Author Topic: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)  (Read 36944 times)

Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #30 on: August 12, 2019, 08:02:18 pm »
The only time our house was broken into, was from the neighbor (about 15 years ago). We use to bbq and hang out with their family. He knew our whole schedule and routine and would do the ole credit card trick to let himself in the back door. Thankfully the only thing we noticed missing were DVD’s. He must have been inside several times before we noticed. We installed a deadbolt and filed a police report. The cops went to his house, but couldn’t find anything on our list (about 40 movies).

I would recommend deadbolts at the very least. Alarms are nice to have, but most won’t dispatch police unless they get your consent. If automatic consent is giving for dispatch, false alarms can become expensive. My dog use to trip the sensor occasionally and my phone would be turned off at movie theaters or out for dinner. A voicemail does absolutely nothing in those cases. I now use cameras for self monitoring along with an alarm system. Like others have said though...if they want to come in, they’re coming in.

Hope it doesn’t happen again.

wartoy

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Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #31 on: August 12, 2019, 09:42:07 pm »
Sorry to hear about your break in at least nothing was stolen.Ive also had my home broken into more than once unfortunately.The first time they didn't take much just smash and grab a few items. But then when they saw what I had in my home they came back a few weeks later.Then again after that so I moved into a new house.It may sound extreme but it was my only option.I bought better locks and doors (didn't work) I had a house alarm (didn't work) police were little help buy the time they show up it's over. Best thing to do is keep your collection private very few people know about my hobby let alone have seen my collection. Im just lucky it wasn't a easy task to take my collection it would take a group of men and a truck to take it all. Believe me it wasn't any fun moving took me and my two grown sons and a couple of close friends two weekends to move. I was lucky they didn't seem to know the good stuff to take it was all new systems at the time like ps3,xbox 360 and games for those systems.No retro stuff so it was easy to replace.In anycase they didn't have a chance to see your stuff hopefully thay figure it's not worth their time.

Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #32 on: August 12, 2019, 09:53:23 pm »
Because they often also break in (not brake...) in the middle of the night. Criminals are getting more brazen, having something like a shotgun isn't a bad idea.

I doubt that trying to locate and load the gun while still being sleepy is a helpful solution strategy for any problem. You only pose a threat to yourself.

Hey, if you don't care what someone who breaks into your home may do to you or your family, that's your choice.

Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #33 on: August 12, 2019, 10:00:09 pm »
Because they often also break in (not brake...) in the middle of the night. Criminals are getting more brazen, having something like a shotgun isn't a bad idea.

I doubt that trying to locate and load the gun while still being sleepy is a helpful solution strategy for any problem. You only pose a threat to yourself.


(IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE)

If you killed or injured a person outside of your home like if they started to run and you shot them or even injured them them outside of your home, you can still get charged with some kind of murder. Or severe penalty

But if the worse event comes. from what I heard and understand, only if you injure or kill the person inside your home and if the evidence is proven that the intruder was injured or killed inside of your own home ONLY then it can be considered self defense according to the law.

Don't forget about the danger of the robber if he, or she has a weapon of their own. Some of robbers are either military, former military, police, or even former SWAT. members who break in And can be extremely dangerous and highly trained. If the robber has enough training not even a shotgun can be a safe bet

Sometimes it is safer to let the robber take whatever they want, or be killed. Just look at some store or fast food joints that have been robbed before and how some the employees survived it

Good rule of thumb is to not shoot anyone outside anyway. You could hit the house behind etc.

I think a lot of the things mentioned in this theead are the best things you can do. There is no way to make your house 100% break in proof, but making things harder for a potential thief is your best bet. Unless someone knows you have something specific they are going for (like knowing you have a lot of stuff that can be sold quickly and with little questions) most thieves will see you have safeguards and just move on to an easier target. Things like beware of dog signed, or security system signs (Whether you have a sysyem or not) will drive away most casual thieves looking for a quick buck.

Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #34 on: August 13, 2019, 12:33:01 am »
I recommend installing cameras, reinforcing your door to make it harder to kick in, and getting a shotgun, in that order.  Also if you are in the market for a guard dog I recommend the Rhodesian Ridgeback.  They keep the salesman, Jehovahs Witness, Mormons, thieves, etc, from hanging around for more than a few seconds.  Mine barks continuously when a person or another dog gets within 100 feat of the house until she is called off or the disturbance leaves.  If you do plan on letting them into a fenced yard the fence must be at least 8 ft tall as anything less they can jump.


