Next, let's do car doors. I had a friend who refused to lock hers, saying a professional car thief can take any car he wants; locks wouldn't stop him, and forcing him to break the locks would simply damage your car. I told her while that may be true, a professional car thief is not interested in your nine-year-old mid-sized sedan; your big concern should be joy-riding teens or junkies who sell to chop shops, both of whom commit crimes of opportunity -- opportunities which are lessened by a simple lock.
Of course, I was raised in Chicago, where we lock our car doors even when parked inside our locked garages. Because, why wouldn't you?
I leave my car unlocked for this. TAKE IT. I need a new one. Of course, it’s safe as can be because it’s manual. At least from joyriders. I don’t know if junkies can operate it or not.
I lock my doors during the day when I'm home, as well as at night. Criminals who are willing to hurt you don't care what time of day it is. Better to have a few extra seconds to arm yourself as they batter down the door.
I have a Corso and a Pit that are a bit OVERLY responsive to any neighboring, let ALONE in-yard shenanigans. I do lock at night, and the security door is locked during the day….to keep Pittie IN. I think the sketchy skip my house.
Dog and locks if you have both. Big dog, big bark (Birch is 70 pounds? Good boy.) Slow them down, get your persuader and persuade them a life of crime is not conducive to a long life.
“Of course, if you did put poison-tipped spikes in your fireplace in New York, and some burglar ended up impaled and unalived, you’d be liable. The New York Post would say:
LILEKS (James) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.”
Not quite sure they’d say that, but…. Anyway.
When I was in barracks in the Army we all locked our doors.
Apparently locks were invented anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 years ago therefore, I call bushwa (I like that old-fashioned word) when people complain about how they used to be able to leave their doors unlocked. Thieving is common among primates, (including us), birds, and pretty much every other animal on earth, and always has been.
I actually do recall very clearly the first night I heard my mother say to Dad, "Did you lock the front door?" Because we just weren't in the habit of doing so.
But then, we lived in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, where every third man was a fireman or a cop, and every man had pretty much just gotten out of the military a few years earlier after having served in WWII, and nobody messed with them or with their families.
That is, until the very late 1960s and early 1970s, when everything changed.
I always lock. Everything. Once, I was awakened by someone walking the wooden walkway of the row of studios where I lived. It was about 2am and the person jiggled every lock on the wing over our covered parking. Calomp, calomp, calomp, calomp, to the next door. Jiggle. Calomp, calomp…
No-brainer for me: I live just a mile or so from our local Federal Correctional Institution and escapees have headed in our direction in the past. Plus, our proximity to NYC just teaches us to be wary.🫤
Neither I nor my family lock our doors with any consistency. If we are going on vacation maybe, but other than that almost never. It’s not geography over the years I’ve lived in sketchy areas and way out in the country. My family has never been robbed but we have been directly and peripherally involved in some scary violence and in none of those cases would a locked door mattered at all. I don’t have any statistics to back up my behavior just a fatalistic “what will happen will happen” attitude.
I may be the only one in the comments who doesn’t lock my doors. In fact, the back door jam is broke so it doesn’t even latch. You can just push the door open. We lived 4 hours away for a year and half, leaving our house unlived in, but the majority of our stuff was still here, for months at a time. I was totally prepared for the local teens to party here, the whole town knew we were gone, but no one messed with anything. But even when we are home, I don’t bother. I’ve got dogs and a gun.
Of course, the Hermans would have called ahead, and not just to crow about their new Dodge.
Now, knowing those neighborly Hermans, they might have armored up just to point out a lapse in my security perimeter, but no. They would have welded the sloped tungsten to their Humvee, like they tried last year.
Next, let's do car doors. I had a friend who refused to lock hers, saying a professional car thief can take any car he wants; locks wouldn't stop him, and forcing him to break the locks would simply damage your car. I told her while that may be true, a professional car thief is not interested in your nine-year-old mid-sized sedan; your big concern should be joy-riding teens or junkies who sell to chop shops, both of whom commit crimes of opportunity -- opportunities which are lessened by a simple lock.
Of course, I was raised in Chicago, where we lock our car doors even when parked inside our locked garages. Because, why wouldn't you?
