Door Bell Rings At Midnight

I'm sleeping like a log at about midnight when my wife wakes me to tell that someone rang the doorbell. Then she decided that maybe it was a dream. But I heard my son in his bedroom. When he heard me in the hallway, he called for me. Then he told me that he heard the bell ring, too.

Well, there have been incidences of people storming into homes and robbing/beating/raping people at gunpoint. And when I use the three verbs, I mean that they tend to do all three at one stop. We don't have much that anyone would want, but I was sick on Monday. So I left the paper in the driveway. That and the fact that I have had a recycling bin out by the mailbox for the past few days might have signaled that we weren't home.

In any case, I didn't answer. But I did take the time to phone the sheriff's office and ask if they could send a squad car by the house. That's the last I heard of it. I couldn't sleep for almost an hour after the incident. But I finally drifted off again.

I'm from a small city, and I'm not used to this sort of shit. I don't know what to do. I would never own a gun, but I want to protect my family. The best solution in my mind is to leave the big city crime and head back to rural Illinois. What would you do?

 

install a security system, crime can happen anywhere- large or small towns

 

good idea not to answer. but - and i guess this is probably obvious - is there a window from which you can look out and see who is at the door without them seeing you, like a window off to the side or an upper floor window that lets you see the door? i'd also keep the lights off because you can see outside better when the lights are off.

i have no idea what i'd do if i saw someone. (assuming it's not your neighbor or the cops or someone you know like your brother who went crazy and drove 800 miles to see you because he's having problems).

 

Step 1: Turn on lights that dude ringing the doorbell can see.
Step 2: Let the cops know somebody's in the neighborhood looking for a home to break in to.
Step 3: Quit leaving shit out that makes criminals think you're not home.

And as you, and I'm sure everyone else realizes, DO NOT open the door.

 

This is the second time that someone has come by late at night. The last it was at 10 p.m., and my wife answered to find a woman at the door claiming she had a cleaning service and wanted to show us what she could do to our living room.

Within the past month, there have been two break-ins when residents were home, but the police have said both were drug-related.

About six months ago, some idiots in a city 30 miles away decided that a woman was rich because she drove a Crown Victoria. They followed her home and waited for her to go inside. Then they rang the bell. It wasn't even dark yet, maybe like noon. And the lady answered. They barged in and held the family at gunpoint before stealing the woman's car. They took her along so that they could get money from an ATM. Then they shot her and tossed her dead body out of the car.

 

Well, that adds to the story.

Get an alarm system. They're not cheap, but they're also not as expensive as you might think. Had one at my last home and I want to say it ran something like $20 or $30 a month. I think you can get a deal where the install is cheap if you commit to a contract, but I'm not sure. Ours was new construction and already in the house when we bought it.

The one we had (and I'm assuming this is true for all the major brands) had a silent intruder code, as well. Basically, it's a dummy code that shuts the alarm off, but still sends a signal to the company and the cops. Useful if someone follows you in and tells you to shut your alarm off. Works well if your local criminals aren't all that bright.

 

You still subscribe to the newspaper?

;D

 

So -- seriously -- if Heineken is home at midnight and someone rings the bell, perhaps with the intention of him opening the door to see who is there and rushing in -- how is an alarm system gonna help him?

Could go either way -- they hear the siren and beat it or they stick a gun to Heineken's head to get him to punch in the code.

Great thread title by the way, HM.

 

That's why there's a dummy code. Instead of punching 1234, which would turn the alarm off, he's punch in 3456, which would turn the alarm off, while sending a distress signal to the alarm company and the cops.

 

Also, you're working under the assumption that Joe Criminal will see the sign in your yard that says "I've got an alarm" and pull that shit on the neighbors who don't have that sign.

 

Lights, lights and more lights. Porch lights, driveway lights. Most utility companies also install halogen lamps (like street lamps) on poles in yards if the owner will pay for them. We've got one on the pole located right on the edge of our backyard. It lights up the yard so bright you can everything clearly in the middle of the night.

Also, you need to have a plan for what to do in that situation. If the doorbell rings again, you take a golf club, baseball bat, Maglite and go see what's happening. Your wife needs to be sitting in bed with the phone, ready to hit 911.

 

Alarm systems have a duress code--you punch in that code instead of the disarm code. Tells the alarm people you have a problem.

When my alarm goes off--usually because of crazy weather or because I forget to turn it off in time--the alarm people call within a minute. If I don't answer, or I if I didn't know the code, the police would be here asap.