This bizarre incident happened recently in Michigan.

One of the charms of rural living in old-fashioned America was the sense of peaceful good neighborliness that made people comfortable leaving their doors unlocked at night.  That has been over for a while.

“It won’t happen to me because I live in a nice place” is not a strong defense. That thinking comes under “hope is not a strategy.”  Criminals with functional IQs realize the nicest homes have the nicest stuff to steal.  And criminals realize that in the sparsely populated hinterlands, there are fewer witnesses and the thin blue line of police is stretched particularly thin.

One of the most useful, info-packed weapons and tactics forums to be found is www.pistol-forum.com.  A while back, my friend and colleague Tom Givens started a discussion thread on this topic that resulted in lots of good advice, and some harrowing stories from investigating cops. You can find it here.

Installing and using solid locks with solid doors in solid frames is not enough. It’s important for everyone in the household to know not to open that door for anyone they don’t know or can’t positively identify as someone with good intentions.  Intercoms and closed circuit TV are much more affordable now.  Those of you reading this are probably into defensive awareness enough that I don’t have to remind you of that. But is there someone in your household who thinks bad guys only inhabit TV and no one would ever want to hurt them? That’s the person you are most likely to save by installing that hardware.

A while back, I addressed this with host Tom Gresham on his Personal Defense TV show.  It can be found here.  We recorded it at Gunsite with ace instructor Corey Trapp, who did a great intruder impersonation.

Your thoughts and experiences are invited, as always.

24 COMMENTS

  1. “Managing unknown contacts” can happen at your front door. Depending on the weather and other variables, I would advise to answer the door from a second floor window if you’re truly suspicious of their intent.

      • I am planning to build a Scottish castle at my mountain retreat as soon as I can afford it. Hah! Love those elevated towers, though. Meanwhile, I have to rely on vigilance, good optics for surveillance and targeting, and the right dog for an alarm system. One thing to remember is that desperate drug addicts looking to plunder someone will often plan to abduct a gullible victim and drop them off out of commission in a rural area. I have known both parties a time or two. Yuh can’t be too careful.

  2. Mas – I might have phrased things a bit differently. I don’t think the era of “Good Neighborliness” is over. I live in a suburban setting with lots of houses in the area and I can say that my neighbors are great people. I don’t have any problems trusting them!

    Unfortunately, my home city (Nashville) is filled with punks, druggies, thugs and thieves like any good-size city. This criminal class is what causes the problems not the decent, working people that make up my neighbors.

    It is because of these criminals that security measures are needed. I have had an alarm system installed in my home for many years. Despite this, my house was broken into about four years ago. The alarm system notified the police (I was not home at the time luckily for the criminals) who responded in 8 minutes. The thieves only had time to grab a couple of items and run. However, they did take time to break down my rear door and rip the alarm system control unit off the wall thereby causing over $2000 worth of damage.They were never caught.

    Just two days ago there was a knock on my front door. It was a police officer who asked if I happened to have any external cameras around my house. I do not since my alarm system is a limited, internal system. The police officer explained that the home of one of my neighbors (just 2 houses over) had been burglarized. The police were checking to see if any video of the thieves had been captured. Sadly, I could not provide anything useful.

    So, it is this criminal element that needs to be brought to heel. By the way, Nashville has an “Interactive Crime Map” on their web site that shows all locations were crimes have been committed withing the last 7 days. You can use the wheel of your mouse to zoom in and out on the map and adjust your view so as to see the “Big Picture” of crime in Nashville. Here is a link to the site:

    https://www.crimemapping.com/map/tn/nashville

    I can tell you that one look at this map was enough to convince me to keep my alarm system working, lock my doors AND load my shotgun! 🙂

  3. Some years ago a friend’s van was broken into in broad daylight while parked in their driveway; a smash-and-grab to get a purse left in plain view on the passenger seat. I asked the responding officer if this sort of thing was common in that neighborhood. ‘No,’ he replied. ‘This is a first.’

    It struck me that that’s what ‘rising crime rates’ in a neighborhood looks like: things that didn’t used to happen, suddenly ARE happening.

    ‘We’ve never had a problem leaving our doors unlocked’— until you do….

  4. Just as I would not allow a total stranger in our house without some kind of verification process, I am puzzled that there is even a smidgen of resistance to funding a border Wall. Our Country, Our Community and Our Homes are a sanctuary for peace and prosperity. I am okay with legal immigration, people of differing backgrounds, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation as long as my my values and differences are treated with respect. Until mankind can live in peace and harmony, I will continue to exercise my God given Rights to protect myself and my loved ones with locked doors, security tools and other preventative measures as necessary to avoid threats. Hope is not part of our plan. Avoidance and prevention is.

