It is, statistically, almost nonexistent, even in the U.S.
People have an understandably outsized fear about it, but your car and any stairs in your home are a greater threat to you than "random killers." By a lot.
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Do you lock your doors when you’re at home and inside?
- Thread starter Lightning Count
- Start date
People have an understandably outsized fear about it, but your car and any stairs in your home are a greater threat to you than "random killers." By a lot.
OP
OP
`also homeowenvers with guns are more likely to accidentally kill their own family members than successfully shoot an intruder.
Its frowned upon in the Shire.
But most of us probably don't live in Middle Earth.
If you live in the good ol USA I think almost everyone locks their door. And for good reason.
Statistically it's highly unlikely, but who wants to be on the other end of that statistic for no good reason?
It's easier to lock the doors and just be done with it.
You can't get rid of your stairs(without moving), and in this country you need a car, but we CAN lock our doors.
God yes, it's always locked. Live in a nice, very safe part of the city, and the city itself is very safe but still always keep it locked. Just something that was drilled into since I was a kid by my parents. My whole family is the type to always double check to make sure the doors are locked etc.
Burglaries have fallen by half in the last 20 years, and the burglary rate is one-fifth of what it was in 1980.
There are still about 1 million burglaries in the U.S. each year, though a decent chunk are of commercial properties. I believe the number of residential U.S. households is in the 120M range, so your chances of being the victim of a burglary in a given year are already pretty slim.
You are even less likely to experience it if you live in an apartment building with lots of units, if you live in a wealthy zip code or have a higher income, if you are male, if there are multiple people in your household, if anyone is routinely at home during the day, if you're not elderly or a student, etc. The places you're most likely to be burglarized are hotels, motels, and mobile homes.
Most burglaries happen during the day, when no one is home. They tend to be crimes of opportunity where a (typically unarmed) intruder is looking for quick cash. Most burglars, and all professional burglars, try to avoid confrontation. In cases where the burglar was seen or encountered—which is less likely than not—they are known to the victim as often as they are strangers. Statistically, the person most likely to rob you (and the most likely to assault or kill you) is your current or former intimate partner.
Crucially, though, the overwhelming majority of burglaries are not violent. In the period 1998-2007, when burglary was more common than it is today, one study found that "Overall, the incidence of actual violence or threats of violence during burglary ranged from a low of .9% in rural areas based upon NIBRS data, to a high of 7.6% in highly urban areas." For the period 2003-2007, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that in just 7% of all household burglaries, someone was home and experienced a violent victimization. And just 9% of victims experienced serious injury.
In short, your chance of experiencing serious injury during a burglary in a given year has a lot of zeroes on the denominator.
It's easy to lock your doors while home, and people should do it; there isn't a downside, and there are clear upsides. But fear of a stranger breaking into your property to do your harm is irrational; it almost never happens. Meanwhile, the U.S. is a country stewing in deep, toxic fear of the Other for complex historical reasons, and it manifests in all sorts of perverse ways, from the rancid carceral system to rampant gun ownership (which spikes homicides, accidental killings, and suicides) to something as mundane as the "true crime" media we lap up.
It is important for people to know that they are, overwhelmingly, safe from strangers in this country. It's important because our widespread fear has consequences for society: it is corrosive for us to fret unduly about property crime and think of our homes as fortresses that must be defended from lurking shadows.
We got one of those smart locks that automatically locks the door because I could never remember to do it. Front door is basically glass, door bell sounds when anyone comes down the driveway, no other houses within half a mile. . Locking the door didn't seem to make a difference.
I always lock my doors. That's the way my parent's taught me. It was so ingrained in me that when I lived at home I would constant lock my dad out when he was mowing the lawn because I saw a door unlocked.
I currently live alone and I'm a woman so I lock those doors 100% of the time, even with a dog in the house.
I currently live alone and I'm a woman so I lock those doors 100% of the time, even with a dog in the house.
My smart lock automatically locks a minute after it's unlocked so does it automatically. We have dogs and one time a few years ago some dude just opened my front door thinking it was his friend's house and had my dogs not been outside it could have been a bad situation so I've always locked the front door at least ever since. Sometimes my side door is unlocked if I'm home but that's cuz I'm going in and out of it usually
Yes?
Why would you not? It's unlikely some random person is going to just walk in, but it's so low effort to just lock your doors after you've used them that I don't see why anyone wouldn't.
