Local home invasions are increasing!

Hi all,

Thanks for all the great ideas/suggestions. A few points, I have called SCPD before, they never ask for my name (phone number is blocked) and they have been really helpful, even telling me I can send my guns to any service company for work without using an FFL. I read the pistol handbook, I keep a downloaded copy that I make sure is the latest version. Under types of license, I have the target and hunting type F "Proper cause" as Musketeer pointed out. It means I can carry concealed to and from the range and/or hunting area, except through NYC (locked box). The rules do give them broad revocation power, I don't know how they use it in practice as I've not read about people losing their license. The booklet does mentions the locking of the gun, which is how I would keep it, hidden in a quick box for fast access instead of in the large gun safe. I'm sure it can't be loaded though, and getting around that could be tricky, although I am a fast loader with that glock fast loader.;) I guess I won't bother calling to ask about the gun at home, they never answer their phone anymore anyway. The police in the pistol license section are really different then if you called the main desk, which I never would, the pistol guys are much cooler. I remember when I first got my license in 1980 (Nassau county) there was a County rule that you had to belong to a gun club in order to have a permit and keep your guns in a locked box to and from the range. They have actually relaxed the rules on these issues and are more like upstate NY then NYC. Of course, they are not exactly Las Vegas when it comes to owning, carry, and shooting. A few more years and my son will be in College, maybe it'll be time to move off Long Island then, its too expensive and restrictive here anyway. Its a shame because it is a beautiful place to live and work.
 
which is how I would keep it, hidden in a quick box for fast access instead of in the large gun safe. I'm sure it can't be loaded though, and getting around that could be tricky, although I am a fast loader with that glock fast loader.
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Not fast enough access if you're worried about a home invasion. You won't have time to get to the room with the safe in it, let alone have time to open the safe and load the gun.

If you think you'll need the gun you need to have it on you. It will be secure that way and will also be handy. Having it unloaded will make it pretty useless to you.

Go ahead and get the quick box and a mag holder. Then if you have a home invasion and someone asks what happened, you can tell them that you carry the mag around with you loaded and that when you heard the noises you managed to run to the room with the quick box, open it, take out the gun, insert the loaded magazine, rack the slide and get back to the front door in time to stop the home invasion. :D
 
Great thread! Very informative and useful. Sorry to hear about the home invasion spree there.

On a side note, a long-term solution, if it's an option, is to consider the type of community one lives in. I realize this is not an option for many people because of economics, employment, etc. I used to live in the LA suburb of Carson, which is adjacent to the infamous city of Compton (birthplace of gangsta rap, always vying to be the #1 homicide city in the country for its size category) and just south of South-Central LA (Watts Riots, etc).

Carson itself is working middle-class but the crime rate is high because of its proximity. While residing there, my house did have a home invasion during the day when my wife's mom and her friend were inside. Traumatized the poor ladies. Also, there were ghetto gangbangers hanging around the block, drinking in the street corner, playing loud music, etc. and needless to say, there was plenty of opportunity for confrontation.

But that was one reason I was motivated in business, which did improve substantially, so I ended up having the option to move to another suburb here called Palos Verdes, where you just don't get home invasions (very rare) or anything of that magnitude. Heck, one of the communities here is called Rolling Hills, a gated city, and they have practically zero homicides year after year. Unfortunately, that's not yet an option for me as the real estate is super expensive.

Bottom line is that, for the long-term, a different community can make a difference.
 
First rule at home is keep the doors locked.

I recently saw a video on the web (can't find it now) where a guy kept a surveillance camera inside his home. The guy owned a bar and came home with two female friends at closing. As they were sitting and chatting, two guys simply opened the unlocked screen door to the patio. One guy was carrying a pistol (looked like a Mac 10 or similar) but the second guy did not have one visible.

One of the females goes into the bedroom where the guy without a visible handgun follows and then returns with the female and a handgun showing. The bar owner had a concealed carry permit and this was maybe his gun. At any rate, they forced all 3 to lie on the floor and executed them all. Bar owner made one feeble attempt to resist during the home invasion.

As for my family, we never answer the door to someone we don't know. Most times we won't even go to the door unless family or friends have called ahead to let us know they are coming.
 
PythonGuy, don't think the Nassau PD changed any rules to make things better for you. The to and from the range in a locked box was blatantly against the written law, it has to be allowed to be carried concealed at some time in order for it to be a Proper Cause permit, otherwise they are not complying with the law in issuing it.

I carry at home, it is my house and there is no rule saying I cannot. At night I will place the loaded gun in the top dresser draw next to the bed. My little girl cannot get to it that way while we are in the room. If I am not there it is in a locked box. When I am there the gun is loaded, either on my person or in its nighttime location. If you think you are going to be able to get a key or undo a compbination and open a lock box in the dark, after just awakenning, then locate the magazine and load the gun you are in for a surprise. My mags are at least stainless steel and the gun is hard chromed. You Glock is black as the night and the magazines are the same. Of course you could tunr the lights on, alerting any intruders and destroying your night vision...

