Overnight, officers of the Lincoln Police Department's Southeast Team were busy searching for open garage doors. They were able to get 15 of those buttoned back up during the wee hours of the morning. Nice work by Officers Sears, Arnold, Schaaf, and Hellmuth. I suspect that when a police officer lets you know you left your door open, you will develop a habit of double checking thereafter.
If you're curious why this simple activity is so valuable, you can go back almost to the beginning of this blog, back in May, 2007. It has been an incredibly useful strategy for preventing burglary. In 2005, there were 178 burglaries through garage doors that were simply left standing open. Last year, there were 32. So far this year, there have been 8.
Monday, April 28, 2014
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11 comments:
Another benefit of this is that it puts those officers in residential neighborhoods where their visibility might be more likely to deter anyone cruising around looking for stuff the steal.
More and more people are getting home video camera systems. Though center team has not saw many. When I have had the rare occasion of talking to our LEO'S I have had the question posed "Why do you have a security system". Depending on which residence I am at at any given time, I respond with one of several answers and wonder if LPD has had others. 1. I am pro-active in preventing home invasion ect. 2. My neighbor has them too. (I would not jump off a bridge if -he-she did) One I never use is 4. It is none of your business. Which is really a disrespectful way to answer. But on the internet many people seem to think they have to exercise those rights (right to be an idiot). Like DWI check point refusal to roll down window. Or refusing to answer BP question if you-I am a USA citizen. Yes, you would not argue the 5th is in the Constitution to protect the innocent person who other wise would make a statement which would some how incriminate one's self. I get that. But to go the extra mile to be a donkey and to just make the BP and LEO officer's job more difficult is just plain senseless. Wasting time for those that are enforcing the laws is just wasting tax money.
2007? That's a long run for a blog.
"I am pro-active in preventing home invasion"
If you're not a drug dealer, and don't consort or otherwise interact with drug dealers, then you've reduced your chance of being the victim of a home invasion robbery down to almost zero, because HI robbers almost always seek drugs and drug cash that they already know are there - the game consoles and smartphones are just targets of opportunity. Refer to earlier posts on this same blog for more info.
Burglary, on the other hand, is another matter entirely. An alarm system can definitely deter that crime, or at least increase the odds of apprehending the offenders.
Anon @12:44 brings up a question:
Is it considered a home invasion if someone enters your open (or not open) garage to steal things when you are home at the time, perhaps in bed or watching TV in a dark living room?
I'm guessing it's not unless you happen to confront them in the act, but what then?
April 29, 2014 at 12:44 PM: BUZZZZZZZZZ!! Very wrong. Some years ago a man walked in an elderly neighbors front unlocked door walked past the hospice person sitting in the chair and went to the bedroom and stole a several thousand dollar wedding ring. While the Misses stood in shock and fear, the invader disappeared into the daylight. Yes 1400 hrs. Just talked to her son the other day. He commented if they only had a video system at that time. In addition the motion sensors act as an alarm system. No matter what your view is, if someone is gutsy enough to enter my home, they may very well decide that I am just a witness. We all know Jimmy Hoffa, right? Right, the masked bandits are rare in going into unknown territory, but I refuse to be a test subject, in-spite of a spinster who has an idea that security cams in a home somehow equate to drug dealing. I bet mr defense attorney would thoroughly chew your assessment up prior to digestion. And you are not going to get many warrant signatures with that kind of reasoning. If suspicion is guilt my Mom would have disowned me years ago. Your view kind of suggests that number four. None of your business may indeed be a better answer. I will sign this, Always prepared.
Steve,
We use the term "home invasion robbery" to describe a robbery in which the perpetrators enter a residence to rob the occupants. Robbery requires an element of violence or threatened violence, whereas burglary is a crime of stealth, not involving violence or threatened violence. Someone who breaks into a home and steals stuff while the occupants are asleep is a burglar. If the occupant awakes, and confronts the burglar, who then threatens or strikes the occupant, the burglar has just become a robber.
James Johnson,
You are both right. Although home invasion robberies of the type you describe occur, they are exceptionally rare. 12:44's assertion of "almost always" is pretty accurate.
I wasn't wrong at all, and they are exceptionally rare, as in (I quote myself) "close to zero", which is only slightly more than zero, so you get that lame reject buzzer bouynces back to JJ. Home invasion robberies in Lincoln, and pretty much in the entire USA as a whole that are not related to drug dealing are so rare as to be mere statistical anomalies, effectively rounded off.
The reason that so many errantly believe otherwise is due to the news media rarely ever asking authorities the simple question, "was this home invasion robbery drug related". It's indeed in their best interest to not ask, because the more readers, viewers, and listeners who wrongly believe - as you do - that a significant portion of HIRs are not drug-related - maintains unreasonable concern over their safety, and thus causes them to consume more news reporting. That helps maintain viewer/listener rating and subscriber numbers, which keeps the ad rates up.
If I " wrongly believe " that my safety is not my responsibility, than who's responsibility is it? Part of the problem with people becoming victims of crime is they think that it will not happen to them. as for people who "maintains unreasonable concern over their safety, that is just pure silly. I and many millions like me do not live in that world, and as a result have a better chance at not being a victim.
I don't think anyone suggested that there was anything wrong with being prepared, JJ, but simply that home invasions as they are defined are not very likely. Certainly, you may know somewhat it happened to, but that doesn't imply that they are commonplace. If you could point out a dozen or so in Linocln, you might have an argument against the statement that HI robberies are extremely rare. Much more likely to happen would be a burglary in which the perpetrators either thought no one was home, or thought they could get in and out without a confrontation, which would then have turned the burglary into a robbery. Certainly, being prepared for either scenario is a good idea. I know I am (prepared).
It's an eery feeling getting your door knocked on at 3:15am. I was so out of it, I thought it was just a dream. It seemed real enough that I thought I would investigate. By that time, the officer was gone and left a very nice note in the window. "Please close your garage door." I swiftly did so and headed back to bed. Thanks officer Schaaf!
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