Curious about Village break-ins
 

Location? Isolated (backs up to golf course, preserve)? cul-de-sac? Are the owners snowbirds? Or are the break-ins a crime of opportunity? These are some questions. Maybe you have questions and answers to add.

A member of the Sherriff's Office spoke at our neighborhood meeting last week. All of the recent breaking have been through sliders at the rear of the house, no one was home, all homes were very close to main roads (Morse, Buena Vista etc.), jewelry and cash were the main items stolen, no house had a dog and the items stolen in almost every case were from the master bedroom.

Did they say the perps were walking...from their vehicle on a main road?

Sliders need sticks or PVC pipes to keep them from sliding..may help

You missed a lot of discussion on how to fix them. Good advice.

Apparently they are LIFTED out.

I posted an article on one way to prevent the sliders from being lifted out. This was followed up by an excellent alternative, place wooden rods in the tracks at the TOP of the sliders so they cannot be lifted up.

Do a search for the "break-in" thread, also this was just published in the news paper.

If you cannot find the info, send me a PM, WITH YOUR EMAIL, as I cannot send an attachment to a PM.

Hope this helps.

The window/slider is broken into? In Mexico we used 1.5 inch PVC on the INSIDE. Sticks or wood were susceptible to termites.

And none of the homes had active security systems.

According to the not to be mentioned online newspaper TV suffered 11 reported burglaries in February of this year.

I recommend installing an up to date security system. Several years ago after I moved into a home in a very nice "safe" neighborhood (not in TV) I had an alarm system installed, including some motion detectors in several rooms. Within a couple of months it went off during the day. When I came back to the house I could not tell anyone had even been into the home. Then I noticed I had inadvertently left one of the french doors opening onto the patio closed but unlocked. I called the alarm company. When they came out they told me the time of entry, which door he had come through (the unlocked one) and which rooms he had entered - in sequence! Nothing was taken since the alarm quickly sounded and scared the man.

In today's world I would not dream of owning an alarmless house anywhere!

A friend of mine said the breakins closest to her had a lot of trees and bushes where it would be easier to hide.
It didn't occur to me before that although I wanted to block out all my neighbors and try and make my house more private, that also would work against me when it came to security.

Since most sliders in the screened / enclosed porch area, it appears the robber would need to cut the screen or break into the porch, also.

You should be able to see this yourself on you key pad,, if it is a DSC system it is *3 for alarmed zones triped *2 for trouble zones

Get a good security system with cameras in and out that you can see on your smart phone.

I bet no one will ever use our bathroom again.

Gracie girl....where did you get that?

This was in 1996 and it was a hard wired DSC system. Today I use my iPhone to monitor my alarm systems and adjust my thermostats. The technology is there!

Ive noticed that Arden's Jewelers has high security safes, that are anchored to the concrete. Best way to protect ourselves from theft would be to lock up all valuables; cash, jewelry, etc. Something to consider...

How much would one of those high security safes cost?

They always head to the master bedroom where all the valuables are stored. It may seem strange but put them somewhere else. There are always many clever places to hide valuables such as in the garage, kitchen, etc.
I installed a motion sensor in the bedroom that sounds a piercing alarm if anyone enters the bedroom. I don't see a need to have a system monitored since if the alarm sounds they will run out of there and the alarm company will call the police long after they are gone.

See the thread "another Burglary" to see an article I posted, also, instead of the suggested aluminum, you could use small dowels 1/2 inch or small depending on the gap, or flat pieces of wood. Also, others have suggested placing screws in the top plate of the sliders and screwing the screws in just far enough to allow the sliders to move but not be lifted out.

Hope this helps, VT

and the guest bedroom?

Maybe.....I suspect that burglars understand the time line and know they still have some time in the house. Either way, I also believe that if my house is identified as monitored, and they look in the window and see the sensors, glass breaks etc they might just pass us by for an easier target.

And how will that change when the purchase of Brighthouse by Charter is complete?

I ordered online a "Simply Safe" security system. Great customer service. Easy to install. Uses 3M patented tape that holds firm yet allows removal to re-position components or take with you when you move. Eveything you need from winow/door, motion, water, temperature and glass breakage detection. Customize to your specific needs. My base station has a siren and I added an additional siren for my inclosed Florida room. I have 3 keypads, with the main one in the garage, by our entry door. The system is on a no delay alarm so if anyone breaches the security the sirens and alarm notification is immediate. You can have it monitored for $15 to $25 per month or just let the sirens do the job and also notify your neighbors. You add all these locking systems for your sliders, but without an alarm system burglers will have plenty of tiime to figure a way in. :police:

Simpli Safe
 

I too hv Simpli Safe. Awesome. Ck oi out . Simplisafe.com

If they go after valuables such as jewelry then seasonal residents would not be a target except during the winter months.

