Prior to moving to tiny town I lived in Phoenix,Mesa, L.A. Santa Barbra, Denver ,Littleton and portland,
where everyone I knew kept their doors/windows locked when not going through them.

Turns out that I know a dozen people who never lock their doors/windows, not at night or when they are gone away

I know another dozen that only lock them at night, more yet that only lock their door and windows when they are gone.

but 95 % shut their garage door ,most of the time

I guess I paranoid.

two dozen of these people are widows, living alone , all of the for mentioned are over 60 y.o.

it makes my head swim , the big city is 15 minutes away .I can't start worrying about things I can not control.

When I lived in your neck of the woods in Iowa we used to start our cars (unlocked of course) in the winter then go back inside while it warms up.
Try doing that today?

After I moved to Marquette:
I noticed that most parking lots have many cars with keys in the ignition.
I walked through the entire hospital and saw no security whatsoever.
When I called the electrical utility, a real person answered the phone almost immediately.
My neighbors would leave their apartments without locking their doors.
The local power sports dealers leave thousands and thousands of dollars worth of ATVs and trailers right out next to the road.
Talk about culture shock. It was amazing to me!

It's not just Tiny Town. That attitude is rampant all across the country.

Lock your doors, folks. It's not that hard. It takes literally seconds. And it will prevent the majority of thefts. They're typically crimes of opportunity, victimizing people who are too dumb/naive to lock their doors (especially those who leave their guns/keys/etc. in their unlocked cars), and skipping over those who do in search of easier pickings.

Yeah, I know... You've lived for X number of years and never had any problems. Well, you're not a victim until you are, and by the time you've been victimized it's too late to decide to start locking your doors.

Oh, you live in a good neighborhood and/or a quiet town? Well, criminals travel... and they specifically travel to "good neighborhoods" and "quiet towns" because of that mindset.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
When I lived in your neck of the woods in Iowa we used to start our cars (unlocked of course) in the winter then go back inside while it warms up.
Try doing that today?

You don't need to try doing that today, thanks to remote start. You don't even have to leave the house to warm up your car. And the car stays locked, without the keys in it, the whole time.

quote:

winter then go back inside while it warms up.
Try doing that today?

happens all the time here in tiny town, at the store at the coffee shop , post office, stop and rob.

now about a dozen or more a year get made off with, up in the big city

What I find funny is even as a little kid living off the beaten path so to speak I would do my own house perimeter check, making sure all the doors/windows were secured daily.

No idea why just grew up that way and have been that way ever since. I am far from paranoid but I keep a couple fire extinguishers some BASIC first aid stuff, some water and drugs on hand etc. Just simple adult stuff to get me through the first 10 minutes of an issue or take me through a couple weeks of problems and locking my doors has always been part of that.

But yeah I don't get how folks can just leave all their doors unlocked and windows open all the time etc. But to each their own. Statistically they will probably be just fine.

My parents never locked the doors, living in a Central KY city, but outside of the city by a few miles. Nice vehicles, unlocked, radar detector, cb radios, keys in cars, doors left open windows open. It was a grand way to be able to live.

After 25 years in that neighborhood they sold the home and someone broke in and stole a radar detector, nothing else. Times were a changin...

For about the same number of years we've lived outside the city, away from the miscreants and troublemakers, sans the one or two kids who got into drugs, and got their ass caught breaking into cars in my neighborhood and spent the evening in the pokey. Family had money, he just needed a private source for drug money,

Now growth is coming our way, streets/roads have a lot more traffic, more commercial businesses, more homes, now we lock up, neighbor has cameras, when in the garage I'm armed late at night most often...

Times are a changin....

May be time to sell and get into the country where all you fear are snakes, gators n bugs...

I'm no preppier, but I agree with cslinger. Lock the doors, check the perimeter before bed, and be prepared for many minor emergencies. We once lost electricity for 9 days in a severe winter storm. My kerosene stove sure came in handy.

We live in a nice neighborhood and have had stuff stolen from our cars three times in a period of five years. This happened because we forgot to lock them. Now, we seldom forget. I think the only reason my family locks the front door is because the regular latch doesn’t hold all of the time so we have to engage the deadbolt or the door will swing open. The sliding door on the back deck is another story. I’ve come home mid-day and found it unlocked. One day, I came home and it was slid open about six inches. I think someone tried to come in but was greeted by two German Shepherds.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
I am far from paranoid but I keep a couple fire extinguishers some BASIC first aid stuff, some water and drugs on hand etc. Just simple adult stuff to get me through the first 10 minutes of an issue or take me through a couple weeks of problems and locking my doors has always been part of that.

"Be Prepared," as any Scout will tell you.

You have to have a nice balance in your life between trust for your fellow man and paranoia. I have lived in urban environments and very rural ones. If you are an LEO or inner city dweller your outlook is colored by what you see day to day.

I don't think having a colored attitude is a bad thing. I trust almost no one.

My house would be 100% locked up if it weren't for my doggone kids leaving doors unlocked and OPEN.

Sheesh.

quote:

I don't think having a colored attitude is a bad thing. I trust almost no one.

^^^^^^^
Shaped no doubt by years working in a correctional facility.

Our cars are unlocked, I keep my tools and keys in my car. Of course, our cars are parked in the garage.

If I'm home, I don't lock the front door. The little 10 pound mutt will be the first one to bark. The boxer will be the second to bark and go to the door. The pit bull just goes to the door, doesn't bark much. I sleep well at night.

I live in a relatively peaceful, semi-rural neighborhood and got complacent about locking my car. (I always lock up my apartment, even when home.) One morning a few years ago I opened it and found compartments open and papers strewn about. But I don't leave valuables -especially guns - in my car, so nothing was actually taken. It has stayed locked since then.

As a corollary, 3 attitudes I don’t understand:

it’s someone else’s job (eg husband or Dad) to lock up. Even if they unlock the door, open the door, and remain inside after closing the door they won’t take the fraction of a second to lock it.

I don’t lock my house or vehicle because it’s just a bigger mess to clean up when they break a window

One or more $40k or $50k vehicles parked in driveway because the garage is full of stuff that wouldn’t fetch $500 total at an estate sale. I’m not just talking about a hot climate like Texas, it happened in Alaska and Calgary too so 6 to 9 months a year they had to clean the white shit off their car every time they wanted to use it. My truck is nearly always in my locked garage and as a result I’ve never had it broken into at home.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
If you are an LEO or inner city dweller your outlook is colored by what you see day to day.

I live in a town of 7500 that is 75 miles from the nearest urban area. Teaching CPL classes I tell people to make your home look like the house across the street is an easier target: close your garage door, lock your doors, take the keys out of your car, etc. As a sheepdog, it's frustrating to see how the sheep refuse to realize that Evil is everywhere.

It used to be that way here until the meth heads started b&e

Even if you get the jump on them, having physical evidence of a forced entry could make all the difference in a legal situation.
Not to mention that it could actually delay or stop someone from entering your home uninvited.