Has this happened to anyone here? A few thoughts: - Forget about the stuff. Losing your sense of security is SO. VERY. DEPRESSING. We don't even have appetites. And why even bother buying another TV when someone can just come back and take it? - Cops don't give two shits about burglaries. If its not violent, they don't care. Even if, as he says, there is a burglary a night in this neighborhood. My rebuttal would be: feeling unsafe in your own neighborhood will have deep and long-lasting effects. Dont discount bad energy underlying the community and the damage that can do. Not feeling safe is a HUGE deal, as per Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
When will this feeling go away? The helplessness? The panic? If any of you have gone through this, please tell me it gets better. They didn't get anything of real value, but they stole the warm fuzzies we had about our new adorable home. I'm so pissed. I feel so violated. The part that pisses me of the most, is that for the few months before this happened, I wondered to myself if my life was too good to be true. Everything was feeling so right.
Assholes. I hope you enjoy that 7 year old laptop and the worthless (yet sentimental)electric guitars. Thanks for tearing my house apart for a max of $200.
I'm so sorry. Back in 2003, someone broke into my then five year old car in an attempt to steal a CD player. They busted my window and were not able to get the CD player out of the dash. I didn't have anything in my trunk, so they basically vandalized my car for no good reason. It happened the day before we were to be going on a trip. I remember feeling like utter crap when it happened... very depressed about the yucky apartment complex where we lived at the time. Thankfully, we were able to move not long after that.
But yeah, I hear you when you say your sense of safety and peace are gone. I remember how that felt. It sucks. I hope the asshole who did that to you gets what's coming to them.
I am an electrician by trade, you would not believe how many times I have gotten residential work installing security cameras,cctv, motion lights, and landscape lighting specifically for this in the last few years. Sadly 80% of the time it's after the fact. Unfortunately, the world does seem to be a scarier place day by day. Can't leave the kids outside alone anymore, can't trust religious leaders, teachers, police, the list goes on.
Sorry for your loss.
Edit-My grammar sux
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2013 08:37PM by ballzac.
I agree with you. And I have to wonder, since its a lower middle-class neighborhood, are the funds just not there? Or do property taxes etc just affect the education system? I don't know. But I'll be going to my next community counsil meeting for sure.
I had a house that got burglarized 7 times. Finally I couldn't live there any more and I sold it.
The time they broke into my sons room to get into the house is what did it for me.
You're right. The police don't really care. They only care if guns are stolen.
We had an alarm system, but it took at least a half hour for the police to show. That's plenty of time to grab and run.
We had two dogs. They shot both of them. That's when I realized my burglar was armed. That scared the sh%#t out of me.
I lived in fear. Not a good way to live. Believe it or not, we lived in what would be considered a nice neighborhood. The problem was that the homes were all a bit isolated and hidden by forest. I've always lived where my house could be easily seen since then. I've also lived in gated neighborhoods when I could. That was 35 years ago. I still live differently than I might otherwise.
Now I live behind gates. I have a noisy dog, an alarm system, nosy neighbors, and a loaded gun that I know how to use. Still, I know that if someone wants something in your house, they will find a way to get it.
I think the number one best guard against burglars is neighbors who aren't afraid to call police if something doesn't look right. We look out for our neighbors, and they look out for us. The last thing a burglar wants is too be seen.
HOLY SHIT MIA!!! Your dogs!! I would FREAK. You are told to have alarm system stickers and a dog, and you should be golden. We have both and they didn't care. My dog took cover in her crate and ripped her cushion apart (I can only imagine in fear). It makes me sick. I'm so sorry for the loss of your dogs.
I was once burglarized by polite criminals. My foolish room mate failed to pay a dealer for his "goodies." The dealer came by our apartment and surveyed the valuables, asking queations about ownership. Then, while I was at work, someone broke in and stole my room mate's stuff. Nothing of mine was touched. Can you believe it? I still had to report the crime so that insurance would pay for the kicked in door. I quickly moved out.
I'm so sorry this happened to you, and to the others who have experienced burglaries/break-ins. (Mia, your poor doggies...my heart breaks for you...those f***ers...hopefully they're rotting in prison somewhere.)
My apartment in Provo was broken into and vandalized, probably by a disgruntled ex of one of my roommates. And about nine years ago my condo was broken into very early one morning while I was asleep in bed. I don't have a gun (they're banned in my city) and my only possible weapon was my bedside lamp, so I started screaming as loud as I could once I realized what was going on. Luckily, the burglars took off. The cops didn't come until the next day.
You're absolutely right, spicyspirit, that the feeling of being violated is a helluva lot worse than losing stuff. Hope you feel better and that you have someplace else you can go if you don't want to be home right now.