SimpliSafe (1-888-957-4675)
 

This is the system we have, and we could not be more pleased. Their customer service is outstanding. Phone number given above. We also learned recently that their smoke alarms are considerably more suited to today's furnishings and potential fires and added them next to the existing ones that were originally installed with our homes here in TV. They tie into the security system wirelessly. It's really a great system, well worth considering.

Hi neighbors, I read most recently in the newspaper that a young man had been arrested and believed to have burglarized one home and attempted at another home but nothing was taken. The person arrested was found at his girlfriend's mother's home in the Villages. He was not driving a vehicle and he had been observed walking in neighborhoods that were on the other side of 466A from where his girlfriend lived. He was arrested at the girlfriend's mother's home in the Villages.

I have never forgotten my big city upbringing to always pay attention to your surroundings and make observations not assumptions. The one time I made an assumption I am lucky to be alive to mention it today. Just this past week I was reading suggestions offered by a Sumter County Sheriff requesting that we take certain actions to preserve the crime scene if your home is burglarized and protecting ourselves from walking in on a burglar. He also suggested that if someone rings your doorbell or knocks that was unsolicited, we should call the sheriff's office and provide as much info as possible without engaging the person. They found that some of these burglars were selecting homes because they felt confident no one was at home. We all know that may not be true. Even a phone call hang up could also be a wrong number dialed when in fact the burglars were checking to be sure everyone was out of the home.

I hope this is helpful if you hadn't read it or heard about it.

We have one as well. We have 3 entry sensors, 2 motion detectors (will probably add a third), 2 glass break sensors, a panic button (in addition to the ones on the keypad and key chain), and a smoke alarm. The nice thing is that you can make the system as simple or complex as you want, and you can have anything from interactive monitoring to no monitoring at all. It is very configurable and easy to install. I would recommend you get a Verizon rather than a T-Mobile chip in your base station.

I am sure the rules allow, bUt I am offended Bright House jumps onto a thread about break-ins to promote their product.

Was at a VHA meeting and the Sheriffs office indicated the burglaries were done by a band of thieves that travel......hit an area and then move on. Several neighboring counties have had the same experience and they are working with Sumpter. The activity stopped near the end of February but Sumter and the other counties are still working the cases.

One interesting note: Although I called 2 security companies for pricing and what would be included, BOTH companies told me that even though I had a cat I could still have a motion detector because cats are small enough that it won't go off. Well, when the installer showed up, he noticed my cat tree and the first thing he said was "do you have a cat"? I said yes, but they told me it was not a problem. He said they are wrong because the problem with cats is... they climb up on stuff and then they are in the range of the motion detector. He said having a 50lb dog would be better than having a 10lb cat for that reason. Makes sense, that's what I had been thinking all along anyway, but figured they knew what they were talking about since more than one company said the same thing. So he did not install a motion detector for me, but also did not take anything off the cost either. I don't know why they can't give you correct information from the beginning. Why doesn't the installer talk to the sales reps or vice versa. It's very frustrating.

Here's an idea.
Fix your bed so that it looks like somebody is sleeping in it.

I bet the burglars won't remain in there long enough to see if it is real.

I will offer this suggestion, locate the motion sensor such that it will be able to detect people, but not be as sensitive to cats. I have seen several of these advertised as "pet friendly". For example directly over the door or other opening does not typically offer an location where a cat would be able to climb and trip the sensor.
Hope this helps.

I had a system and the cat was not detected.

In ref to a different post on this, if someone got in and nothing was stolen, it could have been one member of a team scouting for goods. Up north, my next door neighbor was alone in the house with her baby. This was an upscale neighborhood. In the middle of the night she heard an intruder in the house walking up the stairs. She pretended to be asleep. He came in sat on her bed and had enough gall to light a cigarette and smoke it. Then she heard a small cry from her baby in the next room. He got up and she could hear him going from room to room then finally she heard the front door close. She could still hear the baby softly making her normal noises so stayed put for 15 minutes. Then, she got up, grabbed the baby and went to her friend's house and called the police. The police said the intruder was part of a team. One would case the houses and where each valuable was located. Later the gang would swoop in and within a few minutes be gone with the goods. (In my case they may feel sorry for how little I have here and leave me something)
If these people are working in teams, this would explain why nothing would appear amiss.
IMHO, a sweet-tempered but really big looking dog with a good snarl beats putting wooden Dowling in the doors.

awesome idea.....and completely free. I would add leave on the radio to a talk show.

Another vote here for SimpliSafe.

Presently Angie's List has a simplisafe security system special for only $199

Anyone try security stickers strategically placed on a couple of windows and doors?

I have seen this as a recommendation, and I have seen websites that sell very realistic signs for the lawn etc., also there are some very good non monitored (no monthly fee) system that can be installed by anyone as they are wireless. One thing to keep in mind, the bad guys are probably aware of the designs of the fake signs, which means they might be an invitation.......