Camera has been ordered today :).  I ordered one with a IP66 waterproof rating and the selling point for me was that it is completely wireless.  No wires going up around my house and stuff. I am extremely excited about it. It runs off a solar panel that is sold seperately. 2 brackets, solar panel and the camera.  Both on the overhang of the porch.  Directly at the steps going to the door.  If you walk up the steps you will be seen.  Full and clear facial features.  Both having incredible reviews and it gives you up to 7 days of footage in cloud storage :D.  It has night vision, motion detection and it will alarm my phone if someone comes anywhere near the door.  Which is probably worth its cost just for packages lol.  It will be installed in 2 days along with the sign that I ordered that says "Warning, 24/7 camera survielance"  If they break in now and are one of my neighbors they are extremely dumb because i'll know them.    And for now, i'll stay home just in case until I can get her set up.  My brother also gave me a different security camera.  it runs off wires and goes to a monitor.  I will use this for inside the actual house to monitor if anything did actually get in and come up the stairs. 

As for the shotgun, I actually do have one along with a few other guns.  It's a Mossberg 500 tactical. It was bought for the sole purpose of being my home defense gun.

I know people can be scared of guns and it's a very controversial topic, so I won't talk too much about them.  But I definitely would feel very worried in this city without one. And I definitely support them. Many armed break ins and rapes happen in this city.  With a family to protect, I have to be ready for the unexpected.   

Thank you for the suggestions 98dgreen, I do want to look into door jamb armor too.  And to fortify all the doors better.  I wish I had enough money right now to put all metal doors.  I think maybe I should invest to do it.  The metal rear door is almost impossible to get into as it stands. 




Because they often also break in (not brake...) in the middle of the night. Criminals are getting more brazen, having something like a shotgun isn't a bad idea.

I doubt that trying to locate and load the gun while still being sleepy is a helpful solution strategy for any problem. You only pose a threat to yourself.


The gun is kept loaded at all times. A home defense weapon is pointless if it isn't always ready.  The reaction window is very small and the robber isn't going to wait. 

The only way you really pose a threat to yourself with a gun is if you practice extremely poor gun etiquette or are not properly educated in handeling them.  If a robber is armed, he is more of a threat to you than absolutely anything else.

But I understand if you have different feelings towards guns.  I know it's not for everyone and it's ok for us to disagree :).  I hope you have a happy week.



 
I recommend installing cameras, reinforcing your door to make it harder to kick in, and getting a shotgun, in that order.

And how is a weapon ("shotgun") supposed to help when burglars and robbers usually brake in during your absence?

Because they often also break in (not brake...) in the middle of the night. Criminals are getting more brazen, having something like a shotgun isn't a bad idea.

To the OP- if your neighbors know you loathe them, they are more likely to look the other way if something is happening to your home. It's always a good idea to play nice with the people you live near.

They don't know I loathe them yet, I only think it to myself lol.  I never be mean to them or go out of my way to be abrasive.  I just keep to myself.  They think i'm some shy gamer wierdo.  I probably am but I really rather keep to myself in most instances in life.  I don't be snobby, I always say hi and try small talk.  But i'm pretty weary of the stuff the neighbors do.  A lot of narcotic siezes near the house by the FBI and a lot of prostitution.  The city has a opioid crisis and many of the neighbors get desperate for drugs. 

 I have been starting to warm up to one of the neighbors though. He's a old vietnam war veteran.  I'm sure he hates thieves as much as the next.  And recently he came into my driveway and introduced himself.  we talk every day now.  I will try to chalk his mean treatment to a misunderstanding. He has cameras set up.  I should ask him to keep an eye out for me and vice versa.  We seem to be friendly now.  And he has opened up and we talk about cars and lawns and stuff :)

The other neighbors are half on drugs, half loud alcoholics and a ton of hookers. and their is one jacked up woman who punches like Mike Tyson that I try to avoid.  She punched her car door once when arguing with her girlfriend and it left a dent like it was hit with a bat.  I do not want no problems with her when she's mad lol.   But in fairness she has a lot of money, works a lot and doesn't bother anyone aside from her rages outside.  She seems nice.