Why would you not? It's unlikely some random person is going to just walk in, but it's so low effort to just lock your doors after you've used them that I don't see why anyone wouldn't.
Yeah. If anything, I'd prefer someone to "break in" while I'm not home, lol. Always lock it up. Don't need uninvited strangers in my home.
I don't worry about is as much during the day especially if I'm just in the living room. My wife normally keeps it locked. I'm less worried about the front door since we have a Ring doorbell that's clearly visible.
Night yes always. We have 3 year old that's starting to roam at night too so we don't need him opening up any doors because he hear a noise outside.
Night yes always. We have 3 year old that's starting to roam at night too so we don't need him opening up any doors because he hear a noise outside.
OP
OP
Had a lady show up at the front door at 3am, rattling the knob and when we went to look she started screaming to borrow and iPhone charger. Less concerned about crime than I am people who are confused where they are.
When I lived in a more subruban area it wasn't that big of a deal though, we usually left the door wide open in the day and lock it at night. Just a normal lock though, no deadbolt, doesn't really make sense when we have a massive sliding glass door locked by a little clip around the other side of the house.
When I lived in a more subruban area it wasn't that big of a deal though, we usually left the door wide open in the day and lock it at night. Just a normal lock though, no deadbolt, doesn't really make sense when we have a massive sliding glass door locked by a little clip around the other side of the house.
I had a guy who would walk in and would just stand there as I yelled at him YOU DONT LIVE HERE GET OUT. This happened constantly, even if I left it unlocked for a few minutes. And even if it was locked he kept trying the door. Probably was a drunk. Glad he moved out. Now I keep it locked as much as possible.
Doesn't this mean that it's always locked, if you always need a key?
Yeah, that's part of the reason I just ditched the locking knob/handle when I redid my locks. Can be easy to lock yourself out, or the kids to lock themselves out, and it really provides little to no actual security due to the way the latch has to be designed.
A deadbolt with a thicker strike plate is plenty sufficient.
I have zero issues leaving my house unlocked when i am home, and did for many years. We now have smart locks which autolock after being open for a few minutes, so we do now keep the house locked when home, but we got them for the convenience of auto unlocking, key sharing and remote unlocking etc rather than for added security.
my childhood neighbors used to leave their front door open with the screen door unlocked all the time until some random lunatic just popped in and held them hostage for hours with a needle he claimed was filled with AIDS-infected blood
they turned their house into a fortress after that
they turned their house into a fortress after that
It's a reflex that is ingrained into me. Even if I have a guest over, they'll be all 'okay time to go', and the door is locked like I am kidnapping them or something. I am all, sorry sorry, locked it out of habit. So my answer is yes. Growing up my parents only locked it at night but the '80s were a gentler time lol
How old were the places? In my experience wooden doors with the locks that you need a key to open from outside and that lock automatically were the standard until maybe the mid 80s. Since then the preference has been for PVC or composite doors with multipoint lift lever locks (the ones that you can open without a key when unlocked).
Every single house and flat I've lived in or remember visiting that's been built reasonably recently can be opened without a lock from the outside, and vice versa.
I can remember my parents getting the front door replaced on their old house (built 1981) because they didn't like that you could get locked out.
yeah. at my old house i've had all sorts of people trying to get in my house. mostly drunk/high people thinking i was the house that sold drugs. moved house and its much quieter and feels a lot safer but i'm still in the habit of locking the door. now i let my cats out in the garden so i'm trying to get to get used to the door being open when i'm not there.
There is no such a thing in Italy, you can open house doors only with keys.
So basically there isn't the only option I can vote, so "locking" the door only when I'm out of home.
Yeah, of course. I live in a safe neighborhood and I know the odds of burglary or home invasion are pretty low, but why even take the chance over something so simple as locking the door behind you? To do otherwise just seems like willful naivete to me, tbh.
Hell yes I do, psychos are more liable to hide out in suburbia. I don't want to end up a trophy in some accountant's basement.
Always locked. I no longer live in an area full of smack addicts, but having done so, you learn quickly that leaving anything unlocked means someone will try a quick burglary-of-opportunity.
Doors you can open from outside is not an American thing, it's like that here in Australia too.
Having to take a key with you if you go out the door to collect mail, do work in the garden etc sounds like more of a hassle than just having the door locked lol.
Are people thinking locking the door when you're home is a lot of effort thinking you need to lock it with a key rather than just push in a button, or flick a lever that it actually is?