What Is Your Plan When The **** Hits The Fan??????

[Brian R. VanCise]

Hey Drop Bear,

Violence happens pretty much everywhere and as mentioned above PS4 and Xbox, laptops, etc. are high on the list for easily fenced goods. I did one quickly search of home invasions in Australia and came up with this news article. I have no knowledge of this paper so it could be bunk but probably not. It talks about "home invasions" in Sydney being a new fad.

No Cookies dailytelegraph.com.au

 

[K-man]

Drop bear you rally need to rethink your post and except that there are bad people in the world and that your reality may not hold true for everyone.

I'm sure that Drop Bear was not denying the reality of violence in other countries. Basically he was saying that in Australia there is less of that sort of thing than elsewhere and in fact the are few statistics to even find out what the frequency would be. They are simply classed as robberies. Some of them may even be 'aggravated burglary'. The fact remains here that if you are not involved with drugs or criminals the chances of home invasion are relatively slim.

I did one quickly search of home invasions in Australia and came up with this news article. I have no knowledge of this paper so it could be bunk but probably not. It talks about "home invasions" in Sydney being a new fad.

No Cookies dailytelegraph.com.au

I don't think it's bunk but I do think it is a media driven situation. I think I need to refer back to Mark Twain to clarify my position .... "lies, damned lies, and statistics." You can use figures to 'prove' anything, or at least make a case.

So, while I acknowledge someone may storm into my home one day (or night), I think there are many easier places to choose from a bad guy's perspective. Between me and my dogs and a few bits of wood lying around I don't feel at all vulnerable.

 

[hoshin1600]

Hey K-Man,
My point was that depending on where you live this may or may not be your reality. I am not saying reality VS fantasy. But that my reality here in the part of MASSACHUSETTS that I live in will be different that what other people will have as theirs. I just find that many people think what is valid for them somehow applies to everyone. You can't just post that anyone who has experienced a home invasion deserves it and buy a lock as a magic cure and expect that people will not be offended.

 

[K-man]

Hey K-Man,
My point was that depending on where you live this may or may not be your reality. I am not saying reality VS fantasy. But that my reality here in the part of MASSACHUSETTS that I live in will be different that what other people will have as theirs. I just find that many people think what is valid for them somehow applies to everyone. You can't just post that anyone who has experienced a home invasion deserves it and buy a lock as a magic cure and expect that people will not be offended.

I accept your point and I agree with it totally. Maybe some places a lock would do the trick. Certainly in some apartment buildings that may be the case. At my place a stronger lock would do nothing as anyone could just break a window.

In Australia we read regularly where some old person has been terrorised in his/her home and obviously that wasn't deserved and I would in no way suggest that it would be in your area either. However we do have a situation in Australia at present where we have a lot of immigrants and refugees who have brought a lot of their past problems with them. They seem to be over represented in the crime figures and because they are living in the lower socio-economic areas of our major cities those areas are more likely to be targeted. We also have the situation where we seem to have 'gangs' setting and getting involved in the drug scene. A lot of the burglaries or invasions, as a Drop Bear alluded, are where there have been drug debts or other gang related issues.

We have no understanding of the problems you guys experience beyond what we read in the papers or you guys tell us on the forum and from those sources it would seem that you guys have a much more violent society than we have.

 

[Tgace]

Certainty, a home invasion style robbery can and does happen to some "normal" people. Often to elderly persons.

But, most of em happen to people in "the game". Or happen to people who make very poor choices in associates.....

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[RTKDCMB]

Seriously. I don't know about about other countries but here if someone has gone to the effort of kicking in your door and doing a home invasion. You generally have deserved it. It means you are selling drugs. Are invoked in gangs or slept with someone's girlfriend.

A few years ago my 80 year old aunty's home was invaded by a man who held her at knife point and tried to rape her until she turned his own knife against him I am pretty sure she did not sell drugs, become involved with gangs or sleep with anyone's girlfriend.

Buy a lock.

Pretty sure she had locks.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

No doubt that the media can drive things and or make a situation seem a lot worse than it actually is. Whether you live in the United States, Australia, Europe, etc. take some modest precautions coupled with common sense and you probably do not have to worry about violence finding you at home. Where I live is an affluent suburban area and yet there is some minor crime all around us. (petty thievery) Mostly it happens when someone leaves a car door open, garage open, etc. Next thing you know an opportunistic criminal has stolen some thing. Does not happen very often but it does happen. In a city of roughly two million there certainly is a criminal element. I would agree with Tgace, Kman, DropBear that if you are not in the drug business and or have poor choice in associates your chance of having some thing horrible happen definitely is reduced. By taking precautions of having an alarm system, good locks, scary but beautiful dog, martial training, firearm training, etc. I have just stacked the deck in my favor. Am I a target sure. However, criminals will see my house and think it is a hard target and move along.

