OT: Locking the doors?

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Admins/Mods, delete if this is too far off topic.

A little background:

For the longest time, my father has left his basement door unlocked. He has lots of work related stuff down there and keeps his firearms in the basement as well. He doesn't have a safe for the firearms though (not even gun locks).

Recently, I heard about some illegal trespassing at a plumbing supply depot just down the road from where he lives. This prompted me to think about the basement again - it wouldn't be that hard for someone to just walk in, take all the firearms, and walk off. So I locked the basement door.

Later, I got wind that my father was pretty irritated that I had locked the basement door. This had me somewhat surprised because I would think that he would know most of all how easy it would be for someone with malicious intent to take whatever they wanted from the basement. While local crime rates aren't nearly as bad as a place such as DC, it doesn't mean it never happens, as proof of the trespassing incident down the road.

I recall that we used to lock the doors all the time, no ifs or buts. This got me to thinking, just how important is locking your doors? I'd like to think it's just a small thing one can do to ensure a little bit more security, but just how much good does it really do?

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I don't think that there's any one answer. Pretty much any lock can be broken, picked, or bypassed one way or another. However, I've seen from multiple sources that most criminals will simply move on if breaking in is not worth the effort.

I personally tend to weigh the cost of item(s) when thinking about locking them up. In your father's case, I would definitely lock themup, not just because of the cost of replacing the guns, but also because of thepossibility for harm in the wrong hands.

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Sure, locks can be broken, picked, or bypassed, but that does not mean they should not be utilized. Call me paranoid, but I never leave my apartment doors and windows unlocked, and when I last had a car, I never left it unlocked either. The fact is, there are some bad people in the world, and anyone who thinks that their property is not ever in jeopardy is simply delusional. Really, how much trouble is it to take an extra second or two and lock the doors and unlock them when coming back to them?

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I have actually seen cases on programs like COP's and other similar shows where people could not believe they were arrested for stealing something that was not locked up. Apparently they would not have tried to steal the object if it was secure, but since it was not secured it was fair game since the owner did not care enough about it.

A coworker told me of a family in his neighborhood that was of a particular cult that believe they are Christians. They would take other peoples property that was left out and keep it for themselves.When confrontedby one neighbor while stealing a rake from anothers front yard, their excuse was basically, "well if they were really concerned about it they would have locked it up". The same family stole a rose bush from another neighbors back yard and planted it in their own front yard. When confronted by the owner of the rose bush, they said they put it in their front yard so everyone else could enjoy it and basicallyaccused theperson they took it from of being selfish for not putting it where everyone could enjoy it.

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If we aren't home our doors are locked.

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My wife and I lock our doors all the time. It is so much of a habit that she locks me out the house when I am in the patio and she goes in to get drinks for us:cuss: LOL!!!
Locking doors does not make things 100% safe, but it does make it harder to enter into your home. If you are at home at the time, you could hear a person trying to get in and have time to react.

Also there are a lot of cases where criminals just WALK in a home by an unlocked door. People are foolish not to keep their doors lock. I always check my door from time to time in the house, I even got to the point of locking the screen door ( I just don’t trust criminals)

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I always lock my doors doesn't matter if I'm home or not I do it out of habit. But like the old saying goes locks only keep honest people out.

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Many of my Islander neighbors, indeed, even on other islands, do not lock their doors or car-doors. Some report not knowing where the door keys are.

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Friends may enter, others not, friends will be fed, and others shot!!!!! The sign at the end of our farm road. Mtn Jack

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It's ALWAYS the people who think it can't happen to them or never will, who are visited by violence first.

I lock my doors even when I'm home.

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On standard residential construction, even a really good lock isn't going to keep someone from breaking in. Got windows? They can just break out a window and climb in. Why do BGs try to get in through an unlocked door instead of just breaking a window? It creates noise. It draws attention. Same thing with breaking in a locked door. Kicking in a decent door with a decent lock makes a lot of noise. Hopefully enough to alert a neighbor, or if you are in the house, to get your attention and give you time to be positioned to protect your home.

I always lock my front door because I am usually in the front room or on the patio where I wouldn't hear someone come in the front door. The french doors I will leave open on nice days for the breeze and for the dogs to come in and out. But that's the thing, the dogs (3 good size dogs) usually are in the back yard, lying by the back door or between me and the back door. They will hear someone coming and alert before I know someone is there.

