Someone just tried to break in GRRRRRRRRR

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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:48 am

No, I am pretty sure they were destroying your property if they did that Weasel.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:25 am

Reminds me of a time when my wife and I came home one evening, must have been 1990 in Wellington NZ. We had a split level house, four floors, and you entered on the second floor and went through the kitchen and down to the living areas on the bottom floor. From the kitchen you went up a half flight of stairs to the back door and first bedroom on the third floor, then up another half flight of stairs to our bedroom and bathroom and toilet at the top.

We came in, through the entry, through the kitchen, up the first flight of stairs, and then felt a draft of wind. Looked around, and found the pane of glass besides the back door had been taken out of the window frame and leaned carefully (and intact) against the outside house wall.

The Police came and dusted for fingerprints, found smudges on the inside surrounds of the window frame and reckoned that the burglar was half way through the window when he heard us opening the front door. We never heard him leave, he must have run up the bank behind the house through the bushes to the road and away.

Some months later the Police arrested someone for a burglary and found his notebook, there were hundreds of addresses with notes on details of the houses, when people were home, how many there were, approaches and departure paths, etc. Our house was in the book.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:43 am

What a stupid criminal. He committed legal suicide there. Glad no was hurt though.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:11 am

Hey SP, that pretty much sucks. Like you say, its just as well you were there, instead of your wife and son alone. Glad the chav scum saw sense and ran - you must cut a pretty mean figure in the dark! Laughing

As for home defence (apart from the dazzling array of airsoft rifles/pistols, which should hopefully scare off the casual "chance" burglar) I sleep with a "Little League" baseball bat by the bed, its solid wood, and the smaller size makes it easier to swing in close quarters. For anyone truly passionate about stealing my hard-earned goods, there is also a sword on a stand at the end of my bed... Sounds a bit much, but I have a friend with two young children who stay over a lot, and woe betide anyone who breaks in while they're in the house.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:18 am

Another thing that's really on the plus-side for a sword is that it doesn't make so much noise as a gun makes.
You don't want to wake up the kids will puncturing the guy who tries to break into your place, right?

Just slice him, burry him in the back yard with all the other guys who tried before, and then get back to bed as if nothing happened.
Won't work if you use a shotgun!

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:34 am

My sympathies SP.

I'm not in agreement with the gun or sword lobby, here in the UK burglars still tend to come in unarmed. When they start to know that you have weapons, then rest assured they're bringing weapons too, and it only gets messier.
In addition, I think a lot of the US readers are obviously unaware how little protection we have from the law when it comes to defending property. Someone defending their house with a gun or a long bladed weapon in the UK is going to jail for a long time.

Strong locks and deadbolts is about all we can do. Oh, that or a big dog.

Once again, my sympathies SP.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:40 am

^^ I think even having a big dog can get you in trouble. After all you are responsible for keeping that dog away from the crooks private parts. Although that's exactly where you want your dog to bite...

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:25 am

Glad to hear you and yours are all OK SP. You had a lucky escape.

A work colleague got burgled one night whilst asleep with his young family. He disturbed the b*stard()s who made of with cash, credit cards and mobiles. When he went into the kitchen - where they gained entry - he found two carving knives removed from his draws neatly arranged on the worktop. Shocked

My advice would be to get a police Crime Prevention officer round for a full survey of the security of your home and sleep with a very meaty baseball bat next to your bed.

I heard a good story a while ago about some guy in the UK whose shed was being broken into. He phoned the police whilst the guy was still in the act. The police responded that they were far too busy to attend. The guy chased the scumbag off and then rang the police back and told them they didn't have to attend anyway as he had shot the b*astard. Ten minutes later numerous police vehicles, including an armed response unit, and helicopter descended on his house. Baffled by the lack of a victim a copper said "I thought you said you'd shot him?" To which the man replied " I thought you said you were too busy?" Touche.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:29 am

@B.L.Z. Bubb, rootuser: Uh... if you have swords, then I sure hope you are training to use them? Swordfighting in close quarters is fast, and if you don't know what you are doing...

Case in point: a friend of mine almost killed himself with a real katana. He lost the grip while training and hit himself on the head - the blow was hard enough to knock him out for a while. Thankfully he got hit with the blunt edge of the blade. Now he's training with a regular bokken. Razz

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:40 am

Tricia wrote:

@B.L.Z. Bubb, rootuser: Uh... if you have swords, then I sure hope you are training to use them? Swordfighting in close quarters is fast, and if you don't know what you are doing...

Yes. The pointy end goes in the other man, right?

(Sorry, a guilty pleasure, I love the film Mask of Zorro just for that one liner)

In all seriousness, the sword is more an ornament than anything. I'd like to believe that in a last resort attempt to protect my friend and her children that I'd use it, but the truth is I'd be more likely to come out swinging with the baseball bat...

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:44 am

^^ I got myself a few nice sword-scars here and there too, but hey: No pain, no gain. Right?
But by now I'm confident enough that I'd be able to use the sword without slicing myself.
I'm not saying I'm good, I actually think I'm far from it, but I have learned to control the blade.

It might be interesting to face somebody on close quarters sword vs. knife. Speed-wise the advantage clearly goes towards the knife, but the range of the sword is bigger.
Not that I really want to try it, but it's worth a thought.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:52 am

All this guns and swords stuff is very macho, but far more likely to get you or a loved one injured.
Also, in the UK if you sleep with a weapon close to hand and things cut up rough, you could be asked to explain why you have set a trap for a burglar (cf Tony Martin) and could face prosecution.