Now if you live in a country that has really low crime rates, low break in's etc. still take some prudent precautions. Kman mentioned above that he has dogs. If you have good sized dogs that is a big precaution and most criminals will just go some place else. If you live in an apartment make sure you have good locks and lock your door, have an alarm if you can, train in a martial system so you have some skill sets, etc. Understand the crime rates and what is happening in your area and take prudent precautions.

In the US the likelihood that your home, apartment, etc. will be invaded is small unless you are as Tgace mentioned in the game or make poor choices with your associates. Yet, even though it is small, what have you done to reduce the odds? Even more, what have you done to stack the odds in your favor should some thing happen? The likelihood of having to use my skills is small at this point. As I am aging and moving into a group that is preyed upon more that could change. Yet, I train and take precautions so that I present a harder target for the criminal element.

Throughout the course of my life I have lived in the rural countryside on a farm, in cities like Flint, Saginaw, Lansing and of course the inner city of Detroit. Back out in the middle of nowhere which was beautiful and now in a major metropolitan city of Las Vegas. Flint and Detroit are real eye opening places to live. There is certainly danger there and yet they are really cool places to live. You just have to know what and where to avoid. What is surprising though to some people is that at least in the US some recent crime statistics actually bear out that there is not actually a lot of differences between crime out in the country and crime in the city. This was recently reiterated by Michael Bane on the BestDefense show on the outdoor channel. (Though injury leading to death is shown to be higher in the country which can and does skew the statistic) Unfortunately, in the US crime happens everywhere and at close or similar to the same rates. I do have a theory on this and would be happy to share it!

My advice would be to have a worst case scenario plan and hope you never have to use it. Yet, have a plan because if some thing "god forbid" does happen you will not freeze up and be able to take care of business.

These links show how crime has fallen in the cities of United States and the current trend:

Study Shows That Cities Are Safer Than Rural Areas Despite Crime TIME.com

City crime country crime The Berkeley Blog

Here is the 2015 Numbeo crime index. Interesting on the chart you do not want a high number for crime index. However for safety index you do want a higher number. Interesting to see where countries line up.

Crime Index by Country 2015

 

[drop bear]

Hey K-Man,
My point was that depending on where you live this may or may not be your reality. I am not saying reality VS fantasy. But that my reality here in the part of MASSACHUSETTS that I live in will be different that what other people will have as theirs. I just find that many people think what is valid for them somehow applies to everyone. You can't just post that anyone who has experienced a home invasion deserves it and buy a lock as a magic cure and expect that people will not be offended.

Ok so we start with the most dramatic form of robbery and counter it with the most dramatic form of protection. Basically ignoring the boring solutions to a whole bunch of more probable scenarios.

So this stops being sensible discussion about home protection.

 

[drop bear]

What s the single best way to prevent a thief from entering your home - HowStuffWorks

I am not the only one who has suggested a lock is a good start.

 

[elder999]

Ok so we start with the most dramatic form of robbery and counter it with the most dramatic form of protection. Basically ignoring the boring solutions to a whole bunch of more probable scenarios.

So this stops being sensible discussion about home protection.

If they get over the fence, past the dogs, past the alarm and into my home?

In the past, when I heard the unmistakable sound of the window being broken and the door being kicked in?

Gun. What's not sensible about that?

 

[drop bear]

If they get over the fence, past the dogs, past the alarm and into my home?

In the past, when I heard the unmistakable sound of the window being broken and the door being kicked in?

Gun. What's not sensible about that?

How often do you shoot a guy in your house?

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

What s the single best way to prevent a thief from entering your home - HowStuffWorks

I am not the only one who has suggested a lock is a good start.

Good locks are essential. Utilizing them by locking them are even more important. At my home we have good locks and also a door bar like this:

Masterlock Security Bar 265DCCSEN - Specialty Safety Security Items - Ace Hardware

These are on all doors including utilized in the sliding door. While they will not totally stop someone they will certainly slow them down.