Lastly, criminals tend to be animals of opportunity. If they find an easy score - unlocked/open door, something sitting out in the yard - they may engage in theft whereas they would not go to the effort or risk of actually breaking in.

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This can be made on topic if I simply add....

Keeping your doors locked will prevent people from just walking in and your having to determine if they are a burglar and deciding if you need to draw down on them.

I lock my vehicle and home at all times. Even in my garage the car is locked.

Why? In case I leave the garage door open over night or it opens on its own.... nobody will be getting in my car so easily.

I remember back inthe day.....

Nobody locked their homes and the car keys were..... in the ignition! In my town people did not steal from each other. Times have changed and people took advantage of this community trust.

You have a choice.... leave your home or car door unlocked and take one of two risks.

One.... The thief sees is is locked and moves on to another car.

Two.... The thief breaks a window and get your car anyway.

There are more criminals that work on opportunity than pure desire to enter the home or car by force.

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Everything locked, all the time. It's become automatic.

It's sad that it has to be that way, but that's the way the world is now. When I lived in rural Kansas, we were in a pre-War of Northern Aggression house that didn't even HAVE locks on the doors.

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zoom6zoom wrote:

Everything locked, all the time. It's become automatic.

It's sad that it has to be that way, but that's the way the world is now. When I lived in rural Kansas, we were in a pre-War of Northern Aggression house that didn't even HAVE locks on the doors.

Click to expand...

It makes one wonder what has changed. IMO people haven't changed much, if at all, maybe the problem is that criminals KNOW that so few people are armed!

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I do not have a specific cite.. but have heard of insurance policies that will NOT pay off if you leave you doors unlocked.

Strange world. When I was a kid, NOBODY in our neighborhood locked anything. Ever. We even went on vacation for two weeks leaving the front door unlocked and the next door neighbor knowing it.

People looked out for each other and if someone who did not live there walked into your home, the whole neighborhood called cops/walked over with pistol in pocket to check it out.

Nowadays, seems like nobody'd notice/care if your whole house got loaded on a truck and driven away while you were gone.

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It's pretty much become second nature for me to lock a door whenever I close it behind me. If I'm inside, I'll usually lock the doors unless I'm in a position where the door is within my view.

Mostly, though, it comes down to target hardening. As it has been mentioned, criminals want the easiest way to get to their target. Locks will just encourage them to move on... to the guy who doesn't use locks. And there's a very low inconvenience-to-security ratio here. No need for expensive security systems, no need to remember codes, just a key.

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I keep my doors locked/deadbolted 24/7 as well. Even if I'm working in the yard, the door is locked and I've got the keys in my pocket.

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LEO 229 wrote:

This can be made on topic if I simply add....

Keeping your doors locked will prevent people from just walking in and your having to determine if they are a burglar and deciding if you need to draw down on them.

I lock my vehicle and home at all times. Even in my garage the car is locked.

Why? In case I leave the garage door open over night or it opens on its own.... nobody will be getting in my car so easily.

I remember back inthe day.....

Nobody locked their homes and the car keys were..... in the ignition! In my town people did not steal from each other. Times have changed and people took advantage of this community trust.

You have a choice.... leave your home or car door unlocked and take one of two risks.

One.... The thief sees is is locked and moves on to another car.

Two.... The thief breaks a window and get your car anyway.

There are more criminals that work on opportunity than pure desire to enter the home or car by force.

Click to expand...

Friends of mine had a condo next to King Street in Arlington, right near Section 8 housing.

All the time they would see those hoodlems walking car to car, pulling on the door handle to see which was open, to their neighbors a few blocks away.

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hsmith wrote:

Friends of mine had a condo next to King Street in Arlington, right near Section 8 housing.

All the time they would see those hoodlems walking car to car, pulling on the door handle to see which was open, to their neighbors a few blocks away.

Click to expand...

This gets reported often.... Now that most citizens have mobile phones..... they report this exact same type of activity. But often times the handle checker is gone.

Crooks looking for an easy score... open door means change in the ash tray is theirs for the taking. Plus your IPOD or mobile phone if you let it in the center console.

And heaven forbid... a gun under your seat because NOBODY would EVER think to look there!! :lol:

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After reading countless horrific stories about home invaders/murderers taking advantage of unlocked doors, I always lock up tight behind me... even in the "safest" of areas...