<p>"If you leave your car unlocked, keep in mind that you might have the button that opens your garage in that car. If you also have a GPS in the car, then even if it is stolen somewhere else, the GPS can take the car thief right to your home where they can then use the garage door opener. "</p>
<p>That’s why they say to program your GPS so that “home” isn’t really your home, but a few blocks away. You know how to get in and out of your neighborhood.</p>
<p>"Burglaries happen, robberies happen, home invasions happen, sexual assaults through opened windows and unlocked doors, regardless if whether you have a bunker mentality or not.
"</p>
<p>And yet there are people on here who don’t lock their homes or cars. It’s crazy.</p>
<p>Why make it easier for them? </p>
<p>Our local PD constantly says that most crimes are ones of opportunity. Rarely is a window broken or door kicked in, but someone slipped into an open door or window. </p>
<p>I do not have anything of personal consequence that is valuable, just my family. I would not want anyone hurt from a crime gone bad.</p>
<p>I worked for the Corrections system for 10 years, I lock everything, even the car in the locked garage… My storm doors, my regular door, the door from garage to house… drove my husband nuts, he would go out to walk the dog and I locked the door… Habit.</p>
<p>"The car that my dad had stolen in Detroit- twice- (yes, same car) was dumped once because of OnStar (when they see the OnStar they will dump the car immediately because it’s not worth it) "</p>
<p>Romani, don’t you get that locking your door at home is the same principle? Where do you think a thief would rather go - to a house with a lock where they have to sit and jimmy with it and potentially attract attention - or to your house where they turn the door and poof they are in? </p>
<p>To me, leaving a car or house and ensuring it’s locked is as automatic as brushing my teeth. I would have to make an effort to leave it unlocked (which I might do if I were walking the dog for a few minutes or something like that).</p>
<p>"When we have kids or anything of real value, I’m sure our views will change. Living in one of the safest towns in the country probably gives me a false sense of security but meh. I’ll take that risk "</p>
<p>You’re all over the board. You live in one of the safest towns in the country but cars were stolen from your driveway?</p>
<p>All I have to do is think of the Pettit family in CT. Yeah, they lived in a safe, small, affluent secure area too. You never know who’s out there.</p>
<p>I look through the peep hole and make a decision - if I know the person or it is Fed Ex, UPS or USPS, I answer. The rest of the family always answers but I am trying to break them of that habit. There is no crime where we now live, but I still always lock the house and car doors. Twice in my past I was very nearly a victim in situations where one would not expect it, so I am now always cautious.</p>
<p>It never occurred to me that people don’t answer the door! The only people that ring our doorbell around here are neighbors, the USPS or UPS people and maybe once a year a church of the latter day saints people. We’ve only recently started locking our door when we leave the house because our big barky dog died, but I still don’t have a house key on my key ring. I go in through the garage. We do tend to lock our cars in our driveway as we have had things stolen from cars two times and the remote to get in the house might be in a driveway car.</p>
<p>The problem with setting the alarm when you’re home is pets. My dog comes in and out a thousand times a day. That would be a lot of setting and resetting. At first everyone kept forgetting and the alarm would go off and scare us all. </p>
<p>However, should someone seriously be trying to get in here, they wouldn’t make it too far before I could stop them with deadly force.</p>
<p>
I got a good chuckle at this. Something similar happened to me. My door wasn’t locked at the time. When in park, my car’s doors automatically unlock (I haven’t had the time the reprogram it). Luckily, it was just a very, very lost elderly woman. Thank God.</p>
<p>Very true, shoboemom. I have items in my car that can make my home more accessible. </p>
<p>eastcoast, similar things have happened in my neighborhood, as well. Now, we’re more adament at keeping the gate locked at night. Neighbors a few streets over had their garage door cracked. Robbers slid under and stole their unlocked car right out of their garage.</p>
<p>I’d rather do everything in my power to not make a break in, robber, or the like easier for someone. I’d rather know that I actively DID something than saying “Oh, well we didn’t X, Y, and Z, even though we knew we could do X, Y, and Z.”</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh, well, that’s just what we all need - vigilantes with guns.</p>
<p>I really think that if someone broke in my dog would hurt them. Maybe I am delusional, but I really believe that based on his behavior.</p>