How often do you shoot a guy in your house?

Hopefully, never!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Now, if I showed you how easy it is to break in a home through a door or sliding door or a garage door utilizing the same techniques that professional criminals use you would be amazed at how quickly it can happen.

 

[elder999]

How often do you shoot a guy in your house?

I actually haven't even had occasion to get the gun since moving to New Mexico. I did have one break in, nearly 20 years ago, but we weren't home, and it was likely kids: they took CDs and a guitar, and left a bunch of electronics and guns.....

In New York, I had two incidents I posted about upthread. Like I said, in both cases the intruders had the good sense to flee. I wasn't a drug dealer, I wasn't even peripherally related to any "game." I was a young working man who'd bought a nice home in a Hudson Valley town during the 80's crack epidemic.

If they'd come up the stairs, I'd have shot them.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Recently here in Las Vegas my pool guy's house was broken into and looted while we was working. They took all easily fencible items like electronics, tv, etc. He lives in just an okay area. After the break in he became a big believer in security both learning a martial system, firearms (he has one now), good locks (he had serious window and door protection put on), dog, alarm system, etc. So how did the criminals get in? They walked around and through a rock through his patio door! He made his house a harder target and I am sure he will have no more problems. (at least I hope so)

 

[K-man]

Perhaps we could look at this from a slightly different perspective. Whenever you look at statistics you have to look behind the figures. For example, in Australia we have had what appears to be an alarming increase in family violence and sexual assault. True, the figures have gone up but the reason they have gone up is that people have been educated to report these offences and not just let them go.

Another issue is perception. If I believe that the area in which I live is a dangerous place with high levels of violence and the likelihood of physical assault I will change my lifestyle accordingly even if my perception is wrong. There are people living with a fortress mentality that reduces their chance of being robbed or attacked but in the process destroys their quality of life. As in all things, there is a balance.

Like millions of other people I drive a car. There is a fair likelihood that at some time I will have an accident. To this time I have not driven into anyone and three people have driven into me, all from behind and two while I was stationary. Am I worried about it happening again? Not at all. It might or might not happen and if it does happen I wear a seatbelt and I have insurance.

Over the same period, nearly 50 years, I have had three instances where someone has broken into my car, once (not in my neighbourhood), and my home, twice (nothing was taken). On each occasion I wasn't present. Could it happen again? Sure. Am I worried about it happening, no, not beyond taking reasonable precautions and being insured. Does it affect my lifestyle? Not at all.

We do have dogs. Do we have them for protection? No. We have them because we both love German Shepherds. I have spent decades in training and teaching martial arts. Do I do that for protection? Not really. That is a side benefit. I train them because I enjoy the training and the physical challenge.

To return to the OP ... "when the **** hits the fan" I will do whatever is necessary.

 

[Tgace]

Good locks are essential. Utilizing them by locking them are even more important. At my home we have good locks and also a door bar like this:

Masterlock Security Bar 265DCCSEN - Specialty Safety Security Items - Ace Hardware

These are on all doors including utilized in the sliding door. While they will not totally stop someone they will certainly slow them down.




Hopefully, never!

And a part many people miss. Replace the short screws in the lock strike plate (the part on the door frame the bolts go into) with 3" screws that go into the wall studs. They make a huge difference.

How to Reinforce a Deadbolt Lock on Your Home Today s Homeowner

 

[Tgace]

One of the best security systems you can have is alert neighbors who look out for each other.

 

[Dirty Dog]

One of the best security systems you can have is alert neighbors who look out for each other.

In our neighborhood, we have exactly 4 houses. One of which is occupied by the guy the rest of us look out for each other because of. He's a complete nutter, and we fully expect to see him on the news one day.
Fortunately, the three sane houses (and yes, in this particular context I consider myself sane...) are all people who can protect themselves. One is a current DOC officer. One is a retired federal agent. And me.
When this guy has been particularly off balance, there have been times when you could find people on the front porch at all three houses, cleaning guns.

 

[elder999]

To return to the OP ... "when the **** hits the fan" I will do whatever is necessary.

How do you know "whatever is necessary?"

How do you know you won't waste valuable time cleaning said $h@t off of your face, instead of doing "whatever is necessary?"

In school, didja have fire drills? Air raid drills?

That's because they had a plan.

A plan-a real one-is much better than, "I will do whatever is necessary," especially given that you might not really be in your right mind at the time....just sayin'