"J. van Baardwijk" schreef:
> At 03:15 15-3-01 -0600, Ronn Blankenship wrote:
>
> The best defence is making it too difficult for a burglar to get into your
> house in the first place. There are a few things burglars don't like: good
> locks, sound and lights. You can make your house quite safe when you put
> good locks on your doors and windows, and install an alarm system that lets
> lights go on inside and outside your house (think "floodlights") and
> produces a lot of noise (think "siren"). The local police can usually give
> you advice on which locks and alarm systems to install.
And the neighbours will really love you after the n th time the bloody alarm
went off for no good reason at all. :o)
> The question remains, will a burglar want to shoot you? Probably not; it's
> safer for him to run away. If he gets caught when breaking in, he'll get a
> few years in prison for burglary. If he gets arrested for shooting you,
> he'll spend most (if not all) of his life in prison for (attempted) murder.
> If it's murder, he may even end up on Death Row. I doubt many burglars will
> want to take that risk.
>
> My advice: don't buy a gun, but get good locks and an alarm system. Store
> your valuables in a safe; that way the burglar can only take consumer goods
> like your TV and your stereo (he won't get any money for your family photo
> album so he won't take it). Your TV can always be replaced; YOU can't be
> replaced when you're killed.
>
> Leave the burglar-catching and the use of fire arms to the police -- they
> are the ones with the proper training, not you.
Best way to keep burglars away, own only usefull stuff not the kind of status
symbol junk those people are mostly after. Don't show off your wealth if you
have any. Burglars select their victims by looks, area where you live, type of
house you own, the kind of car you drive and all other kinds of status symbols
you own and show around, not simply at random. Keep valuables that might be
worth the risk of a burglary or that you really woudn't want to risk being
stolen under any circumstance in a safe at the bank, not in your house. Also
make sure everybody knows that you do so. Leave your car keys and anything
house jackers might be after visible on a table (like your wallet) near to the
most likely entrance. In case of a burglary don't go see who is there but stay
quietly in bed and call the police as soon as the burglar left. That way _you_
don't get hurt. And as much as we value our possesions, that's what they are.
Just possesions. Most of them are even very easy to replace. Your life and
health are not. Sure, it feels lousy if your stuff gets stolen and strangers go
through your posessions. But the only thing at the end of the day that really
matters is that you survive in good health. Not that your brand new portable is
safe and sound on its desk and your porsche is still in its garage.
Just my thoughts on burglary while you are still at home.
Sonja
Btw: Most burglars (at least here in Europe) wouldn't even dream of entering a
house where the owners are still present. Much too risky. They'd rather wait
until you have gone out.
