Home Invasions on the Rise
Unfortunately home invasions are on the rise. We can spend all day debating the reasons such as a collapse of values, law makers refusing to prosecute certain groups of people, no fathers in the homes raising their sons to be men, etc.
But since you and I can’t do diddly squat about society let me teach you how to make your home a castle that is nearly impervious to a home invasion.
If you follow these tips you will be able to prevent a home invasion from ever happening.
WARNING: This will be one of my most real and disturbing paragraphs I have ever written.
What Happens During a Home Invasion?
I’ve been scouring media outlets over the years doing research on what really happens during a home invasion and how they get into the house. Also why are people invading your home which I will cover a bit later.
So what happens?
It really depends on why they are breaking in. But it can be any of the following:
I’m not making this stuff up, it is the stuff from the most horrifying movies that you have ever seen but sometimes worse. I’ve seen stories of people tied up and cut with knives for hours and hours. Others are held at gun point while their underage daughter is raped in the next room.
What do you think is about to happen in the image below?
Look I’m not trying to ruin your day. The home invaders are. But if you follow the tips I give you then you won’t ever have to face this terrifying and life-changing experience.
Who Will Protect You from a Home Invasion?
When I was a child I experienced multiple burglaries and home invasions. I was raised by a single mother who was not self-defense savvy and I can tell you that if you are not prepared you will be at the mercy of your attacker.
There are folks out there who make blanket statements such as “nobody needs a gun” or “why would you need to protect yourself, that is what the police are for.”
Some make outlandish claims such as, “if someone broke in my house I would do xyz to them” even though they are neither physically trained nor psychologically ready for the terror of a home invasion.
One of my clients recently told me that he and a female friend of his were talking about home invasions and she said she would just “jump out of her window.”
He asked her if she practiced jumping out of her window to make sure she could and was able to successfully land from the 2 story drop.
I’m sure you know her answer LOL
Here is the reality:
My friends you are your own bodyguard against home invaders.
Let me teach you how to defend your castle.
The 5 Things a Home Invader Wants
There are 5 reasons your home might be invaded:
They Want Your Stuff
If they want your stuff it is because they know you have it. How did they find out?
Are you posting pictures of your watch or jewelry collection on social media?
Did you have a friend of a friend over and show him your gun collection?
Tip # 1… stop showing off your stuff to the world. Get your emotional hugs some other way.
To be fair perhaps a plumber or other service person cased the joint out when they were over fixing something.
Or your kid’s friends… yep I said it. Your kid’s sh*tty friends who have no morals. You know the ones that you didn’t tell your kid not to hang out with because you didn’t want to be “that kind of parent.” You wanted to be the cool mom or dad.
It will bite you in the butt sooner or later. You might as well learn to set boundaries and be a good parent now.
They Want What They Think You Have
If you live in a nicer neighborhood then criminals will think you have nicer things. Not much to rob from poor folk.
Also they generally believe that people who live in nicer neighborhoods are family people who won’t fight back. I sure hope they are wrong about you.
They Want You
This could either be because you pissed someone off or because they want to sexually assault someone living in the home.
I read a story about a man who sold dogs for dog fights. Some way or another he wronged some people. They kicked his door in and tied him and his nephew up. Then they tortured the man with a knife for hours until he finally died. Yikes!
My best advice is don’t go around doing people wrong. And never let yourself be tied up!
Cray Cray Druggy Picked Your House
Hey look, you didn’t do anything wrong. But if you follow my tips mister cray cray isn’t getting inside your castle.
Ditto for people who just get off on hurting others.
Make Your Home Hard to Invade
Ok ready for the tips to prevent a home invasion? Here we go.
Don’t Open the Door for Strangers
Dang! Doesn’t that sound like something parents should tell their children? Then please do.
The number one way that home invaders get inside a home is that people voluntarily open the door.
Seriously! But why would they?
A common strategy used in home invasions is to dress up like delivery people. FedEx, UPS, Pizza Hut, Door Dash, you name it.
They often have uniforms, boxes, bags with brand names on them, etc.
But they have a little surprise as well. Usually a gun held under the box and a friend or 2 around the corner.
You can’t see it in the picture above but this gun-wielding fake pizza delivery guy has another home invader around the corner hidden from view.
Look unless you know the person (and trust them) or are expecting a delivery, don’t open the door.
I’ve had clients that work for UPS. UPS and FedEx drivers knock, drop the package, and run. They have tons of deliveries to make and if they waited for people to open the door they would be working till midnight.
Food delivery people do the same thing. Just let them set the food down and open the door after they leave.
What about the police?
Look there is NO good reason that a police officer is at your door. No offense to our LEO friends but if they are at your house and you didn’t call them don’t open the door. There is a chance it isn’t a cop.
I hate to tell this story but it’s for your own good.
I met a man years ago who had spent a number of years in prison for various things. One of them was dressing up like a police officer and knocking on a woman’s door. As soon as she opened the door he rushed in. He raped her. I’ll leave it at that.