Edited to add: Yes, the loss of safety feeling does fade with time, especially if you make some proactive efforts to address it. Talking about it/writing about it is good, maybe getting new locks or an alarm system would help, too.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2013 09:09PM by stbleaving.
In our neighborhood 24 homes were burglarized. The neighbor across the street came home from office and the side door was broken into. Glass every where. His dog was beaten half death, found him in the living room under the coffee table. Behind the house a chicken cube. All 19 chicken shot death laying in the cage. He called the police and 1 Hour 45 Minutes later the constable came with lights on and horn. WOW!!! 1 hour and 45 Minutes or next spring what’s the difference? He took 3 Pictures. One picture from the side Door, living room, bedroom and one picture from outside the chicken cage. That’s it. Than he filled out a form gave it to the neighbor and said that’s the report for the insurance company. Question: What does the police do? Answer: There is not much what they could do. They (burglars) are long gone probably back to Louisiana. But don’t worry - you have insurance?
May be I am a little spoiled as a European. But that the Police doing absolutely nothing! Well since than I am heavily armed. I hate it but what else should we do. We here live (3 miles) outside the city limits and here are 40 houses spread out. 20 were burglarized last year. If the government is only crying out against weapons for the good guys and does not protect the people what choice do we have? Who can, besides wealthy TV people and politicians, afford a private army for protection?
It feels not really good and I hate to say that. But the insecurity of the people from criminals will lead to innocent victims. The feeling being in danger is like a cloud over our heads.
They are only interested in extorting money from us in the form of DUIs and traffic tix etc...
First time it is often a dirtbag family member. (in our case)
I have too much to say about this to bore all of you...
Our son is a cop. His Lt. sent a sting over and we caught the Mo Fo red-handed when he said he was comin back for the rest of the shit...Long-ass story....
I came home to hear my back gate making a loud clinking sound, and to see my huge pile of leaf bags had just been moved away from their targeted window. I immediately went out and bought a sturdy lock for each gate. Now my back sensor light rarely comes on anymore.
There are many articles on how to thwart thieves. There is even some info that professional thieves have given in interviews. One thing that will make them think twice about hitting your house is a loud T.V. or radio. Some people think that it's even more effective than an alarm system. BTW, more house burglaries take place during the day.
Now, whenever I go out I leave on an indoor light and the radio.
Another tip I just learned is to keep a can of wasp spray by your bed. It's much more effective than pepper spray, as it shoots farther.
I know that feeling of being vulnerable and targeted. It's horrible.
Holy sh*t the wasp spray sounds awesome. Is that potentially lethal? Would love it if the @sshole curled up into a little ball and died, just like the wasps do, hehe.
It depends on the brand of pepper spray. Most pepper sprays are actually pretty week. Get FOX Plus P. My old department use to use it until we had to stop because people's eyeballs were bleeding from the effects. Also, get it in a stream and not a mist, if you care about range.
With any kind of spray, even wasp spray, all you are really doing is creating a fight equalizer. A lot of people will still want to fight you after getting sprayed, and if it is a weaker spray, it might just piss them off. But hopefully with the spray on them, their fighting capability will be reduced.
When I was sprayed with FOX in training, I had to run an obstacle course before I was allowed to decontaminate. Everyone was able to get through the obstacle course, and theoretically still fight, but I had to physically hold one of my eyelids open with my hand, against all the swelling around the brow while doing so.
TAZER works better for less lethal home defense. The civilian TASER shocks them for thirty seconds (cop tasers only shock for five) and the extra time is so you can drop the single shot TASER and escape, while the attacker lays on the floor in pain. You then send a copy of the police report to TASER international and they will send you a new TASER.
Wasp spray used as a weapon can be used against you. The asshole who attacks you can sue you down the line...not saying the ballfungus will win, but he or she might do it.
I'm so sorry. I've been through it. And I agree that the sense of violation is far larger than whatever it is that they took. You will feel better in time. Talking with people who love you helps.
A word of warning -- the same burgler may return where he was once successful. It happened to me, but I heard him outside on the fire escape and screamed bloody murder -- that scared him off for good. Take measures to protect your home.
Summer Ive heard that warning before, and its the last thing you want to hear at a time like this. Makes me want to puke. My thought is, what house DOESN'T have a TV or computer they could take? Ugh. See, Ive gone from peaceful to selfish.
Which do you all think is safer - living in a condo complex where there are multiple people living in same building, or in a private home with alarm system?
I guess I think a condo might be safer because if a burgler tries to enter, he/she has potentially multiple people watching, along with security cameras that complexes may have (if they have them)
I think so as well but I don't know for sure. IMO the biggest factor is what neighborhood you live in. You can check crime reports for neighborhoods that you are interested in.
