by John Boch
A Chicago Police detective was present at a recent Chicago Guns Save Life meeting and he passed along some excellent advice on how to reduce your risk of home invasion.
The detective said that the preferred modus operandi of most burglars locally was to strike during the day when people are typically at work. They’ll look for signs that nobody is home and then they’ll ring the doorbell.
If someone comes to the door, they’ll offer some song and dance about selling magazine subscriptions – including saying they’re in a contest and need your help to win a trip or some other nonsense.
If they get no answer after ringing the doorbell a few times, they’ll go around back and kick in the back door to make entry.
Here’s the problem: if you or a family member are at home and they play opossum and don’t answer, the burglary might turn into a home invasion.
If you don’t let a stranger at the front door know your home is occupied, that stranger might be standing in the back part of your house a few minutes later.
You want to make sure anyone that comes to the door unexpectedly knows your home is occupied. Tell them anything: “I’ve called the police”, “my dad/husband is in the bathroom/shower” (or cleaning his gun in the basement), or simply “we’re not interested in what you’re selling”.
The goal here is to let the would-be burglar know that the residence is occupied. Most of these day-time burglars want nothing to do with occupied dwellings.
Good to know. I’ll be sure to let everyone I know young and old to be aware of this tactic. How about dogs? Do they like to avoid barking unknowns behind the door or even outside four-leggers?
Thanks for a good reminder.
I know a lot of people – including teens and pre-teens, who “don’t answer the door” when someone knocks.
Sam