I think you might be right about getting in the good graces of the few good neighbors so they will keep me in the know about the many bad ones.  I think we should all look out for eachother.  :)



we couldn't understand that those kids weren't like us, they'd been trained by older siblings to essentially befriend people and scout their homes for valuables so that thefts can be planned later. Sure enough, when we all routinely went out one time we came back to all of our gaming equipment gone. Clearly the work of idiots, who walked right past laptops and other things worth more than what they chose to take, but they took things they either wanted or knew the value of I guess. Filed a report with the police the same day, including a full inventory. That's the last we heard about that. 

I'm very sorry that happened to you.  It's so crazy how kids can prey upon the unsuspecting.  Especially as kids they can be very manipulative and decieptful. One time little kids tried stealing my smash bros melee.  They literally thought they had conspired some heist too.  They were silly enough to come up to me and say "Your Smash is missing, what happened to your smash".  I literally said, none of you are leaving until the smash is back where it was.  Because I knew for a fact where the smash always was, and I hadn't played it. They tried lying for a while.  I went back to playing my game.  Then one of them pretend "found it".   Why for the life of me they told me it was missing I will never know.  My collection is to a size even back then where someone could steal any one thing and i'd not notice until later.  But it was funny how kids are trained by their older brothers or even parents to steal.  It's sad that it creates the monster that probably tries kicking our door in at 35. 

Like oldgamerz said, it's essential not to let randoms into the house.  Even if they seem nice.  I didn't learn that until real later on and after that incident.  It's hard sometimes to keep friendly neighbors or friends of the families from coming in. 

I had a long talk with them and tried to teach them to ask nicely before stealing.  But they didn't really listen and kinda made a ass of me.  I was never good with kids lol. 


I wish the police had notified you of the outcome.  Did you ever bump into the kids in the neighborhood again? 

I hope you have had safer times since :)



Thank you everyone for all the suggestions and kind words. It means a lot to me.  I love these forums very much for the community of loving friends we have.  I feel much better and confident handling the situation :)


« Last Edit: August 13, 2019, 01:02:07 am by marvelvscapcom2 »



Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #35 on: August 13, 2019, 01:06:28 am »
Have experienced myself this situation a couple of times, at the worst one the took even the electrical cable after that decided to move from that place, now I keep my most precious titles at a electronic security box, you can mount this beauty into a wall or better into the floor so that way they can't carry it that easy, it's better if you hide this one, mine is covered with boxes and some shoes at the deepest part of one of my closets, since it doesn't use at padlock if they don't have the time or the appropiate tools to open it they definetely will decide to steal something that is not that complicated.


That's a awesome idea :).  Is it like a safe? Or is it more like a hidden lock box?  I have a very small safe that disguises itself as a book on a bookshelf but it can't hold much bigger than some gold coins I have.   It could probably hold a stack of ps1 games or maybe a pop.  But I could use a bigger lockbox to put valuables in when I leave.  Maybe something that can be hidden to look like a piece of furniture or something.  I know some people make couches that turn into a safe but they are very expensive. 







mastodon

Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #36 on: August 13, 2019, 01:10:20 am »
Hello everyone :(

 
Today I went out to eat with my family and had such a lovely morning with sunny beautiful weather which would sadly end in a bad surprise when we returned.  I went out in my car leaving my house completely unattended as my girlfriend who usually does streaming on the 2nd floor came.  We enjoyed such a lovely evening with my 92 year old great grandmother out of town and my parents. 


When I returned I was greeted with a pretty negative sight that has haunted me and has been one of my worst nightmares since as far as I can remember deciding to hoard valuable things lol.






My bottom landing door was completely caved in. Split up the middle, door frame pounded through and dead bolt snapped. And the 2nd floor door was completely split around the door knob, shreded with a crow bar, hammer dents all over the door knob but not breached luckily.  Somehow they gave up.  My door on the 3rd floor was untouched.




I am so lucky that they werent able to steal anything. It's the only silver lining to it all. But I still feel so violated.  It's a horrible dirty feeling to know someone has broken into your home and violated your space and privacy.  I can't describe it.  It's like a feeling of being breached.  I feel like I'm being watched now and have been paranoid every since.


My only idea for why they gave up is my 110 pound labrador.  I assume he heard the noise and barked spooking them off.  He was pretty shooken up when we got back.