I live in a planned community that has a lot of low income. We have a problem with people breaking into cars, but not houses, because the way the houses are set up, it's near impossible to break into one without being seen.
Start talking to your neighbors about forming a watch. It's probably the same group of guys doing all the burglaries, so if one person sees them and calls the cops, and they get caught, the thefts will stop. A lot of time cops don't care about certain neighborhoods, where the people don't like to rat on each other, because the cops begin to feel they are wasting their time if the community won't support them. It's a wrong attitude, but it happens. A watch also shows the cops that you do care, and will make them more prone to wanting to help.
Other things to consider. Clear away any overgrown plants on your property, and remove any garbage that provides a place to hide. Create a clear line of sight between your windows, and doors and the outside world, so if someone is trying to break in, neighbors will see them. Make sure your exterior lights work. Talk to your neighbors, if someone says anything about suspicious people, call the number on the case card the officer should have given you, and let the investigator know. The sooner the thugs are caught, the sooner the local community is safer.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2013 10:19PM by forbiddencokedrinker.
My dad lived in a neighborhood where homes were frequently broken into. He planted roses under every window, and in the 30+ years he lived there his was the only house that was never burglarized. Cactus would work, too. I was burglarized once and it was awful. It took the cops almost two hours to show up, then they didn't do anything, even though I had a very good idea who did it.
Rose and cactus are a wonderful idea. Having been a cop, you quickly learn there is a difference between having a pretty good idea of who a suspect is, and having enough evidence to do something about it. A two hour response time sucks though. That isn't the cops fault. That is a city that needs to hire more policemen.
Sorry that happened to you! That really sucks and I feel for you.
Though I never had to deal with a break in, I had my car stolen. It was a 500$ POS, but when I had gotten off a 10hr shift at Dairy Queen to find it not where I had parked it, I was beside myself. I was only 19 at the time and living with friends after getting kicked out by my parents the year before.
The thieves drove it till it ran out of gas and left it on the side of the road (yes, it really was that big a POS!).
The cops called me at something like 5am to come get it. I didn't have a way to do that, so it was impounded (they wouldn't even wait till 7am when I could get a ride!). I ended up paying almost as much as it was worth to get it out, around 300$ for one day in impound plus all the other bs fees! AND my drivers side window was now busted ouot and I never could afford to get it fixed.
Idk if u have heard this tip floating around FB, but it recommends keeping your car keys by your bed and if you hear someone breaking in to trigger your car alarm. Not the best solution for every sitch, but may give you a little help with that peace of mind till you can take more concrete measures.
My mother walked in on two young guys ransacking and tossing our house many years ago. They had a lot of our stuff piled by the door ready to take out to their truck. Luckily they ran out another door, but she could could have been hurt or killed. The stuff...no big deal. We never had anything good. The sense of violation...huge. I was just a kid and it took a long time to get over it. They yanked out all the dresser drawers in my room and turned them upside down to find stuff that might be hidden - same with other rooms. Creepy, frightening, and unnerving in the extreme.
So sorry you home was broken into. That is scary and it would freak me out, too.
My husband had things taken from his car when he was at work, during daylight. Both of our digital cameras, his phone, and some other things were taken. There were some pictures on one of the cameras that were sentimental and are gone forever. That made me the maddest of all. To give a little credit to the police, they did make a follow up call to see if we'd found any serial numbers for the things that have been stolen.
I live in a small town. I'm sure the police would show up in minutes as most of their calls are not even remotely exciting. It also helps that the police chief lives one street over. I can only imagine the tongue lashing his officers would get if they didn't show up quickly. That still doesn't mean something won't happen but I feel better living here than where I used to live.
My home was burgled just after my hubby died, whilst we were at the funeral home making final arrangements. The burglary at the time went right over my head but after the funeral it really hit me hard, to the point where it made me quite ill for a little while. The guy was from out of town and had been staking out the obituaries and watching homes. He was eventually caught red-handed as police watched bereaved homes for a while. 8 years was the sentence.
During the run-up to last Christmas, my grandchildren's home was burgled whilst they all slept and they were devastated. Christmas presents were not in the house but they took all the electronic gadgets they could carry. Thankfully the insurance company replaced everything and security was stepped up. They live in a large-windowed Edwardian house in the centre of town surrounded by an 8ft wall and tall hedges. We realised that a criminal could lurk unseen for quite a while, in outhouses etc. and then pick their moment.
Our houses are now fortresses. Even if you live in a nice area burglars will come in from out of town looking for good stuff.
This is truly devastating and my heart goes out to you. Take care and please accept this cyber hug from me.