Have any of you been a victim of a Break in?

by Uzzah 17 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Uzzah

  I guess I must have led a charmed life until now, but over the weekend someone broke into my home.

  It isn't so much that they took stuff (SLR Camera, cell phone that belonged to a volunteer disaster services team, and cash) but that someone was in my private space without my knowledge. It is amazing the head games such an event plays on you.

  I have added extra security to my place including video/web surveilance.

  I'm just wondering if anyone else here has been through this. Personally I just want to kick the living crap out of the person. I almost wish I had have been home when he {they/she) broke in. I am not a small individual by any means and can definitely protect myself. I know that is foolish to think that way but ...

  Anyway, if it has happened to you, how did you deal with it?

  Uzzah
• 

  Aztec

  I've never had my home broken into but I have had my vehicle stolen. I know how violating it feels to have some stranger invade your personal space. The bastards who stole my van left behind evidence thankfully. They left a hat and a pair of gloves. I'm pretty sure they were drunk though as they only made it three blocks before they smashed it into two parked cars. Uzzah, I hope they catch the person responsible!

  ~Aztec
• 

  Uzzah

  I am not too hopeful about them catching the guys. Apparently there was another break-in 2 blocks from me the same night reported about the same time as I discovered my break in.

  I gave the cops some stuff that I knew had been touched by the bastards and where the material would be receptive to a good set of prints so hopefully that will lead to something.

  Thanks Aztec.

  Uzzah
• 

  nowisee

  i haven't been the victim of a breakin but i have been robbed.

  when i had my store i was robbed of all the cash. you know, my store was in an inner city area, i always used to watch all the black customers.....

  when the robbery finally happened it was by a WHITE junkie. what a lesson that was for me. i deeply and sincerely try not to stereotype anymore. (i never thought i did, but had to closely reexamine my attitudes and biases).

  i also (while at this same store) had my tires slashed and someone right across the street waiting for a bus was shot dead by who knows who -- some sniper.

  every year we lost thousands of $ to shoplifters. the only shoplifters i ever cought red-handed (4 in total) were ALL white.

  so i do understand the anger, helplessness and rage. though, as bad as the above was, i can't imagine what it would be like to have someone come into my home. my sympathy is definitely with you.

  best wishes, take care, nowisee
• 

  Aztec

  YW Uzzah. The local police did catch the people responsible for stealing my van. Give the cops a chance, you never know..

  Nowisee, glad you gave up your biases. I used to work in a department store in Flint, Michigan where most of the customers were black. Guess who the predominant shoplifter was? White women in their twenties and thirties! Surprise surprise.. Guess security guards should be watching me when I shop eh?

  ~Aztec
• 

  Been there

  So sorry to hear that UZ.

  I have had my car broke into a couple times. This last time a month ago. They busted out the passenger side window and stole my steareo. I was lucky they just unpluged it and didn't cut any of the wires. The cop said that late teen kids will ride up and down the street on bikes and go real slow looking into the cars casing them, then come back later at night to do the job. It is very violating. It cost my insurance $325 to replace the window and I still have glass everywhere. I go out with duct tape and get all the slivers out. I just think "What goes around comes around" or it would drive me crazy, I'm very territorial.
• 

  Prisca

  The place next door to me was broken into last week. They broke into her garage, and tried to break into the house through the kitchen window, but she had window locks which prevented them. Thing was, I was home the whole time, and I did hear some noises, but I didn't know she wasn't home. I just assumed the noises were her doing stuff in the garage. Still, it's probably just as well that I didn't investigate the noises, because I was home alone myself.

  Several years ago I had someone break into my car and steal my stereo. It was a really good one, and I was fuming. They broke into the guy parked behind me, and stole his stereo too.