<p>I answer the door if it’s during the day. If it’s after dark, and I’m not expecting anybody, I ask who it is through the closed door. Most of the after-dark visitors (except on Halloween, of course) have been people soliciting for various charities. People trying to sell siding or tree service come during the day.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We got a doggie door, which helped with that problem. However, it turns out that I (very very petite) and S1 (not huge, but average-size) can easily get into the doggie door. So, we installed dummy cameras that “watch” the doggie door. Anything that’s a deterrent is OK in my book.</p>
<p>When a stranger knocks on my door and he/she takes a few steps back, I answer the door because I feel the person was courteous enough to show he poses no threat. I’m holding a phone though pretending to talk with someone while I’m opening the door. Plus my dog is at my feet barking at the stranger.</p>
<p>Jeez, how many people are coming to your doors? Do people really come that often that aren’t neighbors, or neighbors kids selling school stuff and UPS/USPS? We’ve lived here 17 years and I bet I’ve only had three people a year that weren’t one of those and they were people selling magazines/cleaning stuff/church/political/driveway sealing/frozen food/. The last two only happened once. </p>
<p>We live in a nice neighborhood where we know most of our neighbors and people are often out walking dogs, getting their mail or doing something with their property. It’s very unusual for anyone to come in just to sell stuff and because the houses are spaced not so close, it wouldn’t be worth it.</p>
<p>I do leave my keys in my truck in my garage. This has made my life much easier. My German shepherd is in the garage. I am not concerned about it being stolen.</p>
<p>I do lock the doors when driving in cities. I lock the house doors at night, not during the day. I also have a long, gravel drive. Between it and the dog no one will arrive unannounced. I don’t know anyone here who has an alarm system. If I lived in town I would lock the doors.</p>
<p>I have purchased a rental where we never got keys because the owner had none, and hadn’t locked the house in 15 years. S1’s new house has no keys, or locks, other than skeleton locks. They all work fine and are keyed alike 
Slightly inconvenient though…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It isn’t fear for me, it’s the inconvenience if I’m busy doing something else. People I know don’t just drop in unannounced. If a neighbor needed something, they’d call. If I’m not busy, and I see that it’s someone I’m expecting, then, of course, I’d answer the door. I live in a city where there is very little crime, so it isn’t a matter of fear on this issue. My dogs are likely to scare anyone away if there ever was someone with some nefarious plan. :)</p>
<p>I was taught many years ago when I learned to drive to keep my car doors locked and to always check the backseat before I got in. The cars we have now have a feature where the doors lock automatically once you pull away from a stopped position.</p>
<p>On new technologies: For our next place, S-1 just researched “doorbell bots.” After ringing the doorbell, a box unit installed into the front door takes a picture and sends it to your smartphone, wherever you are (upstairs, in the yard, at a restaurant…) If, after seeing the face, you choose to admit that person, you push smartphone buttons to code, which unlocks the front door. Newfangled stuff.</p>
<p>On the deterant factor: two houses ago, we needed to install an alarm system, like other houses in the neighborhood. It was so expensive that I asked if we could buy only the door decal that said, “This house protected by XX company.” Business owner laughed, said there’s great research on decals deterring burglars, but no, we had to buy an alarm to get his decal. So we did.</p>
<p>On house keys: since we misplace house keys too often around the house, we switched over to punch-code deadbolts for the doors with a 4-digit code we could memorize. It’s much easier. We don’t have teens and their unknown social circles which would make codes a bad idea as they’d give it out. We changed codes every few months. The code box also can work by key, , which might be the solution for teenagers, just don’t share the code with them. Check it out if you want locked house doors but dislike managing a key. It replaces your deadbolt lock.</p>
<p>
I don’t know a family that has teens that are so untrustworthy that they don’t tell their kids the code to unlock the door…</p>
<p>My house has various keypads and automated door openers. I have te codes to all of them along with various sets of keys. My mom has never thought twice about sharing the code with me and my siblings. </p>
<p>
Our cars have this as well, although we still lock the doors when we get in.</p>