Re: Cat alerts owner to intruding sex offender


"Marianna" <insanelybusy@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1176384168.450634.104230@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Apr 10, 6:00 pm, "Bo Raxo" <crimenewscen...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Apr 9, 4:36 pm, "Marianna" <insanelyb...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Burglar alarms are expensive, and they don't work if the outside phone
lines are cut (which a guy like this wannabe rapist would probably
know).

Nonsense. Ever heard of a technology called "cell phones"? The latest
alarms incorporate a cell phone on a circuit board. Cutting the land
line doesn't matter.

The latest alarms are even more expensive and not everyone can afford
them. None of the companies that quoted me prices less than 3 months
ago mentioned that technology, so I wasn't aware of it.


You are right there. And not everyone can afford the monthly charges.



You do realize alarm systems are designed by people smarter than guys
who break in to houses, right?

And they're usually one jump behind the guys who actually install
them, some of whom use that installation knowledge to circumvent the
systems in their second careers as burglars. Technology doesn't
advance because the companies think it would be a cool nice thing to
do- they do it because someone has figured out how to get around
what's currently being used.


Many break-ins are inside jobs, word of mouth. We had a series here, I
believe it was in Fayetteville, where it was a cop that lead the burglary
ring. Informing his *crew of thieves* if someone would report to the cops
they were going to be out of town, so please keep an extra check on the
house.

Another ploy is mail or newspaper carriers. My neighbors and I never
suspended our newspaper or mail while out of town. We simply picked up each
others mail and newspapers so as to not *alert* anyone that we weren't home.

Another one, some years ago, was the prestige exterminating company in town.
Not a chain, a local company with an extremely well thought of reputation.
When the guys would *inspect* a home, they'd pass the word along where/how
to get in, and if the owners had lots of *goods* easy to sell/pawn, and *if*
they had any dogs. It was the company we used, but we were never broken
into, but my dentist was. He told me about his *break-in* when I was in for
an appointment. It was before the news broke in the paper of the connection
between the break-ins and Smith Exterminating Co.



They're also only as good as the company who monitors them.

And do you have a single example of a major monitoring company missing
a tripped alarm? Didn't think so - the lawsuit would be too big for
them to let that happen.

I do, but exceptions don't make good law, as they say. Most companies
don't miss them entirely but "response time" is a different story
entirely.


Especially if one lives in the county rather than the city. Some areas of
the county can have as much as a 45 minute response time if the deputies
happen to be at the far opposite end of the county when a call comes in.




Stronger doors? They're only as effective as the locks on them. A
solid door with a shitty lock can be kicked open just as easily as a
hollow-core door. Locks with extra-long strikes are the most effective
*but* they cannot always be installed because of the existing
doorframe construction on some structures.

Oh, a strong door with a bad lock isn't good - you're really reaching
here. Yeah, and a guard dog is only as good as the particular
training of the animal and blind luck - that is what you're comparing
against in this thread.


Nobody is talking about 'guard dogs' here Bo. A couple large breed dogs who
are *invested in* protecting their territory is all that is needed. And of
course, not keeping those dogs tied up in the back or restrained to the
garage. They need to be free in the house, running from window to window,
barking, checking out *who* is invading their territory.



I knew nothing about extra-long strikes on locks until the policeman
who responded to my call, the evidence technician *and* the carpenter
who installed my new door all told me the exact same thing. The
carpenter had been a juvenile delinquent who broke into houses, so he
knew of whence he spoke; I assumed the cops did too, since that's
their job as well. They all told me that a strong door with a bad lock
was worthless if someone chose to kick it in. I'm not talking about a
professionally trained guard dog, either- just a regular dog who hears/
sees something he doesn't recognize and goes ape***.

This guy was not a master jewel theif - he was the typical not-very-
organized offender that represents 90% of house break-ins (whether for
theft or secual purposes). The only tool he apparently had was a
cinder block. And remember, for this type of offender you don't even
need to make sure you keep him out, just make sure that breaking in
makes enough noise to alert you.

That's true enough, and most break-ins are opportunistic- they're not
going to expend a lot of energy to get in if there's easier picking
elsewhere. This guy in the OP seemed rather determined to get this one
particular girl, though.

I don't know if she rents,
but if she does, she may not be able to get her landlord to pay for
those sort of upgrades.

And if you rent not all landlords allow pets.

True.

I rent, I choose a place with good security.

Wise decision. I live in a place that had good security (so I
thought) and there had been no break-ins in the immediate
neighborhood for several years (10, according to one person who'd
lived there longer than that). My burglar pried a back door *off*
(hence the lecture by the cops regarding bad doors and good locks) and
kicked in an interior door (which was locked with a deadbolt) to get
in to my house.

There's no window I'm aware of that will
withstand a cinderblock being smashed against it (outside of those
mega-expensive layered ones).


They truly aren't 'mega-expensive', we had *hurricane resistant* windows
installed at our previous home. They have a life time guarantee against
breakage.

Marianna is right, most cops when asked how to keep your home safe will tell
you to 'get a dog'. They make noise, alert the neighbors, and who is going
to break into a place with a dog or two, when they can find a nice, quiet
house without dogs.


td


.

Quantcast