to be shot.
Home invasions scare me for the same reasons. Yeah, I'd be upset if my stuff was stolen, but the criminals rarely just take things. They take stuff and kill whoever they encounter. Often in very brutal ways. Just thinking of what they could do to my little guinea pigs has me almost in tears.
I'm so very grateful that I live in an area where crime is practically non-existent.
PrairieGirl Wrote:anastasia Wrote:Home invasions scare the shit out of me. I'm here alone all the time, and here most home invasions end in the homeowner being murdered over a fucking TV or DVD player. If someone wants to kick in my door I've got no way out because of the way the house is set up. There's no back door. Besides, I can't leave the dogs behind to be shot.
One of the reasons why there are significantly fewer home invasions in the USA than in many other countries is because of gun ownership. People are much less likely to break into your home with you in it, if they think you might shoot them.
There are more guns per capita in Canada than in the US, and yet this home invasion still happened. I guess the robber wasn't scared off by all the guns.
A gun is worthless unless it's strapped to you at all times, like a cop. There are a couple of guns in my house, but if someone kicked in the door right now as I type this, what am I going to do? Tell him to wait right there while I retrieve one of them from their places? Or should I just always have one in my hand while hanging out reading the internet or watching TV?
I'm always afraid that someone is going to break in when I'm home alone. Even if the doors are locked shut I don't feel 100% safe. I feel silly for that because I live in a small town. But luckily, that kind of crime is really rare over here. Most of the time the robberies are done in convience stores.
So sorry NKBurlington this happened so close to your house. I am paranoid about people robbing our home too. I figure with all the dogs we have, they should give me enough time to call the police. I have been wanting a hand gun, but haven't gotten one yet. I always have the front porch lights on.
This post reminds me of that movie Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. It has Philip Seymour Hoffman in it. He and his brother rob his parents' jewelry store. It is a drama/good dysfunctional family type movie.
I saw that article in the news yesterday and just thought about how close it was to me (being the next town over). I can't imagine if it was my street! I guess since it was a targeted attack it isn't quite as scary, but it is still kind of scary.
Quote:what am I going to do? Tell him to wait right there while I retrieve one of them from their places? Or should I just always have one in my hand while hanging out reading the internet or watching TV?
That's funny. You tried to create an argument with an unworkable dichotomy, but you actually answered your own question. You are a woman living alone. Anyone watching you or stalking you knows your man is gone for a long, long time. Your safety is entirely YOUR problem, and YOUR problem alone. Do you prefer to wring your hands and complain about the crime, or DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?!?!?
Set up mental barriers to your own personal safety if you like, but I think that's dumb as dirt.
You don't have to keep a gun in your hand. But you can carry one from room to room and set it down as you spend hours in that room watching TV or reading. You can squirrel pepper spray in various places in the house, so you're always within a few steps of one (DH did that after he attended a home safety seminar, and bought ten cans in a panic!).
If neither of those things appeal to you, then you can do other things -- get a "Door Club", upgrade the door chains to the kind of sliding bolt thingie motels have, check all your window locks to make sure they work as they should, nail your windows shut if you want, upgrade your wooden door to a solid steel door, get a security system and use it, etc.
Analyze your home like a criminal would -- can a clever criminal get through your doggie door, or use it to unbolt the lock? If you have a window on your door, can it be broken to reach the deadbolt? Do you have deadbolts (you'd be amazed how many people don't have deadbolts on their outer doors)!?!? Are the bushes hiding your windows from the your nosy neighbors' view? -- nosy neighbors are actually the best crime preventative there is. Do you close your curtains at night so any criminal watching doesn't know what room you are in, or gets a chance to learn your habits? And living in a rental is no excuse -- it's better to lose a security deposit than a life, if you truly feel that unsafe.
There are things you can do, other than wring your hands and complain that your self-limited options are unpalatable.
PrairieGirl Wrote:Quote:what am I going to do? Tell him to wait right there while I retrieve one of them from their places? Or should I just always have one in my hand while hanging out reading the internet or watching TV?
If neither of those things appeal to you, then you can do other things -- get a "Door Club", upgrade the door chains to the kind of sliding bolt thingie motels have, check all your window locks to make sure they work as they should, nail your windows shut if you want, upgrade your wooden door to a solid steel door, get a security system and use it, etc.
Renters don't have such options. The owners of this home are coming back to live in it again, they don't want us to change anything. And I won't touch a gun.
anastasia Wrote:[quote=PrairieGirl]
[quote=anastasia]
There are more guns per capita in Canada than in the US, and yet this home invasion still happened. I guess the robber wasn't scared off by all the guns.
Where did you get that information?
'Canada has roughly 1 million handguns while the United States has more than 76 million.'
The US has 3.3 times more guns per capita than Canada.
http://www.guncontrol.ca/Content/Cda-US.htm
NKBurlington Wrote:anastasia Wrote:[quote=PrairieGirl]
[quote=anastasia]
There are more guns per capita in Canada than in the US, and yet this home invasion still happened. I guess the robber wasn't scared off by all the guns.
Where did you get that information?
'Canada has roughly 1 million handguns while the United States has more than 76 million.'
The US has 3.3 times more guns per capita than Canada.
http://www.guncontrol.ca/Content/Cda-US.htm
This is something I always hear quite often, so I did a search and found it mentioned in several places and took it at face value. But on closer search, I'm finding that for every mention of more guns per capita in Canada, I find some other mention saying the opposite, that it's more in the US. Sorry about the conflicting info. I should have searched longer.
No worries. I just thought everyone knew the US has more guns than Canada. We have very strict and widely publicized gun control laws here.
I remember hearing that a gun owner is more likely to be shot with their own gun than use it on someone else... who knows if that is true. I'd be afraid to shoot someone because they'd probably sue and I'd get arrested.
Well, home invasions are terrible and scary, but I don't want to live with guns, because, among other reasons, it's merely a form of "apes swinging through trees and flinging crap at each other". Only instead of crap we throw metal and chemicals at each other. Projectile weapons are also pretty stupid because we posses the technology to - basically - build those phasers you see on Star Trek. They're not very complicated devices and we could do it right now to have a way of disabling attackers without having to kill anybody (no, not only do I not watch too much TV, I don't watch TV at all). :-P
If you feel the need to do something, find a good teacher and learn self-defense and mind-body balance. That way, you can live your life as you see fit, without constant worry, and know that your trained instincts will take over if you need to protect yourself.
There is, of course, something for everyone, but I just wanted to mention this as an option.
Quote:If you feel the need to do something, find a good teacher and learn self-defense and mind-body balance. That way, you can live your life as you see fit, without constant worry, and know that your trained instincts will take over if you need to protect yourself.
Not to discount this option, because I think it's a great one, but no amount of training can overcome the sheer physics of a heavier, taller, stronger person overpowering a smaller, thinner one. You hear constantly of female black-belts being ashamed of not being able to protect themselves, or their families, when crime occurs.
Take self defense classes, absolutely -- but not in any expectation that you will have every answer to every situation of self-defense. You can be a highly trained black-belt, but you still have to be alert to your surroundings, and take precautions in the home (locks, bushes, etc).