It's far better to ensure your property is secure, including fitting a perimeter alarm if necesary.

Best of all though, is a great big dog - you'll not be questioned at all if the dog defends his territory.

[edit "s**t" changed to "stuff" so as not to offend the gun lobby]

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:57 am

lol, you guys make a good point. Guns aren't safe unless you trained with them in the dark, which is usually when burglars invade. Also keep in mind that even the standard 9mm parabellum can pierce crappy drywall.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:00 am

Ex wrote:

lol, you guys make a good point. Guns aren't safe unless you trained with them in the dark.

I've trained with them in the light, the dark, everything. I've carried one at work for many years now.
But I still wouldn't want one in the house. A gun is never safe, especially if the other guy gets hold of it.

Ex wrote:

Also keep in mind that even the standard 9mm parabellum can pierce crappy drywall.

Yes it can, good point. It's handy to bear that in mind when your kids are in the next room.

For UK users, Eamonn's words ring very true. Thumbs up

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:01 am

Wouldn't be setting a trap conform more to something like spreading bear-traps in front of your windows?
You need some place to place your sword, and that often enough is in the living- or bedroom. Mine actually hangs on the post on my side of the bed, so it actually is ready to grab. But the reason why it is there is that there is no room to place it in some nice position, and also because a certain little boy can't keep his fingers from it if it would be more accessible.

For me a sword is mostly a piece of decoration, but if really necessary I might consider it as a tool of intimidation.

I'm a peace-loving person, so if possible I tend to avoid trouble, but I also am willing to face trouble if it's unavoidable.

Edited to remove a "little" mistake. (See below...)

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:05 am

rootuser wrote:

I'm a piece-loving person...

When talking about swords, one should be careful of spelling - it can change the meaning drastically. Laughing

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:07 am

Hell, you're right. I better go to correct that...
But it was good for a laugh, wasn't it?

Western Union · Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:09 am

Since I think SP is fairly unlikely to arm himself with broadswords or grenade launchers, can we keep on topic please?

@SP Sorry to hear about it mate, it�s a shitty thing to happen. Getting the crime prevention officer out is a good idea � deterrence is the best defence for burglaries and they�ll have plenty of good suggestions to make your place less inviting.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:11 am

rootuser wrote:

Wouldn't be setting a trap conform more to something like spreading bear-traps in front of your windows?

Nope, Tony Martin was a Norfolk farmer who was fed up with getting burgled so he left a window open and sat in the dark with a (illegally held) shotgun. When the burglars came he shot them both.
Fred Barras was shot in the back and died within two minutes. He was 16.

Martin was convicted of murder, reduced on appeal to manslaughter.

Guns aren't big or macho or fun.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:14 am

S.P.
Glad you and your family are ok.

Have you thought about having your windows double glazed?

I agree with Mugatu about not having any weapons in the house, with the laws as they stand and a clever lawyer in the uk, the house owner could end up in prison, just for protecting his property, if a burglar is injured or killed.

Our son who has his own house, heard a noise one night whilst he was in the kitchen, on investigation he found a idiot trying to lever out the frame of his patio doors. Do know who was the more surprised the idiot, (who more than likely had brown trousers), or our son who does weight lifting.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:16 am

@ all these silly UK weapon laws

Proud to be an American Wink

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:19 am

Hire a team of ninja to hang out in your kitchen.

Anyhow, as that fishe guy said. We are not a gun, sword or ninja forum so lets not get into debate over guns etc. Especially since SP is UK based I highly doubt he cares what the particular law is where you are.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:33 am

SP, sorry to hear about your experience, I was burgled at 14:00 on a Saturday afternoon, I'm still looking at the window film idea, but my burglars used a crowbar to pop open a small window, someone squeezed through it, they had been unable to get the big window open.

Locks are the first step, window film, ok if its to stop them smashing the window, but unlikely in a block of flats?
As you know, in the UK we aren't allowed to mount any effective form of defence as we get the blame and face more criminal charges than the burglar.
Grills work, but is it really necessary to turn our houses into prisons? sadly, in this day and age, yes.
If you want to go down the window film route pm me, I have had a company send me some samples of film, I can give you their details.

Master Baiter Joined: 23 Dec 2007 Posts: 126

I'd have to take a look into the statistics, but as far as I'm aware you're far more likely to get shot in your own house during break ins when you own a gun.
I agree with Mugatu's reasoning completely. Fighting fire with fire isn't really the way to go with things that can shoot you.
Most of the close encounters on this forum ended in a burglar running away at the first sign of trouble. I'd like to keep it that way.

Also, I've seen people getting arrested in this country for fighting of an armed robbery (after it happened though), so I wouldn't want to know what for trouble you could get for shooting trespassers.
Somebody mentioned dogs. In this country atleast, you can only be blamed for the behavior of your dog when it's behavior was not an normal reaction to a situation. For example, if you keep beating a dog with a stick and you get bitten, tough luck. I think the same would go for breaking into a house with a dog.
Out of interest: I would like to know something more about people getting blamed for things happening to people that break into their houses. What kind of circumstances etc. If you have a newspaper link or something for me it's much appreciated Smile

I do like guns for sports and there is nothing wrong with using it for that kind of purposes. I should get some practice on a shooting range one day, but for some reason I never got around doing that.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:16 pm

Glad you're ok SP, get a nice big dog. Great home defense.
@all the firearms enthusiasts, this is the UK, posession of a pea shooter is now probably illegal.

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