Take your car keys with you when you go to bed....

[cj10jeeper]

Ouch - horrible experience.
Violation of your place, personal space and the likes is all hard.

Keeping a knife under the bed - no way. 50/50 if they are determined enough they will come upstairs and it'll be used on you and if you are fortunate enough to be effective with it you get a jail sentence.

Hiding keys to the extent of avoiding them being visible makes sense, to avoid fishing for them or the casual burglar looking around.

Beyond that beef up security, deallocks, external PIR security lights, alarms, kep laptops out of view, locked windows and then just get on with life as you can't become paranoid. It's all insured anyway.

I know all this as I live in a quiet cul de sac in nice village and we get someone round stealing ant least alternate months, usually just getting my 2 neighbours car audios (3 times now) as they leave them unlocked

 

[pvr]

I have a number of CCTV recording units that replicate across to terrabyte stations which are in different physical buildings. I also don't think they will be looking through a house for where the recording equipment could be.

I changed the windows in my office as well to bullet proof ones set in solid frames so no way of levering those out (previous "unremovable windows" were levered out with frame and all using a crowbar, so don't trust PVC units).

After the last attempted brake in, the police officer that came around told me that they normally advice people how to improve security. In this case, he was more interested in learning what I had done

 

[pvr]

It's all insured anyway.

Possibly ...

You know my setup, my office is a detached building for which I had dedicated business insurance of £25k. When that was broken into, they only paid out £3k as they decided it was classed as an outbuilding, with the outbuilding limit. My £25k insurance was basically useless as it was an addition to the home insurance, so the "master" insurance applied to the small print (i.e. outbuilding limit). My opinion of insurance companies was not improved during that discussion ...

 

[original guvnor]

I changed the windows in my office as well to bullet proof ones set in solid frames

any machine gun turrets?

 

[pvr]

I changed the windows in my office as well to bullet proof ones set in solid frames

any machine gun turrets?

Hmm, knew I had forgotten something

 

[cj10jeeper]

It's all insured anyway.

Possibly ...

You know my setup, my office is a detached building for which I had dedicated business insurance of £25k. When that was broken into, they only paid out £3k as they decided it was classed as an outbuilding, with the outbuilding limit. My £25k insurance was basically useless as it was an addition to the home insurance, so the "master" insurance applied to the small print (i.e. outbuilding limit). My opinion of insurance companies was not improved during that discussion ...

Yep - I know the set up - how secure and how vulnerable a location.

Insurers annoy me. I had a trailer covered for insurance for £2k. It was stolen by Pikeys who stole the high security compound lock in the day, knowing it woudl be replaced by a weaker lock overnight. Came in that night and Hymac lifted it onto a lorry, all videod. Insurers then declared the compound unsafe, so not covered. Ironically it woudl have been covered if they cut off the qulaity lock, or on the house ins. if at home or the car if fixed to it.

 

[AlanJ]

there is an argument for leaving your keys downstairs

if somebody really wants your keys they may come upstairs to get them, they may even use violence to get them, so, is it better to let them find them?

I would go one further and leave the keys in the car to save them breaking into your house because: as children and adolescents these poor souls come from a broken home (they broke it!), no body loved or cared for them, their father/mother are/were drug addicts/alcoholics, teachers at school didn't understand them and their special needs, they were sexually abused by 1. their father/mother - 2. the local Catholic priest - 3 the scout/guide/youth leader - 4. their teacher, they suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder, they are dyslexic, they have to attend the STD clinic twice a week, their 13 year old girlfriend is preganant and they already are responsible for two illegitimate children to under age girls, they are drug addicts/alcoholics and they are already on bail/probation for numerous other offences, they only get £300 a week free from the state AND if they get caught the court does f**k all. Did I cover every lame excuse?

RANT OVER

 

[Oakandacorns]

Aquazi - sorry to hear about the horrible experience. Complete scoundrels out there who'd rather take from someone else than work hard themselves.

 

[paddy wright]

gutted 4 u

 

[sammyz]

Police advice seems to vary, my mate lives near to some of the Liverpool and Everton footballers in a very big house. They have advised him to leave the car keys visible on the stairs. I guess they would argue that the sort of burglars who target that sort of property will use violence as has happened to several footballers homes over the past couple of years.

Horrible thing to happen, just beef up your security (say I who still hasn't fitted a new alarm 3 years after the old one packed in )Still, pretty safe around Liverpool, all the theives travel out to Cheshire looking for nice houses and cars to rob.

 

[bigshurv]

2 things that deter thieves the most.Alarms and dogs.Get one or both of these and you'll be doing as much as you can. If anyone came down our drive in the night, the dog would go banana's ,so I would hope they'd feck off somewhere else pretty smartish. Not sure what I'd do if I confronted someone in the house at 3 am.I think they'd be more scared than me ,they'd be faced with a 6ft, 17st,naked ( don't wear jama's :lol: ) ex rugby player with an attitude.I think I'd want blood first,ask questions later.Self defence officer :roll: . makes my blood boil when these scumbags think they can just break into your home and steal things to feed their drug habit.They need their arms and legs breaking so they cannot climb through windows quite so easily. I've never had my house done, but I've lost one car and one motorbike over the years,and my Sister has been burgled while she slept upstairs, and my Dad had his back door kicked off it's hinges and aload of gear stolen. The same ones certainly WON'T be back,as they'll know you will have beefed up your security.The main thing to remember,is that there are not that many bad people or burglars out there,there are a small number who do it a lot.Really feel for you,but feel dsafe now, you're very unlikely to be targeted again,despite what plod tell ya.

 

[WLH]

bigshurv, I'm with you on the dog as you can't get anywhere near my home without my dog sound General Quarters.

 

[BobZ4]

Sorry to hear that, hope the insurance replaces your stolen kit with better \ newer kit. Obviously photos etc are irreplaceable. I have two large German Shepherd dogs who can be pretty scarey, but i also keep a metal bat next to my bed and if all else fails i set the wife on them :roll: .

 

[WLH]

Sorry to hear that, hope the insurance replaces your stolen kit with better \ newer kit. Obviously photos etc are irreplaceable. I have two large German Shepherd dogs who can be pretty scarey, but i also keep a metal bat next to my bed and if all else fails i set the wife on them :roll: .

Your going to need on of these signs....

 

[Taz]

They need their arms and legs breaking so they cannot climb through windows quite so easily.

definately

 

[Aebous]

It's too bad ya'll can't really have guns here. Best home defense tool is a 12 gauge pump shotgun. Nothing is as loud nor as distinctive as the sound of a 12 gauge pump having a round jacked into the chamber. Hell you don't even need bullets. The pump action lets them know that you plan on shooting first, the loud distinctive sound says it's a gun that will blow a basketball sized hole through both you and the wall behind you.

 

[Blue]

Sorry to hear what's happened, you'll sleep more soundly once you have a better alarm system. My house is quite weakly protected at the back (new build with low quality patio doors) hence I always sleep with the alarm covering the ground floor, no one will get in without me knowing.

My dad's house is much better, the doors are very solid and there's a large German Shepherd running around the garden who is fiercely territorial and we know from experience DOES bite strangers without provocation if they come onto the property