I have lost count of the number of times I have responded to a call for a theft from a vehicle or a burglary, sometimes at the same residence. After getting the details of the crime, I ask if the house or vehicles were unlocked. The vast majority of the time the victims say yes, they were unlocked or left open. Law enforcement has continually asked citizens to lock their vehicles and houses. We ask that people not leave valuables in plain sight, in their vehicles, and not to leave valuable items visible outside of their house. Yet, continually we are informed that vehicles and houses are left unsecured. I wish it wasn't this way, but unfortunately these days we must take extra steps to secure our property and our personal safety.
I've have been told by victims they would rather have their property stolen then have windows and doors to houses broken and vehicle windows smashed out. Ok, yes, this does happen sometimes, so I can't say they are wrong. I have had many forced entry calls. However, when they force entry, they are more likely to leave evidence behind such as tool marks, DNA, or alert neighbors with the noise. Noise created from a criminal forcing entry can also alert you to the fact that someone is entering your residence. This could give you the time you need to prepare to defend yourself and your family.
Theft and burglary cases are just one of the many types of cases we deal with. It is very frustrating for law enforcement because we want to find the people responsible. We are frequently left with very little, to no evidence that would help us locate that criminal. The other times that we do catch a break and find a print, DNA, photo, or recover the stolen property from another, or a pawn shop, it gives us more information to help find the suspect. Over the last decade I have seen more criminals being lightly punished or given probation for their crimes. Criminals are often not given sufficient punishment for the crime and the money they make from the crime makes it worth committing the crime again. I have had suspects that committed multiple felonies, only be given a fine of a few hundred dollars and very little, or sometimes no jail or prison time. If they cleared several thousand dollars during a crime spree and only received a few hundred dollars in fines, then they will more than likely continue to commit similar crimes.
During the course of the investigations I have conducted I have interviewed a lot suspects. The suspects willing to speak with me have all given very similar statements. They went car to car until they found one unlocked, went through it and took what they felt had value. Others said they would walk car to car looking for one that was unlocked or had something of value left in easy reach. In the cases where the valuables were left in plain sight, they were willing to smash the window to get it. When it came to houses, I was often told that they looked for houses that were rural, or if in town, were not well lit, or where the owner left bushes, hedges, or debris in front of windows, allowing them to stay concealed while attempting to gain entry. Others informed me they looked for houses that had left doors and/or windows unlocked, houses that they could see into at night, or those that had no or poor exterior lighting. If it appeared that no one was home they would, at times, knock on the door to see if anyone answered. If somebody did answer, they made up an excuse and left. If no one answered they checked to see if the door was unlocked. If they found the door unlocked, they went it. They often want to see into the home before entering to determine if there is anyone home or anything they want before attempting entry of the house. Remember to be careful what you post on social media. Don't post publicly that you're not home and that you're on vacation somewhere. This information can also be used to make you a victim of a theft or burglary.
However, occupied home invasions are going up and criminals are getting more aggressive when making entry into an occupied or unoccupied home. I have dealt with more and more of these calls over the years. I have had people report burglaries that occurred during the daytime hours. Victims have had criminals walk into to an open-door grab items of value near the door and walk out, all why the victim was in the next room. Calls of people looking through windows and watching their kids, forced entry and assault calls are increasing. I have had residents hiding in basements, whispering on the phone to 911 dispatchers, scared to death, while they can hear someone moving through their home.
When determining whether it is important to you to take measures to prevent intruders from entering your home to harm you or steel your belongings, keep in mind the area you live in and the likely response time of local law enforcement. We drive as fast as we can safely travel, given various considerations like weather, road conditions, and traffic. Response times will vary from area to area. In the previous story, regarding a victim in the basement, the response at 120mph took around eight minutes. Eight minutes is a long time for the person hiding, without anyway to defend themselves. I know some readers may handle it differently than others. The main goal is for you and your family to be safe and to make it through that dangerous encounter unharmed. When deciding how to handle encounters like these think about this as well. What happens if the intruder is not looking for your stuff but for you, or your child or other family member?
Take defensive training, if you have a firearm, learn to use it. Get good training on how to employ it safely. Secure your property, protect your privacy, and make yourself and family a harder target.
Be a Ready American.