<p>Robbers look for easy prey–they will choose the open door/inattentive driver over the locked door/closed window attentive person who could peal out in a second.</p>
<p>Ellemenope, you’re exactly right. On that night back in the '60’s we had left our garage open and when we returned, someone was in our garage and had removed the screen and glass to the back door. My dad said, “Come out with your hands up!” and out walked 3 big strapping men. My dad said, “Someone is going to have to pay for the broken door,” and one of them handed him a $10 bill! Anyway, they were in a stolen car and my parents identified them in a lineup, and they had a long record. Luckily, no one was hurt. Criminals are way more violent today.</p>
<p>In the States, I live in a small suburban town in which I never really worried about getting robbed or mugged. Now I’m extremely careful.</p>
<p>I’m currently living in a city with a lot of poverty, and the family I used to live with has just moved out of their house because they’ve been getting robbed so badly. They have an alarm, locks, and even a metal barred gate over their glass door (which they put in after a robber broke in through the glass door)…but they have been robbed about seven times in the last nine months. They have had their house robbed and looted terribly…so scary.</p>
<p>I never used to lock my 14-yr-old car in the States; I figured it would be fine next to the new BMW’s, etc, and I never had a problem. Here, if you leave your (old! junky!) car unlocked while you do some shopping, your radio will be gone by the time you get back. </p>
<p>In a lot of ways, the city seems really safe; there’s nightlife until all hours, but, for example, there’s remarkably little violence or drug use in clubs or in general, and it’s also quite safe to walk in the center or what have you at night. House robberies, however, are quite common and there are certain areas you just know not to go near after dark. </p>
<p>It’s weird to get used to a city’s worth of crime; I’m so used to trusting people. It’s amazing that I haven’t been robbed so far here…!</p>
<p>If you keep your car outside at night, remember to keep it locked. Our neighbor had a very scary experience. She was ill and a relative was helping out at their house. The relative had left the car outside one night, unlocked. A burglar got the garage door opener from the car, opened the garage door and was able to break into the house. They fortunately heard him rummaging through things in the kitchen, called 911 from the upstairs phone and he was caught.</p>
<p>We don’t lock our house door, either, but when h. is out of town I do lock it at night. A locked door is a deterrent to me getting inside my own house, usually with hands full. When we go away on vacation we lock the doors - it’s possible that the wind or someone leaving a package between the doors could accidentally leave the door unlatched. H and I both grew up in households that never locked doors so we come by it naturally. And NOTHING BAD has ever happened. </p>
<p>If I were a burglar and saw a security emblem, bars on a window, etc. I would think “there must be something in there worth having.” Most burglars aren’t brilliant. In 17 years of living here, we’ve had a bike stolen that was left outside and our cars were ‘gone through’ but nothing taken. We lock our cars if they’re not in garage and don’t leave bikes outside anymore.</p>
<p>A burglar got the garage door opener from the car, opened the garage door and was able to break into the house. They fortunately heard him rummaging through things in the kitchen, called 911 from the upstairs phone and he was caught.</p>
<p>I have heard of that happening a lot
I didn’t used to lock my car or sometimes even remember to roll up my windows until I had two disturbing incidents.
One when there were cigarette butts in the ashtray and a smell of smoke in the car on a winter morning ( I dont smoke- and my H knows he would be strung up if he even thought about doing that in my car) and one summer morning when I had forgotten to roll up the window, someone peed in the passenger seat- really gross :eek:</p>
<p>and lefthand- I often come home with my arms full as well- but if I can’t get at my key- I set my stuff down-
I don’t buy the rationale that “nothing has happened”- my inlaws used the same argument to reason that the kids didn’t need to be in car seats, because * their kids* often weren’t even buckled let alone in car seats and * nothing happened*</p>
<p>i’m one of the kids who enjoys their windows down an music up…but i always lock my car doors and after that i’ll be sure to remember to keep the music much lower…i never thought of that as being a red ■■■ to carjackers</p>
<p>So about 5 years ago, someone went into our open van one night and took six quarters and a gold pen. So be it.</p>
<p>Seven months later, we got ready to go somewhere and six quarters and the gold pen had been placed on the front seat.</p>
<p>Guess they’d been “borrowing”.</p>
<p>Cars aren’t in the garage, though - my wife and I have moved into the garage, and abandoned the house to the kids and animals.</p>
<p>I’m not rationalizing when I say nothing has happened - just stating a fact. It’s not the reason I don’t lock the door. Maybe one day something will happen. </p>
<p>For the record I use a seatbelt and always insist any passengers in my car do, too. I’ll tell you why I wouldn’t buy the in-laws argument - the conditions are different today. Kids spend far more time in cars today than they did a generation ago and traffic has increased. </p>
<p>A door is still a door, and if someone wanted to get into my house badly enough I think they’d find a way (and then they’d meet the dog).</p>
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<p>Getting robbed 7 times in 9 months–those were some patient people!</p>
<p>There have been some incidents in Phila. where St. Joseph’s University students have been robbed at gunpoint- taken to ATMs for withdrawls.
