There are drugs in every town so I would always lock my doors. I do leave my keys in the car that I drive every day for whatever reason.

I remember growing up and visiting my family in A small town in Minnesota and we would pick up my grandma and grandpa for a week trip to a big lake for a family get together and they didn’t even have keys for their house. That meant it was unlocked the entire week they were away from their house. Different times though.

I use to live in a big farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. At the time I was married & I have ALWAYS locked everything. I locked my then husband out of the house lots of times & this was even while I was home.
I have always been on a bit of the paranoid side.

I live in town now & there have been a few times where our neighbors cars have gotten things stolen out of them because they were not locked. Mine was locked & nothing happened to my stuff. I even lock my car when it is enclosed in the garage. (Only park it in the garage when it's snowing).

My brother is the complete opposite. He still lives in the middle of nowhere, but even in the little town, keys are in the truck, even his business is unlocked most the time in case a customer needs to drop something off when he is not there. He has no cameras. My Mom has mentioned that he should at least have some cameras at his business. Most of his equipment is big, heavy, & very identifiable & everyone knows everybody so he doesn't feel like it's an issue.

My parents never locked a door. I never remember any house keys even existing. Never had a problem, but I did grow up at the end of a “holler” in the woods, where a strange car coming up the road causes an excitement. It was a charming life, surrounded by only family and generational friends.

When I lived in Cape Hatteras the locals never locked anything. We had a chief who had left his keys in the pickup for so long you couldn’t remove them.

I grew up in Tampa and clearly remember someone steal our groceries when we were all inside taking stuff into the house...only seen my mon turn beet red once or twice, but that day was one of em

I keep my doors locked while I’m home unless I’m outside within sight of the house. My vehicles always stay locked unless im getting into or out of them.

My Godfather told me this story when I was in my late teens. He deployed two times to Vietnam and saw lots of combat. He and his buddy got out of the Marines on the west coast and decided to have a slow easy drive home aka road trip (Minnesota for him and Michigan for his buddy). They were spending the night in a very small town in Kansas. He woke up early was out of the room watching the sun raise over fresh rain on the ground and in that moment was the first time in several years that he felt safe. A couple hours later they are at a rest stop and talking with a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper and he told that trooper about the small town and how he felt. The trooper started laughing and said, "Bud, that small town is where "In Cold Blood" took place."

My godfather told me you can learn young or you can learn old; there are no safe places.

Doors are locked, any cars not in the garage are locked. I have seen that "nothing will ever happen here" denial attitude many times. Some seem to consider their "I don't lock doors/windows,etc." attitude, a badge of honor, or are perhaps virtue signaling their trust in their fellow man.

I freely admit that my and my wife's career choice opened my eyes as to the evil humans do to other humans and animals. Many seem to believe that since they don't bother anyone, why should anyone have reason to bother them. Understandable attitude I guess, but fact is bad things happen to nice people, in nice neighborhoods, in "safe" places all the time.

BTW, Some bad guys are not afraid of dogs in the least, and will seriously injure or kill them without hesitation. As an example, Police K-9s are very well trained, and bad guys kill them too. I might think I have the biggest, baddest dog/s in the World, but I'd still lock my doors.

We don’t live far outside the city. My wife locks the doors at night and that’s overkill. We never lock the barn up.

we are thinking of selling and moving. too much traffic, noise...etc.

our home is fine (in the middle of acreage) it's the travel to a fro that wear me out.

it may be time?

funny, i am ok with the thought of selling and moving -- but for the dogs. weird huh! that won't stop us if we decide to move on but it's something i think about for some reason. i guess i like dogs.

we lock all our doors and cars and we are one home in the center of nearly 200 acres...always lock! you never know. at least when you lock, you may get a warning before dealing with someone around your home.

but when i was a kid we never locked if we were in town....ever. i am over 60.

I grew up in Detroit, Michigan in the 1940s and 1950s. My parents and relatives always locked their homes and cars. I know, because I was a small kid and several times had to go into a home through the milk chute because the keys had been locked inside! (A milk chute was an opening in an outside wall about 12" square--the Milkman put his delivery in it. They usually had doors with latches on both sides, but the indoor one was seldom latched.)

flashguy

In the mid 1980’s I parked in front of a store in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and went inside. Everyone was staring at me and one of them explained it was because it was strange to see somebody lock their car.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P210,

one fella told me that his N.R.A. sticker , on the garage door window keeps the bad guys away
. He's 83 y.o.

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?

I do that from my watch. Doors remain locked.

last night I had a thought,
what if their quality of life is 39% better than us worry wort's,
what if their whole out look on life is more pleasurable and half as stressful.

what if they live 7 months longer ?

My wife and I have this "discussion" on a daily basic. We live in a small, rural town full of mostly good people....population 750+/-. When I get out my car the keys come with me and it is locked...her vehicle is never locked in town and the keys are always in it. When I leave the house (even for 10 minutes) it is locked...she will leave for hours and if I'm lucky she will close the doors...never locks 'em.