I leave my car unlocked for this. TAKE IT. I need a new one. Of course, it’s safe as can be because it’s manual. At least from joyriders. I don’t know if junkies can operate it or not.
Back in the day people used to leave them unlocked with the key in it because what if someone needed it in an emergency?
I lock my doors during the day when I'm home, as well as at night. Criminals who are willing to hurt you don't care what time of day it is. Better to have a few extra seconds to arm yourself as they batter down the door.
Of course, having 4 German Shepherds (two of which are each over 100 lbs) react to the prox alerts on my driveway doesn't hurt any.
I have a Corso and a Pit that are a bit OVERLY responsive to any neighboring, let ALONE in-yard shenanigans. I do lock at night, and the security door is locked during the day….to keep Pittie IN. I think the sketchy skip my house.
I live in Asheville, NC and always lock my doors because bears know how to open them
I’d be more worried about all the burnouts
I lock my doors because the HOA declined my request for a moat with flaming oil. And they claim to have my best interests at heart. The nerve!
That’s a great idea. It should be standard. I’m going to see if I can turn the bar ditch into a moat.
What he said.
Dog and locks if you have both. Big dog, big bark (Birch is 70 pounds? Good boy.) Slow them down, get your persuader and persuade them a life of crime is not conducive to a long life.
Pair a little yippy dog with a big mean dog and you have a killer combination. The yipping gets the big dog all amped up. Burglar's nightmare.
“Of course, if you did put poison-tipped spikes in your fireplace in New York, and some burglar ended up impaled and unalived, you’d be liable. The New York Post would say:
LILEKS (James) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.”
Not quite sure they’d say that, but…. Anyway.
When I was in barracks in the Army we all locked our doors.
Apparently locks were invented anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 years ago therefore, I call bushwa (I like that old-fashioned word) when people complain about how they used to be able to leave their doors unlocked. Thieving is common among primates, (including us), birds, and pretty much every other animal on earth, and always has been.
I actually do recall very clearly the first night I heard my mother say to Dad, "Did you lock the front door?" Because we just weren't in the habit of doing so.
But then, we lived in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, where every third man was a fireman or a cop, and every man had pretty much just gotten out of the military a few years earlier after having served in WWII, and nobody messed with them or with their families.
That is, until the very late 1960s and early 1970s, when everything changed.
If you live in North Dakota, you’re so desperate for human companionship you’d never even consider locking out a visitor, even one with ill intent.
Dad was a police officer. We locked and double locked.
I always lock. Everything. Once, I was awakened by someone walking the wooden walkway of the row of studios where I lived. It was about 2am and the person jiggled every lock on the wing over our covered parking. Calomp, calomp, calomp, calomp, to the next door. Jiggle. Calomp, calomp…
Never think the worst cannot happen to you.
No-brainer for me: I live just a mile or so from our local Federal Correctional Institution and escapees have headed in our direction in the past. Plus, our proximity to NYC just teaches us to be wary.🫤
Most of the places where I’ve lived have been places where nobody locks their doors.
Neither I nor my family lock our doors with any consistency. If we are going on vacation maybe, but other than that almost never. It’s not geography over the years I’ve lived in sketchy areas and way out in the country. My family has never been robbed but we have been directly and peripherally involved in some scary violence and in none of those cases would a locked door mattered at all. I don’t have any statistics to back up my behavior just a fatalistic “what will happen will happen” attitude.
I may be the only one in the comments who doesn’t lock my doors. In fact, the back door jam is broke so it doesn’t even latch. You can just push the door open. We lived 4 hours away for a year and half, leaving our house unlived in, but the majority of our stuff was still here, for months at a time. I was totally prepared for the local teens to party here, the whole town knew we were gone, but no one messed with anything. But even when we are home, I don’t bother. I’ve got dogs and a gun.
Now Google "Burglar shot in Oklahoma."
Of course, the Hermans would have called ahead, and not just to crow about their new Dodge.
Now, knowing those neighborly Hermans, they might have armored up just to point out a lapse in my security perimeter, but no. They would have welded the sloped tungsten to their Humvee, like they tried last year.
Sure is good having them on *our* side!