Like I said, I understand your thinking 100%. It has been ingrained into you by the bad advice of the issuing authorities in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Understand though that none of them want you to even have a firearm, let alone have it readily available. Even many cops in this area who are supposedly pro citizen carry are not really when put to the test. Many of the gunowners of this state have been so brainwashed that the shotgun guys will write off the rifle guys and both will write off the handgun guys. Since everything is done to create firearms ignorance here and virtually no real Second Amendment supporters are going to move here the situation will probably only get worse. Many, like myself, are actively courting jobs in other more friendly states. I am talking to one real promising company in Northern VA at present...

Do not believe for one second that the SCPD does not know instantly who you are when you call. You ID being blocked does not apply to calls made to certain locations. Police stations and 911 are some of the exceptions. If you call them on anything but a public pay phone they know who you are.

The officers in the SCPD pistol buruea are a mixed lot. They all have the "superior LEO" attitude but some are better than others. At least one, my coworkers neighbor, is their on rubber gun patrol because he is a well know beligerent drunk that cannot be trusted on the street. The pistol Bureau strikes me as an excellent place to stick those who shouldn't be on the street anymore as the only people they routinely deal with are the ones with background records so clean you could eat off them, you and I.
 
Musketeer, I agree with you on every single point you make, neither county wants us to defend ourselves with firearms period. Just reading their pistol manual you can tell they discourage the use of firearms and go so far as to say even if its justified you will have to spend your own funds to defend yourself. The rules are murky about home gun use, are we guilty if we keep a loaded gun at home? Do we lock our kitchen knives away too? High traffic, high costs, and too many rules due to the need to control the masses. I've gotta get out of this place.
 
LOCKS-

I don't know how prevelant this is, but if you buy a door, especially a patio door, that has a lock already installed, chances are that its really easy to get a key for.

I used to work for a company that built patio doors. There were a total of 6 different keysets that the company used. That should give you a bit of something to think about.

Another anecdotal evidence that has me thinking that locks aren't the greatest protection as well- When my dad had his house remodeled, he had new doors put it. He ended up losing the keys in the mess shortly after the doors were installed. He went to the local lumberyard and asked about how he could get a key matched up, they gave him a dozen different keys to try- the door came from their lumberyard, so one of the keys was going to fit.
 
I guess there really aren't too many guns here in Long Island. My county, Suffolk, has about 1.5 million residents and here are the number of guns registered:
Total Active Pistol Licenses 28,682
Total Registered Handguns - (Including Police Officers) 92,078
That works out to about 6% of the population, if it was one gun for each. Of course I'm sure most own more then one, so a tiny portion of the population own legal handguns in Suffolk County. No wonder there were 33 home invasions this year, I'm surprised there aren't more! 95% or more of the population is unarmed, and since cops are included in the above munbers, the civilian total is much less. Anybody know the national average?
 
I am way past thinking that the bad guys wont harm you if they get what they want. And just because you live somewhere nice, dont think it cant happen to you.

Anyone with spare time should visit http://www.wichita-massacre.com/

Its a home invasion that happened in Wichita, Kansas that will chill your blood. Granted, their remote locality helped things, but how many people just act like sheep, stay quiet and hope things go away?

I'm not sure if I will carry around the house, but a gun is always nearby and I never open the door without checking to see who is there first.
 
Discourage Them

The suggestions for motion activated lights are excellent. They are easy to install and not very expensive. I doubt that a true home invasion (as opposed to a housebreaking) would be easily discouraged, but a loud dog barking might keep some criminals out. For those that don't want the things that do with having a real dog, you can buy a device what comes equipped with a wireless motion detector/sender and a "box" that houses the "dog". The bark is pretty loud and, properly positioned will make the person approaching the door think you have a real dog. I believe the unit is sold as "Robo Dog" and you can find it at Smarthome as well as some other sites. Last I saw the price for the complete unit was under $100 and you don't have to buy dog food!

If you have a sliding patio door, crooks can easily enter by lifting the locked door out of its track. To prevent this, CAREFULLY drill two holes in the track above the door frame. Install some # 8 sheet metal screws approx. 1.25 inches long - they need to be long enough to engage the far side of the track to form a "block" at both ends of the closed door. Position them so the door slides as normal. An old broomstick cut to length and laid in the track will prevent the door being slid open should someone force the rather weak lock that most patio doors come with. All windows at ground level should be "pinned" in the closed position. This will force a crook to break the window making noise which hopefully you will hear. Simple pins for this job can be made using 20 penny nails; drill a hole at an angle (slightly larger than the nail); the hole should be in the window frame (if the window is wooden) and go into the track. Nail should be a snug fit but can be removed by hand. For aluminum frame windows, the hole should be at 90 degrees to the window in the track.
Use a small block of wood (painted to match the window) with a slightly larger hole through it - nail passes through the wooden block wedging it to the top of the closed window.

