Posted on 01/26/2008 4:07:45 PM PST by aMorePerfectUnion
A security adviser told me this list in order of effectiveness:
1. Dog
2. Alarm system
3. Handgun for home defense.
The first two options will send most criminals looking for an easier target, the third option stops the really dumb ones.
Maybe not multi-story, but multilayered, for sure. In Tallahassee, home invasions have risen 33% last year over 2006. My defense lines start with a large "Beware of Dog" sign out front and in back. If the potential home invader is a curious as to what kind of dog and comes in anyway, Dr. Remington 870 is deployed to perform gross surgery. Magazine pin removed, 5 rounds alternating 2/0 buck and a rock salt concoction that I loaded myself.
Does it include multi- story protection. What else does it include?
+++++++++++++++++++++++
I live in a townhouse complex so am close to my neighbors.
I have several pistols, one upstairs, one down. I have pepper spray (foam) canisters very near front and back doors and remote security system devices velcroed on each door to set off alarm manually if the main alarm is not armed when I am home. My alarms are motion detector types so are not generally armed until I go to bed or am out of the house. I also have two battery operated independent alarms seperate from the main system hidden but well placed in the house. All alarms are battery operated so cutting power will not disarm them and access to them is difficult (one is on the 14 foot ceiling (remote operated ) They’ll scream until disarmed remotely.
While I live in a fairly safe area I’m an elderly woman and I don’t take chances and don’t open the door to anyone I don’t know. It’s better safe than sorry.
My neighbors are fully informed of my systems and to call 911 if they hear an alarm that goes for more than 15 seconds.
Sounds like my lab, well, if you have any food nearby.
I have an alarm system now. A fully fenced in yard. A better lit yard. A loaded shot gun by each of my 3 doorways (front, side, and patio). A handgun in my nightstand and in my office desk. I also have reinforced doors with multiple locks on each. I have an outdoor dog and an indoor dog. The outdoor dog is a little mixed breed stray who took up residence here a while ago. The indoor dog is a 4 yo American Pit Bull Terrier. My outdoor dog is very protective and alerts us when he senses something out of the ordinary. My APBT is a watch dog in the sense she would watch someone come in, take our things and watch them leave and wonder why they wouldn't take her for a ride. While I hope to never find out, I often wonder if she'd be protective if the need arose. I believe she would.
As far as dogs go, I fully credit another stray with saving our lives that morning. She just showed up one day in very poor health. We took her in and nursed her back to health and kept her around. She alerted me to and was very aggressive towards the intruder and kept him at bay to the best of her ability. She died in her sleep not too long afterwards. I believe she was sent to us just for that morning.
Where the heck do you people live? Move to any white New England town and you wonn’t have to worry about being invaded ever again.
Or, be sure that you can talk loud enough for me to hear you through the solid door or 4 layers of glass.
Even if your state won’t issue you a concealed carry license, you are allowed to carry concealed while you are on your own property almost everywhere.
A license is the best route. If you can’t get one in your state, get a holster from Smart Carry or Thunderwear and routinely wear it, in or out of the house. When you come home put the gun in it. There is no legal penalty for wearing an empty, concealed holster.
Leaving guns hidden all over the house is not nearly as effective as just having one with you, and it reduces the chances of a kid or someone else getting one of your guns to almost nothing.
There are lots of good suggestions here.
I’ve decided first, that I need a plan that:
1. Thinks ahead to eliminate many vulnerabilities
2. Includes both floors
3. Doesn’t depend on just me, since I travel at times
4. Includes firepower in the event of an actual break-in.
Keep the suggestions coming. I appreciate them.
Last I checked, CT was New England.
http://www.wfsb.com/news/13736066/detail.html
CHESHIRE, Conn. — A prominent doctor’s wife and two daughters died in a fire that police said was ignited after a home invasion early Monday morning.
Investigators told Eyewitness News they believe a home invasion robbery took place at about 3 a.m. at the home of Dr. William Petit Jr. Police said they believe the assailants set the house on fire before leaving the scene.
Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Leon Collins reported Petit lived in the home with his wife and two daughters. Collins said a fire caused extensive damage inside the house and the charred remains of the fire could be seen from the street through the upstairs window of the house in the 300 block of Sorgum Mill Drive.
Eyewitness News has learned that the three people killed in the incident were the doctor’s wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, a nurse at Cheshire Academy, and the couple’s two daughters, Hayley and Michaela. Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury told Eyewitness News Monday afternoon that Dr. Petit was being treated at the hospital and is listed in stable condition.
Authorities surrounded the home after a woman was taken by one of the suspects to a bank and made a withdrawal around 9:30 a.m., police said. The woman was able to communicate to the teller that she and her family were being held hostage in their home, authorities said. The teller contacted police.
