Apartment Robbed - Security Tips?

Because it’s more effective, cheaper, and easier.

You don’t have to worry about missing, or need to be a good shot with a level head. The consequences of accidentally pepper spraying someone are much less. You don’t have to worry about the burglar taking your gun and shooting you, or being scared enough to whip out his own gun. You don’t have to worry about kids getting at your gun. You’ll get less legal hassle in the event something does happen. You can use pepper spray proactively more lightly than a gun. You can spray an area to keep someone out, without exposing yourself.

Pepper spray is good stuff, and generally better for self defense than a gun, unless perhaps you are an exceptional marksman.

Move.

My apartment was robbed twice while I was in college. I learned several VERY useful lessons from this:

  1. Never live on the ground floor. Ever. It’s just too easy.

  2. Get renter’s insurance! My father’s homeowner’s policy covered me as a dependent, so I could replace what was taken (everything I owned). When I got out on my own, I made sure I insured myself.

  3. Even if you live on the second (or higher) floor, balconies are an invitation to athletic thieves. Avoid the temptation.

  4. Minimal security measures really help. Get and use a deadbolt. If you have to have a sliding glass door, put a broom handle on the ground where it slides and leave it there unless you want to open it. That forces thieves to break the glass, which makes noise, which they prefer to avoid.

  5. Security signs and stickers are a great deterent. If you have enough valuable property to warrant a security system, beg or pay for enough of those things to cover EVERY possible entry into your home. And, of course, use the system.

  6. Dogs are great. When I bought my Golden, I never thought I was buying a guard dog–but I did. He is VERY territorial and has a terrifying growl and bark. When he’s protecting us, my sweet little Peanut–just 65 pounds–sounds like a mastiff.

Good luck to you.

Jasper, the wink smiley means I am only half serious. However, if you really want to debate the issue…in an enclosed space, such as your home, you are very likely to hit yourself too, leaving you vulnerable. Any person who breaks into your home while you are there is either armed or crazy. He is ready for action, so there is no question of him deciding to use a gun or not. He would use it against pepper spray too, most likely. If you have a gun, you should practice shooting it, so you won’t be inept. That goes for pepper spray too, of course.

I’m not saying you are wrong, but there are points on each side of such a debate.

Debate all you like. I’m just paraphrasing some police officer from a self defense seminar. People with guns are more likely to be the victem of gun violence. I talked to a police officer who got in a point blank pistol battle with a criminal, with both emptying their guns and never hitting – even for a professional it’s easy to miss outside the targetting range, and there is no way to safely practice.

Also, isn’t it a bit of a stretch to assume that all burglars are either armed or crazy? Burglars can easily either think you’re gone, or asleep. I think the only reliable way to characterize them is as greedy.

Anyway, using it indoors isn’t as bad as you think, you just need to be more carefull. It’s not like it magically takes up more space or anything, and at least you don’t need to worry about wind drift. Just spray and back off.

Honestly, what is it with Americans and the need to own a gun to feel safe?

I don’t think it’s about making oneself feel safe, but rather making oneself not feel helpless. Americans hate being helpless.

Do burglars ask if you own a gun before they burgle you? If not, how would J. Random Burglar possibly know whether or not you own one?

How does one acquire security stickers without purchasing a security system? I wouldn’t mind paying a one-time fee for a security system, but the whole monthly fee thing just pisses me off.

So: anyone know how to get the deterrence on the cheap?

If you aren’t anti-gun, get some training and get a gun. If a burgler thinks there is even the slightest possibility you or someone else may be home and armed, your risk of burglary or home invasion goes down significantly.

Given that most burglaries occur when the occupant is out, is there anything other than NRA literature that supports the notion that having guns in the house reduces, rather than increases, your chances of being robbed? (i’d have thought that a handgun would be quite a catch in a burglary, nice and easy to carry and presumably shift down the pub afterwards).

If you read my whole post, you would have read the part about me saying the burglars may have known you, and there-for, would know you own a gun.