  Years before that, I had my handbag stolen, and they broke into my car using the keys in my bag. Just stole some money that was in my purse, and money from the car, locked the car again and threw the bag away. Someone "found" the bag, and returned it.
• 

  maxwell

  Never had my apartment broken into, but had my car broken into twice when I lived near Memphis. Once they broke a window and took my radio, when I had it parked at this fast food restaurant in the small town I lived in. That pissed me off a lot, because in such a small town, I'm sure I knew the people who did it, and I was pretty sure some people saw what happened, and I had a suspicion they were covering up for some other boys they liked. I lost respect for some people that day. Next time, I more blame myself. I was at my grandmother's house. She lives in a rough area of Memphis. I left a backpack visible in the car containing expensive engineering textbooks and an midrange graphing calculator, when I should have brought them into the house. It was late at night. I suppose they proved to be too much of a temptation to some scumbag, and they broke the window and took them. I wonder if they knew what to do with that stuff. Last year I had a bicycle stolen at work in Arlington, VA.

  I don't own a car now, but my wife's car was stolen this past weekend. It appears to have been some joy riders. Maybe some kids out of school with nothing to do. It was found parked outside of town. We went to look at it today and the ignition and steering column were ripped apart and there was some other damage. So we're dealing with that. Fortunately, she has full coverage on it.

  Only one theft against me has ever been solved. When I was in highschool, some kid took my saxophone from the bandroom, but obviously wasn't too smart about what to do with it since he walked around school with it talking about it being his. The band wasn't very big and there were only a few saxophones around and the school had only about 1200 students so it wasn't very hard to track down. The principal returned it too me the next day. For a couple of the thefts (the bike theft and the car break-in in Memphis), the police didn't even come out to make the report (I had to do it over the phone), so I take that as some indication of case priority and chance of recovery for those thefts. And I can understand that. Violent crimes do deserve more attention.

  I try to view it as a good day if no one takes anything from me. Nothing in this world is perfectly secure. Kind of sounds like JW talk, but its true. If someone wants it bad enough, they can figure out a way to take it from you. I think I'm fortunate to never have been the victim of a robbery, where someone has actually taken something off my person or while I was there. It makes me angry when someone steals something from me. I can only imagine the feelings of anger AND fear and who knows what, I'd get if someone forcibly took something from me.
• 

  mattnoel

  Personally no, but in my last job in the Police I had to deal with a lot of them and its amazing just how much it affects people, some even sell their houses and move because they cant stand the thought of other people being inside their home. One thing people would always say.......AFTER the event was "I am going to get a burglar alarm now!" whats the point.........its already happened and they aint gonna come back and break into a house that has already been broken into (unless they are the type that wait for the insurance pay out and then do it again, but from what you had stolen I dont think you have to worry about that)

  One thing I would say is if poss get yourself an alarm ! even better is do what I have done and get a Monitored alarm, the one we have, if we have an intruder it will go to an alarm monitoring station who will then call the police which will attend on priority, the company will also track the movements of the intruder inside the house. It also has a fire sensor that will notify the fire brigade if there is a fire. I dont know where you are but here in the UK you can get some good deals on them and I am sure the US is the same.
• 

  RAYZORBLADE

  Recently, my brother, who lives in the westend of Toronto, not only had his car broke into, but 3X.

  The last break-in, they tore the ignition out of his car. They stole his manufacturers stereo (Chrysler), and CDs.

  When I had transformed a backyard in east Toronto, my neighbour and I, we converted a driveway into a garden. We placed chairs, birdbath, lawn ornaments all over the backyard. One day we were talking, in our place, and I kid you not, someone very quietly under our very own noses: stole several items. We went outside afterwards at about 2 or 3 a.m., presto! they were gone and we didn't even hear them. Imagine?

  Still, it's a violation of your private space Uzzah. It plays tricks on your head. My brother's girlfriend is livid about the situation, she wants to move out of the area of Toronto they live in (Dufferin & Dupont). Can't say I like that area either.

  Where I am at now, things seem pretty calm. It's predominantly white trash, with more mullets per square kilometre than any other area of Toronto (close to Scarborough).

  Needless to say, I hope they nail whomever did this. It is unsettling and nerve wracking.

  Take care, and I hope you can recover your stolen articles. Sorry to read about this.