We had a neighbor across the street that had her back door kicked in and her lap top was stole. My wife said "See if you lock the door they only kick it in and get in anyway!!" I gave up...

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
last night I had a thought,
what if their quality of life is 39% better than us worry wort's,
what if their whole out look on life is more pleasurable and half as stressful.

what if they live 7 months longer ?

In my experience, those who understand that crime exists everywhere and take reasonable measures to minimize their risk not only greatly lessen their chances of ever being victimized, but also generally handle it better if they do happen to end up being the victim of a crime, compared to those who assume the best and choose to stick their head in the sand and whose entire worldview is then completely shattered when it turns out to not all be puppies and rainbows and Mayberry out there.

Basically, pragmatic realists tend to handle trauma better than naive optimists, and are less likely to experience that trauma too.

Besides, being realistic about the world and taking simple and easy steps like locking your doors is a far cry from being a "worrywart", and isn't the least bit "stressful".

In fact, I'd go so far as to say locking your doors merely falls under "basic common sense" and those that don't are somewhat "delusional" (in a non-mental-illness context).

I have the...pleasure...of working in the spot with the highest raw number of vehicle and (probably) residential break-ins in the state of North Carolina. Not just the city in general, but the particular division. So quite concentrated.

I approve a lot of break-in reports. An unbelievable amount some nights.

A few notes:
-Most auto break-ins are unlocked vehicles with stuff of value in plain view (purses, computers, bags, etc.) This is the vast majority. It's mind boggling how dumb people are. Home drive-ways are as susceptible as parking lots. Suspects will just park/get dropped off and walk though a neighborhood/parking lot checking every single door handle.

-Some auto break-ins are locked vehicles with stuff of value in plain view (window busted, door forced)

-A few auto break-ins are locked vehicles with nothing in plain view, with a shattered window or "lock punch", and rarely a pried door/window. Especially pickup trucks (where thieves think they will find a gun, and often do)

-Mostly night-time, and especially hotels or any other target-rich environment



Home break-ins:

-Most common is a forced front or rear door (including sliding glass). I'd say probably 50/50 on front/rear, and usually opened with one kick

-Next most common is unlocked door (front/back/garage)

-Least common is an unsecured or forced window

-Even less than that is entry through something other than a first-floor access point (these people are dedicated)

-Mostly daytime

-I've read one front-door lock-picking report caught on video in the last few months


My take away (and I live in an area with much less criminal activity):
1. My vehicles are parked in the garage.
2. Any vehicle parked outside is locked, nothing in view inside
3. All home doors are always locked unless we're doing something that has us going in/out
4. All home windows are always locked unless we are present
5. Doors are strengthened. Larger screws/door armor/upgraded, difficult to pick locks
6. Garage overhead door has protector to keep the disengage-cord from being accessed from outside
7. Cameras
8. Lights on outside at night
9. Monitored alarm system
10. Marked patrol car
11. Guns. Lots of guns, because if you've spent 10 minutes kicking that door down, you mean it
21. Dog (who is absolutely worthless for guarding, last for a reason)


My goal is to make my neighbor's house the more appealing target.

The only thing I do that I would not recommend for most is that I leave my Jeep with its soft-top unlocked when I park anywhere. There is nothing of value visible/accessible (security box in trunk and under seat), and it would cost $300+ to replace windows if they cut. And it has manual locks, on the doors that are on as rarely as possible.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:

My goal is to make my neighbor's house the more appealing target.

You got it. 99% of thieves are lazy.

I live in a town with approximately 29,000 people. Usually once a week I look at the police blotter. I am amazed that so many people have the valuables stolen from their unlocked vehicles. Wallets and purses left in vehicles, cell phones, laptops, money. Our town is middle to upper incomes. A very large heroin problem. Some weeks there are 3 deaths from overdose. Common sense tells you to lock your vehicle.

We were the type, unlocked doors and all that, then I was relocated to a larger city, much larger than my home town, We never had an issue, but because we were in unfamiliar surroundings, we made sure things were secure, and that attitude followed us when I moved home.

My brother on the other hand, never left home and while he does take the keys out of his vehicles, he never locks his doors, even when they leave town. We live on the same property, so I guess he thinks because we are home most of the time, we are keeping an eye on his place, and we are at times, but we aren't always home.

Everything we have is locked up when we are not using it, except for a beat up 2000 Ford Ranger that another brother left me when he died a few years back, we leave the keys in it. The thought is that if someone is willing to come onto the property, there's a fair chance they'll steal it and not try to enter the house. Where we live is fairly rural and on high ground, so if this ever happens, they'd have to be either lucky or have been watching the place for a while since there's almost always someone home.

We do have security cameras and a couple large dogs, so we've got that going for us, which is nice.