This was broad daylight mind you.  :(
 

Tough one for the books.  But this has been a great wakeup call to fortify my home like I always should have with some sort of private security system.   And I can take this as a positive which is my only way of moving on and coping.  I think this was a warning to show me that I need to be less silly with my collection and protect it with a alarm type thing that alerts the police.


Which brings me into the question part of my post. :)


How do you guys protect your home from burglars? 



For the record, I do have means of protecting the house from an intruder if i'm present.


But that only helps when i'm home.  Which in fairness is most of the time.


What i'm really looking for is one of those alarms that work with Alexa that when someone breaks in it sends an Alarm to the police immediately and then you can see who did it and stuff like that and usually the alarm scares them away :)



But for now I am going to buy 2 water proof motion detecting cameras and a sign that says "Trespassers will be shot" and stuff of the sorts :D



Sorry for a negative post everyone but I would really like to here opinions.  Have any of you ever been robbed?  It's so scary  :( :'(

Time to get a big dog.


Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #37 on: August 13, 2019, 01:12:34 am »
The only time our house was broken into, was from the neighbor (about 15 years ago). We use to bbq and hang out with their family. He knew our whole schedule and routine and would do the ole credit card trick to let himself in the back door. Thankfully the only thing we noticed missing were DVD’s. He must have been inside several times before we noticed. We installed a deadbolt and filed a police report. The cops went to his house, but couldn’t find anything on our list (about 40 movies).

I would recommend deadbolts at the very least. Alarms are nice to have, but most won’t dispatch police unless they get your consent. If automatic consent is giving for dispatch, false alarms can become expensive. My dog use to trip the sensor occasionally and my phone would be turned off at movie theaters or out for dinner. A voicemail does absolutely nothing in those cases. I now use cameras for self monitoring along with an alarm system. Like others have said though...if they want to come in, they’re coming in.

Hope it doesn’t happen again.

Thank you betelguese.  I really hope it doesn't happen again too. I have had a sense of paranoia ever since but am starting to get a better grasp on it.  I don't know if i'm over reacting or just being safer. But my dad says that the likelihood of the person coming back after failing the 1st time is slim to none because they will be scared we are on high alert from the last time.  And he thinks it was someone close by and not a random.  I hope he's right.

 
I probably won't wire it to alarm the police after all, because like you said. only because of my dog and the mail man will set it off and alarm them.  I have a lot of people who walk by the camera too just because the sidewalk is pretty close. 



Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #38 on: August 13, 2019, 01:14:24 am »
Hello everyone :(

 
Today I went out to eat with my family and had such a lovely morning with sunny beautiful weather which would sadly end in a bad surprise when we returned.  I went out in my car leaving my house completely unattended as my girlfriend who usually does streaming on the 2nd floor came.  We enjoyed such a lovely evening with my 92 year old great grandmother out of town and my parents. 


When I returned I was greeted with a pretty negative sight that has haunted me and has been one of my worst nightmares since as far as I can remember deciding to hoard valuable things lol.






My bottom landing door was completely caved in. Split up the middle, door frame pounded through and dead bolt snapped. And the 2nd floor door was completely split around the door knob, shreded with a crow bar, hammer dents all over the door knob but not breached luckily.  Somehow they gave up.  My door on the 3rd floor was untouched.




I am so lucky that they werent able to steal anything. It's the only silver lining to it all. But I still feel so violated.  It's a horrible dirty feeling to know someone has broken into your home and violated your space and privacy.  I can't describe it.  It's like a feeling of being breached.  I feel like I'm being watched now and have been paranoid every since.


My only idea for why they gave up is my 110 pound labrador.  I assume he heard the noise and barked spooking them off.  He was pretty shooken up when we got back.


This was broad daylight mind you.  :(
 

Tough one for the books.  But this has been a great wakeup call to fortify my home like I always should have with some sort of private security system.   And I can take this as a positive which is my only way of moving on and coping.  I think this was a warning to show me that I need to be less silly with my collection and protect it with a alarm type thing that alerts the police.


Which brings me into the question part of my post. :)


How do you guys protect your home from burglars? 



For the record, I do have means of protecting the house from an intruder if i'm present.


But that only helps when i'm home.  Which in fairness is most of the time.


What i'm really looking for is one of those alarms that work with Alexa that when someone breaks in it sends an Alarm to the police immediately and then you can see who did it and stuff like that and usually the alarm scares them away :)



But for now I am going to buy 2 water proof motion detecting cameras and a sign that says "Trespassers will be shot" and stuff of the sorts :D



Sorry for a negative post everyone but I would really like to here opinions.  Have any of you ever been robbed?  It's so scary  :( :'(

Time to get a big dog.