Scary-
<a href=“http://www.sju.edu/ucomm/news_archives/safety_alert_032906.html[/url]”>http://www.sju.edu/ucomm/news_archives/safety_alert_032906.html</a></p>
<p>sorry, bad link above- this may work</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.sju.edu/ucomm/news_archives/safety_alert_032906.html[/url]”>http://www.sju.edu/ucomm/news_archives/safety_alert_032906.html</a></p>
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<p>Well, they’ve been looking at houses and trying to sell their house for around a year and a half now I think. They have lived in this house for over ten years, so it has a lot of memories for them (it used to be just one room, but they’ve built onto it over the years), but more importantly I don’t think they could afford to buy a new house before they sold this one (they’re living in the grandmother’s house for now). </p>
<p>I can understand why they didn’t move after the other robberies since they were trying to leave eventually anyway and they have a good alarm that scared the theives off before they could take very much…but the last four robberies were all in the last couple of months and this last one was the worst. I think the way the house was trashed this time was what really freaked them out. I feel so bad for the family…</p>
<p>seole–dare we ask what city?</p>
<p>I hate locking stuff all the time, but have developed the habit in my older years.</p>
<p>If you want something to motivate you to lock your doors, read Judgement Ridge, the story of the “Dartmouth murders”, in which a professor and his wife are murdered for absolutely no reason, by two jackass kids from a neighboring town. (That wasn’t the direct cause of their demise, but having locked doors saved another fellow earlier in the story).</p>
<p>Re Music:In addition to masking other dangers, it helps ensure that if you happen to get the car against some impediment or obstacle, you’ll scratch or gouge 5-6 feet of door and fender instead of just a couple of inches before you realize it. I’ve cautioned my son not to have the radio turned up until he’s under way on the highway…of course, I am fairly certain that he doesn’t listen to this.</p>
<p>Ellemenope–my previous post was clearer that I’m not in the US, sorry. I’m a US exchange student in the Patagonia area of Argentina. My city is a tourist hot spot in the country and has been compared frequently to Aspen, Colorado (in terms of the location–mountains etc). </p>
<p>Most areas area actually very safe–anywhere a tourist might go–but certain areas, especially closer to the poorer neighborhoods, are less safe and robberies are frequent. I don’t mean to convince anyone not to come here because of safety, though, as it’s really just like most other cities.</p>
<p>I ALWAYS have power door locks on all my cars & always drive with the windows up & doors locked. It’s sad, but you never know who will approach at intersections. Will warn my kids as well (tho I’m invariably the driver as neither has their license & most of their buddies don’t drive either).
Thanks for sharing this important reminder. Sad that folks are so desperate for money that they do awful things.</p>
<p>Seole–sorry I didn’t see that you were international. I thought you were going to say you were from Miami. </p>
<p>Whoa–don’t flame me, you Miami residents. I lived in Miami for a year and a half in the early 90s and that opened my eyes to crime! That’s where I learned to NOT put your purse on the passenger side car seat while you are driving, because purse snatchers would put a brick through the passenger side window and take your purse.</p>
<p>I do hope that things are better now…</p>
<p>My goodness. Thankfully the boy was not killed!!! On other thread there have been debates about curfews, etc. </p>
<p>The sad thing is that no one, no matter how old they are, is safe anymore. There are just too many brazen, violent people out there.</p>
<p>Teehee, the Miami reference made me think of something. You know how in Madagascar (Disney movie), the zebra tries to take a train to Connecticut? In the dubbed version I saw here, they changed CT to Miami because NYC and Miami are the two places on the East coast most people here have heard of. :Sigh: My poor little state…well, sometimes people have heard of it because of Monopoly! :P</p>