Pepper spray will not take down an attacker, but will temporarily blind them and cause eye swelling and burning. The difference between police having pepper spray, where the attacker is typically already on the ground, or just standing their arguing, or someone who has entered your house and is moving around is completely different. Pepper Spray has a very short range. And it does nothing for you if the guy is armed.

Nobody said buy a pistol. I would suggest a shotgun with bird shot. Typically the noise of you loading it (Pump action) is enough to scare off anyone in your place. Bird shot has a wide dispersal, low velocity, and has a very low chance of killing anyone, including the victim.

You are correct in that most handguns, especially conceal carry models, are very inaccurate. However, I’d rather have mine than a can of pepper spray any day. But I have been through training, get training, do range, and have to be tested once every four years. Just buying a gun and never firing it in practice is a terrible idea. If you can’t train, you should invest in a can of pepper spray and hope for the best.

K

People with guns are more likely to be the victem of gun violence.

If I remember correctly, this is an artifact of the low income levels of the people who own most guns + domestic violence. It’s not like having a gun in the house magically makes people come blast you.

It does increase the risk of accidental death, though.

Anyway, I wouldn’t recommend a gun; what, are you seriously going to get into a shooting match with some robber? You’d have to do a serious amount of training between then and now for it to be a good idea, I think.

Oh right, it’s pretty much a correlation, although I’ve heard anecdotes about people having their guns used against them, accidents, pulling a gun out in defense of their home leading to a burglar actually using his pistol, etc. It seems to me that owning a gun is unlikely to actually reduce the chance of gun violence; at best you might shoot the other guy first.

I’ve also talked to people who’ve had handguns stolen; probably one of the nicer things to find for a burglar.

Kevin, good point about a shotgun. Not really the sort of thing I’d want lying around my house though, and it’s a good deal less useful for defense if it’s locked up in a gun cabinet.

That’s a decision you make when you own a gun and how you handle it. My conceal carry teacher told us that he keeps his guns locked up in the safe during the day, but at night he unlocks the safe and keeps the guns loaded. (Located in his bedroom.) A gun is a very serious responsibility. It’s not something to have, it is something to use, but hopefully you’ll never have to. (Unless you hunt) I don’t have kids, so I don’t have the issues involved with a gun+kid in the same house.

I don’t think many people make the right choices when buying guns, but for me it was a choice of having some form of defense if met with deadly force or otherwise being a victim. I agree that most people don’t think this way, and probably buy guns because it’s “Cool” or to scare/impress their friends. Luckily in this State, you can’t carry a gun without a permit, unlike… say… Georgia.

K

As an addendum to Kevin’s post, I’d like to add that owning a gun, especially after being a robbery victim, will add to a sense of security whether it is ever used or not. So, go buy a cheap gun that shoots sideways for all you care, as long as it’s in the nightstand.

Anyway, that’s the potential-victim based half of the story. It’s about what you do to feel secure, and what really makes you safe. A gun is a fairly expensive means to achieve the former and is seldom the latter, since as mentioned, you usually get your shit ganked when you’re away.

Someone mentioned how you get robbed by someone you know - well, to clarify that a little bit, it’s usually not someone you know, like the single mom across the street or whatever, but someone you don’t know who has taken a look inside your house. Man, I hate it when the cable company or whoever sends one of these dirtbag independent contractor fuckos out to my pad. No man, climb up this ladder to get to my office. Yes, it’s completely empty, I own nothing. Just get the digital TV and modem running, I’ll borrow something from the neighbor. They have all kinds of stuff! Repairmen, delivery men, maid services, all of these are or staff people who probably make a Hell of a lot less than you do and know someone who knows someone who has no qualms about busting your loot. My new house drives me crazy, because all you gotta do is open the front door and any Tom’s Hairy Dick can see my entertainment niche. Fortunately, I’ve thus been too strapped to by the 60’ Sony and whatnot, but once it’s there, it’s in plain view.