Hope this helps. Obviously if you have a security professional among your acquaintences or living in your neighborhood, most of them will do a home security survey for free. Most of the time the police are not of much help with this, but some departments do have a crime prevention unit and they are normally pretty sharp.

John
 
It has just been announced that 2 of the gang in Nassau Co home invasions have been arrested.They are looking for 4 more .All are career criminals drugs, guns etc etc.
 
They caught two of the gang that did the original home invasions, the guys are from Crooklyn, I mean Brooklyn, need I say more? There are four others in the gang that robbed houses in Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau, all at gunpoint. The Nassau taskforce also got a member of the "bloods" street gang that beat and robbed a home on Halloween, while dressed in a mask in a copycat home invasion. No time to feel safe though, how many uncared for children are there in Brooklyn just waiting to take these guys places?:mad:
 
I decided a long time ago that I would never be tied up. That's one of my personal boundaries. I'd rather die fighting, even if it's hopeless.
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I agree with Pax on this. Also, never surrender your weapon. More importantly, never let yourself get in a situation where a thug tries to force you to do so.

Everyone should read the story of the Wichita massacre; it is an ugly and brutal ordeal that can happen to anyone who is not prepared. Go to www.wichita-massacre.com

I find it interesting that this story has largely been swept under the rug. The website addresses this and calls it "America's most suppressed massacre."

If the victims had been minorities and the attackers white, my guess is that the media would have given it air time for weeks and it would have been the "hate crime" of the century.

What kind of message does that send?
 
I'm really upset after reading about the Wichita massacre. It's disturbing to me that I had to hear about it from Progunner than our local news, or even national news channels.

As I told him, of course it was racially motivated. There's no way in hell the Carrs would have gone that far with what they did if the victims were ALL Black. I can still see them raping/murdering if the victims were Asian, as well. Btw- that was not meant as a racist statement against African Americans, as I'm a minority myself (Asian/White from Hawaii) but I'm just trying to point out the fact that it was a hate crime.

KyJim: So you don't even answer the door for the mailman, UPS guy, random friend dropping by, neighbor, etc? :confused: A little too paranoid for my tastes....then again, I always keep my door locked and have a peephole to spy on the person before opening the door.
 
My wife drives me crazy because she has a habit of leaving the door wide open (screen door closed). I grew up in a bad neighborhood and when I'm home the doors are closed and locked. I don't care how nice my neighborhood is now, I don't care if it is the middle of the day, my door are closed and locked. However, I will not walk around my house with my handgun, I have small children. I have an alarm system and decent lighting. Plan is wife and kids go out the back door and I hold them off at the front, while trying to trip the alarm to call the cops. If we are upstairs asleep. My wife goes to the kids room, locks the door, and takes the kids out the window. I'm holding the bad guys advance this time with a gun and a cell phone dialing 911. My theory is I will take the bullet, stab wound or beating as my family escapes. Unless you have your weapon drawn and pointing at the front door 24/7 you will not be able to stop someone in your family from being hurt or killed when a group of armed thugs kick down your door unexpectly.
 
However, I will not walk around my house with my handgun, I have small children.
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Funny, that's exactly why I walk around my house with my handgun! :D (I couldn't figure out a safer place to keep it accessible.)

To each his own.

pax

It is dangerous to confuse children with angels. -- David Fyfe
 
The way I see it, if you don't keep a gun by your side when you're in your house, then what's the point of having one IN the house?

BG: Hello, mind if I break into your home?
You: Sure, just let me go grab the handgun out of my safe. It'll only take a minute.
BG: Aight... just let me know when it's cool to shatter this sliding door.
You: Be right back.
BG [raising his voice so you can hear him from the other room]: Shame about the Astros, huh?
You: Don't remind me. ...Okay, I've got it.
BG: Right. Here goes! [Breaks into your home]
You: You know, I don't feel that I can shoot you now. After our conversation, I feel we have developed a bond between resident and assailant.
BG: I feel the same way. We should go bowling.
You: What about the glass?
BG: I'll pay for it if you let me take some stuff out of here.

Well... that went to kind of a weird place... still, I stand by my point.
 
"The way I see it, if you don't keep a gun by your side when you're in your house, then what's the point of having one IN the house?"

That's the conclusion that I came up with. The only way I know of that I would always have a gun right where I need it when I need it is to have it on my person. That way, I don't need to think: "Ok, they are kicking in the door, where is the closest gun?". No question where, if I've got it on my person or within arm's reach. It doesn't do me any good if it is in the safe. It does me no good if I'm downstairs and the gun is in the beside table upstairs. It does me no good if it is in the closet. So I've either got one pocket carry, IWB or sitting right by my side.

After all, the sliding glass patio door is just right there, right in eyesight of the family room, and the up-stairs are right in front of the entry way door. I have no guarantee that I would have any time at all to fetch a weapon, not given the way my house is laid out. It isn't a bad layout for "lights out" defense on the 2nd floor, but there just isn't a good way to get upstairs if an invasion happens while I/we are downstairs.

About small children: We don't have any and won't, so it isn't an issue.
 
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