I have a 110 pound Labrador.  I think he's the only thing that made them stop their plan and run.  It seems odd they'd give up with clear access to the house.  I think he must have barked and was going to attract attention to the robbery so they ran.  I am so happy he was there.  He saved the house when all else failed.  They say homes with a big dog are robbed 50 percent less.   I am putting a beware of dog sign outside just so random people know he's in there too lol. 




telly

Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #39 on: August 13, 2019, 09:03:40 am »
Because they often also break in (not brake...) in the middle of the night. Criminals are getting more brazen, having something like a shotgun isn't a bad idea.

I doubt that trying to locate and load the gun while still being sleepy is a helpful solution strategy for any problem. You only pose a threat to yourself.

Hey, if you don't care what someone who breaks into your home may do to you or your family, that's your choice.

He didn't even say that though   ::)
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Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #40 on: August 14, 2019, 03:20:34 am »
Another great idea that should give us peace of mind when not at home or gone for a few days

One of the most oldest tricks to do is when you're not home, or even sometimes leave for days is is simply leave a light or stereo on so the people outside off your home think that someone is home, or in your house,

OR buy an electric timer. And set some of your lights to turn on automatically  at a certain time of day or night.

This even can work with stereos and televisions.

Timers are cheap I think not sure, but they plug into an electric outlet, and then you simply plug in lights or even stereos and you can even set your stereo to go on and turn off at a certain hour

when you use a timer you make sure the the electronic is in the on position. and then setup the timer to go off at a certain time. if you have it setup properly. Than table lamps and even old stereos if their plugged into the timer can be set to turn on and go off at certain hours.

you might be able to pick up an electric timer at home depot or any kind of hard ware store.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2019, 10:19:48 am by oldgamerz »
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Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #41 on: August 14, 2019, 11:52:42 pm »
Always a good idea to have some home security in place. I stupidly do not, and I've only been lucky because my house is full of things to take. A motion sensing alarm on the door and window is all that you would really need to ward off this kind of crap, but look who's talking?

Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #42 on: August 16, 2019, 05:11:59 pm »
NEW NEWS! 

The plot thickens lol. 

Turns out it wasn't a robbery after all.  Which makes so much sense and connects all the dots.

It was the police. :(

They left a voicemail on my phone stating that their was an emergency that alerted a life alert system and they broke in the house.  (Their is a life alert system in the home for when my girlfriends grandmother spends the night.)

It was accidentally triggered somehow, they thought an elderly woman was trapped inside.  So they put the door in.


All the paranoia was for nothing.   ;D


It's kind of a relief but kind of a bad thing too. 

Good - Robbers aren't casing my house for robberies and my neighbors can be trusted again.
Bad- I just spent 110 dollars on a camera I didn't need. And lived in Parnoia for a week over nothing lol. 

Conclusion - Check your voicemails. 

I don't check because it's always the doctors office wanting money that I don't owe or telemarkerters. 


Thank you everyone.  Sorry for the alarm.  I wish I would have known. 



Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #43 on: August 16, 2019, 07:11:44 pm »
No note left behind or a temporary band-aid for the kicked in door?
At least it explains why nothing was stolen.
Kind of sad that not one person who lives around you asked anything.

Re: My house got broken into today. (How do you protect your collections?)
« Reply #44 on: August 16, 2019, 07:41:39 pm »
No note left behind or a temporary band-aid for the kicked in door?
At least it explains why nothing was stolen.
Kind of sad that not one person who lives around you asked anything.

I know, it's so bizarre.  They could have at least left a note.  And why on earth am I held to fixing a 600 dollar door and door frame over the city police's actions lol.   Of course i'd never win a suit. 

I just am so confused by all of this mess. 


The life alert machine was never pressed.  We were out for dinner with her.  Maybe she brushed the necklace button thing?  Phones were turned off because of dinner.  So maybe that's why they had no other choice.  I'm in a way glad it worked but also annoyed.  I since reinforced the door frame but the door looks like shit now.  And has splits.  Now if a real robber comes they'll kick it in easier. 


It explains so much though,  first that they didn't just climb through a window or go through the 1st or 3rd floor.