Please let every member of your house know not to open the door for strangers. Tell you children from the time they are able to open it and remind them over and over.
Keep All Doors Closed and Locked at All Times
I don’t care if you just ran to the mailbox, lock your darn door.
That is exactly when a home invader can get in.
You can crack windows open for a breeze by getting some wooden dowels cut to a length that only allows the window to open a couple of inches.
Add Armor to Your Doors
Your typical outside door is pretty sturdy. Many are made from steel and won’t break easily. Although some French doors or doors with lots of windows can be quite flimsy. If you have a flimsy door you should consider reinforcing it or replacing it.
While the door will not break the hardware and door frame can.
The door frame is wood and has strike plates made from metal held in by screws. That is where most doors break.
Unscrew your screws holding your strike plates, deadbolt plates (wall side), door hinges, door knob, deadbolt (door side) and frankly anything that has screws and check the length of the screws.
If they are short ¾” junk then know that they will easily rip out after a few hard kicks, maybe even 1.
Go to your local hardware store and buy some strong 3 ¾” steel screws and replace all of those wimpy screws. You will likely need to drill a pilot hole. Possibly into a steel door so get a drill bit that can handle drilling into steel.
Personally I went one step further and bought a product called Door Armor Max which gives reinforced strike plates, hinges and long screws. It is specifically made to prevent home invasions and it works.
Bruce Lee couldn’t kick my door down if he was 6’8″ and weighed 300 lbs!
Add Armor to Your Windows
This is the most expensive thing on my list of to dos so feel free to save this for last.
You can get a plastic film installed on your windows that will prevent the glass from breaking. It will shatter but it will remain intact due to the plastic film.
The film really isn’t that expensive the cost comes from having someone put it on. You can do it yourself just like window tint but make sure you know what you are doing or it won’t work and/or it will get bubbles in it and be visible.
The film is completely invisible unless you opt for the bullet-proof version which uses a thicker film and is slightly visible.
Don’t forget your sliding glass doors… In fact I would prioritize them over windows. What is someone going to try to break into first a tiny window where they have to crawl over broken glass or a big freaking door they smash out?
Ring Door Bells & Cameras
As much as I am a fan of having a Ring or some other camera so you can see (and record) who is at your front door… realize that it doesn’t stop a home invasion.
One of the tragic stories I read about was where the parents weren’t home and their teenage daughter was taken into a room and raped by 2 home invaders. And they watched on their security camera unable to do anything to stop it.
It can’t protect you.
It only provides an image of the masked person who invaded your home to the police who quite frankly… won’t follow up on it because they are understaffed and have 10,000 more items to do before their shift ends.
Seriously!
Make Your Home Look Unsafe to Invade
You know what a criminal is most afraid of? Getting caught. If you can make your house look less appealing than the one across the street then you just defended the home invasion without ever having to fight.
Motion Sensor Lights
Go piss off Al Gore and put lights all the way around your home so criminals have nowhere to hide.
But seriously put motion sensor lights on all sides of your home. Criminals don’t want to be seen and light freaks them out.
And solar powered motion lights will make even Al Gore smile… if he can even smile. Well at least it won’t add to your energy bill.
Remove or Trim Back Bushes
Speaking of criminals don’t want to be seen… you know what they hope you have all around your front door? Anything that blocks the view of nosy neighbors.
They want a good hiding spot so they can take their time breaking in or lie in wait to ambush you when you come home.
If you have anything that blocks people’s view of your home get rid of it.
Security Systems
You don’t really need a security monitoring company to make it look like you have one. Just go buy some cheap ADT or other company signs on Amazon. Get some window decals too. Put them on all sides of your home.
While you are at it maybe get a beware of man-eating dog sign too.
What Was That Noise?
Seriously! Someone is trying to get in…
But you are smart and listened to Brian. You have reinforced your doors and windows.
They baddies are doing their best but are having a rough time with it.
Here is what I would do in order:
A defensible position is one where you can see your door or wherever they are trying to break into. But if they were to shoot a gun through the window or door you could get behind a wall or other object sturdy enough to hopefully block a bullet.
Ideally they would have to get through you in order to get to your family.
Speaking of that, your family should know exactly what to do during an attempted home invasion.
Probably go to a far bedroom and call 911. Ideally all adults in the home will be trained with firearms, will be armed, and be ready.
When the police show up, which could take minutes or hours, make sure that you don’t answer the door with gun in hand. They will be on high alert and you don’t want to get mistaken for one of the criminals.
Conclusion
Home invasions are terrifying and life-changing. You don’t want to wind up in one if you have any possible ability to avoid one.
But if you follow these steps, especially don’t open the door and reinforce your windows and doors then odds are no one will even be able to get inside your home.
With those reinforced doors and windows it will take so much time and make so much noise that the home invaders will probably just give up and run so they don’t get caught.
Build that mote around your castle and rest with peace and security knowing that you have prevented a home invasion.
Until next time.