    • Stephen M Babbitt,

      Regarding the border wall, even most Democrat voters and Hispanics want to keep the illegals out. Nothing gets done because Democrat politicians want illegals to vote for them, and Republicans want cheap labor for the businessmen who donate to their party.

      Oh but illegals can’t vote, you say? Well some of them do vote illegally, that’s why we don’t have to show ID when we vote. The Democrats hope the illegals will one day become citizens and then vote for Democrats. If illegals voted for Republicans the Democrats would have built a wall in 1986.

      Kat Timpf doesn’t want to spend money on a wall. She wants to stop the free handouts. Imagine if illegals came here, but no one would give them money, food, healthcare or a job. They would go home, and others would stay home.

      I can understand why people want to come here, but they really should man up and make their own countries decent places to live. Are their countries corrupt and overrun by criminals? Then the men need to fix those problems. Oh, but it’s easier to just go to America, because the American men already fixed their problems long ago.

      If America is such a racist country, why do liberals want people to come here and be exploited by white men? Look around the world. Why are the countries which are desirable places to live run by white or Asian men? Does pointing that out make me a racist? Are facts racist?

      Democrats just want power and will do anything to get it and keep it. Facts don’t matter. They need a permanent underclass to vote to keep them in power. By promising people free stuff, they get the votes of the politically ignorant.

  6. My Mother used to be okay with leaving the door unlocked when they were home. I’ve suggested for years that she lock the door. They live in a nice community Then one day some random guy opened the front door of the house and walks in with a dog, and she asked him what he was doing there, and he asked if it was her dog. Guess who is much better about locking the doors now…

    I work for a company that supplies steel frames and doors. If you live out in the country, I recommend looking into getting some, it can make a difference. A few months ago a farmer came in to replace his door because some thieves had tried to jimmy (I that offensive to people named James? lol) it open. His remark was that he prefers paying $300 for a new door instead of having to replace $20,000+ worth of tools and equipment.

    Also, while I’m thinking of it, you insurance isn’t enough to cover replacing your possessions. That might not be true, but for the vast majority of people, it is true. Including my friend who thought he had more insurance than he thought he would need.

  7. I grew up just outside NYC and remember the 1970’s when crime there was through the roof. After moving to a sub-rural town in Western NY as an adult my wife and I were amazed by how many people left their garage doors open over night.

    We are a few miles outside a city where the per capita violent crime rate is not far behind Chicago’s. Gangs are a problem- and they can be mobile. There have been a couple of terror busts since 9/11. Although our town has seen few violent crimes in the 20 years we lived here- we know that no place is really “safe.” Perhaps “relatively” safe- but our doors are always locked and dead bolted; alarm on, safe locked. At night, I don’t answer the door- ever- unless it was the police (or other first responder positively identified). I just discreetly monitor and observe.

    Overnight, we each have a phone and flashlight. We also each have a semi-automatic rifle next to our side of the bed plus two spare mags. I also have a fully loaded 9mm plus two spare mags and a loaded 357 magnum with 3 speed loaders at the ready. Overkill? I don’t think so- just giving us options and backups- because guns are tools and tools can malfunction.

    The low crime area is great- but being prepared for the worst case scenario is even better. Because…you just never know and there might not be a second chance if things go downhill.

  9. All you people who Cry Out that America is a Peaceful Country, ARE LIVING IN A WORLD OF THE PAST, BUT JUST AWAKENED, OR DIED FROM IT, YET!!

    Your own Greedy Democratic Party is paying for “Open Borders”, to IMPORT ILLEGAL Alien, FRAUDULENT VOTER’S, in order to be able to Fraudulently “ELECT THEMSELVES INTO AN AMERICAN “DICTATORTSHIP”, to be Sure they can USE PUBLIC MONEY to Pay for everything “they Want”, but no one else will be able to do That!!

    Of Course, that WILL BANKRUPT AMERICA, SO they will HAVE TO TOTALLY DISARM THE AMERICAN CITIZEN’S FIRST, to avoid nasty things, LIKE BEING THROWN OUT OF OFFICE, PUT INTO PRISON, BEAT UP, SHOT, HUNG,& THE LIKE, WHICH WOULD END THEIR GREEDY, “WE ARE BETTER THAN YOU ARE, & YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE ME RICH, & POWERFUL, DREAMS!!

  10. I’ve been teaching shooting since 1983, and I’ve worked extensively with rape crisis agencies. I’ve heard lots of self-defense stories of all kinds, with good and not-so-good outcomes.