Police said officers arrested two people before they were able to escape the neighborhood.
“(They were) apprehended down the street. When they left, they apparently set the house ablaze,” Cheshire police Lt. Jay Markella said.
Police said the suspects rammed one cruiser, went down the street and smashed into two others.
Easy chair next to gun rack in living room; .32 2-shot in desk drawer of computer station; 12gauge under bed(my side) .38 revolver on nightstand or in back pocket. My kids grew up with guns, no “accidents” as they were all taught properly. Wife hates guns but will hand me a weapon whenever someone knocks on door. We live in a suburb...a supposedly safe neighborhood. Cops were at a neighbor’s home the other night and took three teenagers away in cuffs. I think they were snagged on drug charges. House is now empty. Neighbor was nice guy. You never know. Stay frosty.
The first thing to do is look objectively at your situation.
1) Is a local crime analysis available for your area? It is a big help if your local paper publishes one. Just a quick look will tell you if there are lots of burglaries, car thefts, vandalism, or other crime in your neighborhood. This is a good way to calculate risk, and from what direction.
2) If crimes are minor, and peripheral to your home, surveillance cameras and motion sensitive lights are a good start. Such crimes are often local juveniles, who are easy to dissuade.
3) If the main crime is burglary, then your defense should be burglary oriented. That is, an occupied looking house is a lot safer, because burglars will usually avoid it. Your local police will also give much advise on burglar-proofing your home.
If the problem is violent crimes and home invasion, then you need to consider much more serious and expensive measures. Metal instead of wood doors are helpful, as well as things like double paned windows, security shutters, or even bars. The purpose is not to stop them completely, but to slow them down enough for you to respond.
You have to assume murderous intent with a home invader or invaders, so do not rely on a dog. Many home invaders are incoherent with drugs and alcohol as well.
This means a gun and a cell phone are essential. But as you pointed out, a gun is probably not going to be handy in your day to day life. So start by putting a big canister of pepper spray next to your door.
If you answer the door to an incoherent and violent person, a blast of pepper spray in the face may be just the thing. The same if they try to push their way in. It is just so you can close and secure the door. Then cell phone and gun time. Shout warnings to everyone else in the house, and be ready for them to come through a window or back door at any moment.
As soon as you call 911, you have defeated most of what an armed home invasion gang can do. So your emphasis is to protect yourself and your family until they arrive. Optimally, they will run off. However, a maniac does not care about the police, and if armed, may be resistant to even bullets, so if you shoot him, insure he is dead.
From that point, your biggest risk is being confused with the home invader by the police, so have a care.
A concealed video system is superior in that you can see the person on your porch. And then offer appropriate greetings to them, as needed.
It sounds like there is a much higher than average chance of a home invasion in your neighborhood and you should prepare. First, get an alarm system. It may be an annoyance if it goes off accidentally, but it will wake you up and give you a chance to arm yourself. It will probably also make a person who breaks in flee.
Second, get several guns, all exactly the same and place them at strategic location in the house. A double action revolver in 38 special is a good choice.
I would suggest one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen and maybe one in the laundry room, and crazy as it may seem, one in the bathroom (preferably a stainless steel model). The point is to identify all the most likely entry points, where you would retreat to, and where the gun is.
Third, practice with the gun at a range. Take a gun safety and tactics coarse. If your state allows it, get a carry permit and NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR GUN. You most vulnerable point is between the car and your back door.
You’ve already made one mistake in that scenario.
You opened the door.
FYI, a determined assailant can fight through the pepper spray to get to you.
Another problem:
“However, a maniac does not care about the police, and if armed, may be resistant to even bullets, so if you shoot him, insure he is dead.”
As practical as this is, this is also ILLEGAL and will get you tossed in jail for murder. You shoot only until the threat stops. If the threat continues, you keep shooting. If there is no clear threat, do not shoot.
Modern forensics is more than good enough to tell if you shot someone while they were lying on the ground to finish them off.
Simple rules of engagement. However, if you should go for center of mass followed by headshots and if that should “happen” to kill them while they are upright, that’s another story.
Yes, a gun in each room, preferably behind cover and easily accessible as you retreat throughout the house, if necessary. Remember that drywall doesn’t stop bullets.
Same gun would be preferable but, boring as you practice, practice, practice. BOTH of you!!
So get a gun that your wife is comfortable with and that she would enjoy shooting often.
I've thought about that, but if someone manages to pick the lock in the night without waking you, you've just armed him.
3. Get a small wired or wireless camera for the front porch. They're pretty cheap these days, and you can see who's around from any TV in the house. Much better than a peephole in the door.
Not necessarily. There are electronic one gun safes that open in an instant with the proper key code or chord press that otherwise cannot be accessed quickly or easily.
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