BadgeIsBack

In *some* scenarios, I'd imagine that you might never notice... until you go for that jewellery in that drawer (say).

Cheetah7

IMO, I think if you break into someone elses property then you should not be remotely surprised if you get savaged by the dog, savaged by the husband or just on the receiving end of a good bashing.

You lose your rights really as you have no right whatsoever to be in someone elses house uninvited.

kiwinow

I think sometimes the police are on your side. A friend of mine saw an intruder skulking in her garden, so she watched him and he crawled under one of her windows. As he stood up she opened the window and knocked him out cold, called the police and said she had no idea anyone was there - she was just opening the window for fresh air. As it was 10pm in the middle of winter, they smirked but wrote it all down but she was never charged with anything.

Robbing the house while you're in it is really cheeky, but most robbers have no intention of harming you and will scarper if confronted. Something I saw on TV - if you're going to be out at dusk, leave a light on in the house so it looks like someone's home because a lot of burglars go round at dusk and target houses that are in darkness. I even leave one on if we're going away for a few days, but I forgot to tell the neighbours once and they crept up the garden with a baseball bat to confront the intruder,

annqldau

Can you remeber that guy from a bank who robbed loads of peoples bank accounts for years as he only took a 1/2 pence at a time so nobody noticed it but all those 1/2 pences added up to 1,000s.

moneypenny20

We can't open any windows, they've all got fixed screens on them so we have the windows open all summer. Always have the screen doors closed and locked if they're not the ones in use and proper doors open. Wouldn't dream of having the screen doors open as well; sod the burglars, it's the bugs coming in that would stress me out

We were burgled and both screen doors and proper doors were locked. Life's a bitch and then you die.

Cheetah7

For my own protection I will ensure that by the time my dog is an adult his middle name will be 'bastard'.

Failing that, there is nothing like a bit of PMT to frighten off an intruder, or I shall hang tampons on the door and say 'warning - hormonal woman, enter at your peril' - that will scare em off!

I had a huge row with a large cockroach last week, it took lots of Baygone to scare him off. Those are the sort of intruders that scare the hell out of me.

Deutschmaster

When I was in Perth 10 years back I looked up a friend of mine who I met when travelling around Europe.

She gave me her address, and said that she would be at college most of that day, she didn't know what time she would be home so 'just let yourself in'. She was living with her parents so it crossed my mind what they would think if they came back to find some random sitting on the sofa watching the telly - I might be there to burgle?

Anyway, when I got to her house - there was nobody in so I thought it politer to stand on the doorstep and wait for somebody to turn up. The mother did, and asked me why hadn't I just wandered in? Apparently they were used to various unknowns loitering around their house and didn't think anything of it!

DadAgain

A bit OT but that reminds me of a funny story:

I remember many years ago giving a lift home to a young lady friend (we were 17 at the time) - who then discovered she'd lost her keys. I'd never been to the house before, never met her family. Nobody else was home so I was asked very nicely (with lots of eyelash fluttering and giggling) if I could climb through the kitchen window and open the door from the inside. Being a well balanced young man I jumped at the chance and carefully climbed throgh the window, over the kitchen sink and dropped down onto the kitchen floor. Before I regained my composure a guy walked into the kitchen, looked oddly at me and said "Who the Fu<k are you?" .... There was a perculiar moment before I explained that what I assumed was his sister was stood just outside the front door waiting to be let in!

Thankfully she was telling the truth and it was her house and her brother (who for some reason hadnt bothered to answer the doorbell!)

I could EASILY have been used for an illegal break and enter though - I wouldnt have known any better and would've done ANYTHING she asked! lol

asher

my sons kept snakes we had signs on all the doors and windows beware enter at own risk snakes may be loose and a vivarium in the hallway and the living room in easy view

for some odd reason we were the only house not to get burgled

of course the warning didn't say that they were only garter snakes which although 5 feet long would only vomit on you and never strike

AndyR

We were burgled only 2 days after we both moved in together, our first time leaving home! Heard some bottle fall over in the middle of the night, ran downstairs to find the front window frame broken!! Luckily them knocking the bottles over was enough to scare them off, but not a nice feeling though.

AberJazz

Hello

I let a friend borrow my car and they left my satnav and a mp3 player in the glove box and forgot to lock the door!

A couple of hours later, we are minus one satnav and an mp3 player

AberJazz

Zambia

NO take the case mentioned where a male was in the house at the request of a relative there would be no way you could defend the assault.

As in all cases with the use of force used must be resonable and proportionate to the objective (The objective being the removal or arrest of the person in your house)

A knife is the worst thing you can use it has no defensive merits.

Even if you are a registered long arm holder it is not an ideal defence weapon in a closed in house and possible to be pulled of you.

The best defence in a house IMO is a dog that barks. I know they can be drugged but in all fairness if that's the calibre of crooks coming after you. Get a decent alarm and a decent armed response in place.

But lets face it folks crime in Oz not really in the same ball park as the UK.

PaulandNic

Prob worth noting that half of these security screens simply lift off! ...

I have 2 sliding doors out into the garden. They both lock onto each other when closed.

From the outside, when locked, you can lift them out of their runners! ... ... simply lift up, and out at the bottom.

Excellent! ...

BadgeIsBack

Or 'HOT wax in progress'