Oh yeah, speaking of which, and maybe this sounds a little tinfoil hat-esque, but break down the boxes of all your electronics purchases (unless you keep them, like I used to, for whatever reason) flat, and then shitcan them in a dumpster somewhere else. Like, not in front of your house. If nobody knows what’s going down in your crib, then you won’t need a grip of high-tech anticrime devices (like my stupid security system that my girlfriend never bothers to arm anyway, so essentially it’s a $2,700 thermostat) or a moat with boiling oil to keep away the crooks. Then, it’s just whatever steps you can take to make yourself less a target of the first-glance type of petty thieves, like living upstairs, having walls around your property with padlocked gates, a length of wood or the like for your screen door, blinds on all your windows, deadbolts on not just your front door but also your garage doors (including the one between your house and the garage), etc.

As for a security sticker. Whatta you, invalid? Take a digital pic of one wherever, make a duplicate, print it on a mailing label and stick it to your front window.

I get the anecdote of the gunfight where both people miss, but seriously guns are not THAT hard to use. Point…click. That’s what makes them such a great equalizer. Most people at point blank range don’t miss. Of course, fear, stress, etc. changes a lot. It can make you a lot less accurate (though this would be true of the pepper spray too, which is fine if you have your head on straight, but could be risky indoors otherwise). But if a guy breaks into my home, and he has a gun, and I have pepper spray…I am WAY more stressed. I don’t think I have much of a chance in that situation, honestly.

Of course, I could be wrong. The cop you talked to might be an expert. Again, my point was just that pepper spray is not obviously superior.

Kevin’s point about people getting a gun for the wrong reasons is really the biggest knock against them in my book. Unless you’re willing to take it super seriously and spend alot of time training, it’s probably a mistake.

Also, it’s pretty much impossible to miss with pepper spray. It’ll fill a room no sweat. Just spray it in the hallway outside your room, stay out of line of sight, and noisely get on the phone to 911. Ideally you never even see who’s in your place, or if he has a gun. Pretty hard to get shot then, and it’d have to be one hell of a determined crook to plow through a cloud of pepper spray with nothing to gain other than the chance to shoot you. It’s not like you get put in a cage match with pepper spray and the other guy has a gun. ;-)

Getting a firearm because you’re spooked is a really bad idea. Pick up something less lethal, like pepper spray or a Taser. Only puchase a gun if you intend learn to use it and shoot it at least occasionally.

It’s not as easy as pointing and pulling the trigger, you need to be completely comfortable both loading and maintaining, as well as shooting it in order to be effective. You also have to be willing to pull the trigger. Your mental processes shouldn’t be about operating the weapon, but whether firing it is necessary. You also need to be very careful if you have people over, especially children. Either put it in a safe, or pick up a trigger lock.

I keep a .40 caliber pistol for home defense which I take to a range fairly regularly. I’ve also been a hunter for 25 years, and have had military firearms training as well. Ironically, the only people that have broken in have been the police.

Same here. I have a very nice Walther P99 9mm, and it’s quite accurate at any range I’m ever likely to need for home defense. I keep a clip of “personal protection” ammo next to the gun–these are low velocity hollow point bullets designed to create nice big wounds but not punch through walls and hit an innocent passerby. I’m thinking about getting a shotgun, too. In a crisis, I’d grab the shotgun, my wife would grab the pistol, and our dogs would probably join in for good measure. If I were a thief, I’d steer well-clear of my house…

I’ve always considered joining the NRA for a year, not because I have any real political desire to support them, but because I’d really like to have their fancy stickers to post around the house (on the pane of glass next to the front door, on the sliding glass door, etc.). Those stickers, much like the stickers for the alarm company, make a great deterent. I’d also second the idea of getting a dog. You don’t need to outrun the bear. You just need to outrun the slowest person on your block.

On the whole gun vs. pepper spray argument … For a robber, I think either provide a reasonable level of defense. If you assume that person just wants your stuff, just your presence alone is the real deterent here. Pepper spray or a gun are extra. A bullhorn might work pretty good too.

Of course, this assumption isn’t a safe one. If someone has broken into my house, they mean business. I’d want the gun.

Go to a gun show next time one’s in town. There are tons of booths selling “This property defended by Smith & Wesson” and similar stickers/t-shirts/etc. Plus it’s an interesting people-watching experience.