    Out of every 10, nine started out, “I was in a normal situation, on a routine day, in a safe location. Then…” SHTF

    Recently:
    “Larry, do you carry a gun when you answer the door?”
    “I carry a gun. Why would I put it away to answer the door.”

    • I put on my socks, shoes, ankle holster, pants, shoulder holster, and a polo shirt. They stay on until I shower before bed. Why take them off?

      But I’ve seen people who would walk in their front door, remove their shoes, and empty their pockets onto a table by the door. Some of them even removed their belts. None of them normally carried, but I have no doubt they would have ungunned too.

      I just can’t figure it. Why get half-undressed? If they left a softball-sized wad of keys on the table, yeah, I could see that. And some people don’t wear shoes inside, which I always thought was weird, before so many places started letting freaks defecate into the street. But if it’s for “comfort”, why not just put on pajamas or something?

  11. Dear Mas:

    thanks for the forum for this conversation. Too many of my students seek me out because they have survived one ” bad situation”.

    Larry Arnold- you comment is priceless. With your permission I will add it to my class.

  12. Couple of comments, having been involved in high level security and lived in the country awhile.

    1. Put blinds or drapes on your windows and keep them closed unless you’re looking out of them right then. I’ve been appalled (and occasionally riveted) at what I’ve seen through some folks windows. No, I wasn’t peeping, I was patrolling, on stakeout or posted.

    2. If you’ve got sliding glass patio doors, replace them with standard doors. They all leak heat and the vast majority can be opened faster by an practiced burglar than you can open them with a key.

    3. Well concealed game cameras can be an effective outside surveilance system. You can get very clear sequence photos or video in daylight. At night, facial images are good enough for ID.

  13. Many people seem to be of the illusion that you can just move to a better area… Most likely what you already have is as good as it gets for you.

  14. Always lock the doors day and night even if you live in a good neighborhood. Always leave lights on rather home or not. Carry a gun on you. With the gun and holster selection today, you don’t have an excuse. And yes, that means carrying a gun on you in your house and out in the yard. You will feel and be much safer.

  15. Excellent topic, Mass.

    I happen to live in a small town in Michigan. We have one cop on duty at a time. One of the first things that I did after taking your LFI-I class was to install motion sensitive lighting all around my house. As I told my next door neighbor, my aim is not to have the safest house in the world, just the safest one in the neighborhood.

  16. The house across the street was hit by a burglary team a week ago. The owner had installed tall steel gates on the side yard entrances, but didn’t yet have a lock on one of them. They kicked in a window near the back. The owner was running an errand, and his pre-teen daughter called him. Told her to call 911, and then he called me. I missed his calls.

    The police response was to send most of the on-duty cops code-2, who proceeded to set up a perimeter in the neighboring yards and WAIT FOR THEM TO LEAVE. She was talking to dispatch as they were attempting to kick in the door of the bathroom she was hiding in!

    They caught two of them. Video from another house indicates there may have been one they missed (different race and sex). This went down just before noon, in a town on the edge of Silicon Valley. We have a cattle ranch across the road. Said road has become a high traffic road for commuters heading for San Jose.

  17. We live in what most would consider the country with four dogs. My wife and two college aged kids are not especially security conscious. I am typically the first to turn in at night and, despite checking all locks before going to bed, often I would find an exterior door unlocked in the morning. Lectures, scary stories, etc. about what happens to trusting people who leave their houses unlocked produced only temporary results and soon I would find another door unlocked.

    So I replaced all of the exterior deadbolt locks with electronic locks that are unlocked by combination (key backup) and that can be programmed to automatically lock themselves. $100 or so each at the big box store. Problem solved and I’ve even found that I prefer using the combination to fumbling for a key when my hands are full. Plus there’s no home key on my key chain when I hand it to the valet parking attendant or if my keys are stolen.

    I also installed Blink home security cameras on the exterior of our house after hearing Tom Gresham praise them a couple of years ago on his radio show. They are motion activated and when they detect motion I get an instant notification and the video sent to my cell phone. They are unobtrusive, wireless, easy to install and after the original $150 or so purchase price there is no ongoing contract/cost. Its interesting seeing who comes to your door when you’re not around – and nice having a video record of their visit in case there is a problem.

  19. Living in a rural area in New England, we feel safe in our area yes, but not enough to keep our doors unlocked.

    Crime is growing here in our surrounding areas and it is only a matter of time before it spreads here.

    Our doors are locked at all times.

  20. I spent many years as a Detective in a town where “nothing happened” . I would respond to a burglary and when I inquired as to why the homeowner had left their alarm off and doors unlocked it was always because “nothing happens here.” I always responded , “well if that were true I wouldn’t be standing in your living room now, would I? !”

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