Do you lock your doors
 

Greetings-

Just recently moved to The Villages from South Florida and I noticed that many people here in The Villages don't lock their doors.

Many new friends that I have made contact with here in The Villages not only don't lock their homes, but they also leave their car doors unlocked, some leave their golf cart keys in the ignition and some even leave their garage doors open.

I also noticed that while driving around the new construction areas of The Villages, many of the contractors leave a lot of valuable construction material unsecured.

Am I just being paranoid or is The Villages really that safe ? Thanks !

very safe, but still lock up

Our electronic lock automatically relocks doors after 30 seconds or a minute, so going out on a walk around the hogeye doesn't require keys, and yes its safe, 99.9% of the time, but you don't want to be the 0.1% either

It was nice of you to let those who are looking for an area where homes are not being locked that you have many friends who do exactly that. Before we moved down here, the neighborhood in which we lived had several months of burglaries, all in homes that were not locked. We always lock our doors and set the alarm. In our 51 years of being married we have been burglarized 3 times, twice they broke into the house and one we found out later was the landlord of a home we rented when we just got married. In one instance we were upstairs sleeping, not a good feeling when you realize the next morning what could have happened. Always lock your doors, you really don't know who is living in your neighborhood.

Nowhere in 2020 shouldn’t or should you’re door’s be unlocked. Unlocked doors invites thieves and roofing carpetbaggers to name few around here. Few Drug addicts everywhere looking to finance next fix.

no i never lock my doors , but i carry a big gun.

I always lock my doors anywhere I go in the world. Partly it is just habit. I like to find everything where I left them. This way I can only blame hubby if I can’t find something....

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for those who respond that you DO NOT lock your doors, thank you.

And, please supply your address and a note when you expect to be gone and for how long.

just sayin'.
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Thanks.

Yep...lock the doors...claymore mines in the foyer too

yeah I don't think you're relating what most of do or don't do. most lock their doors, lock their cars and don't leave keys in their carts(except in executive golf cart lots). no idea at where you get your facts, but I would guess you're overstating your facts.

It is so hard to change a habit that you have had for a lifetime. Guns in N.J. were and are a no-no. I believe the idea that anyone in Florida could be strapped put the thought of a person cruising through your house, garage, or car on hold. I was shamed into leaving the car unlocked for a full night and only made it until about 1 AM. I got up and locked it.

It's a habit that I really don't want to change. As the years pass by I would think security would be more and more important as defending yourself without a weapon is getting harder and harder. Putting any additional challenge in our paths such as not locking up is NOTHING but nonsensical to me. It does not compute.

At one point when I was in N.J. and flipping house as a side hustle, I think I have seen it all. We had a house stripped of all the copper plumbing, another one where they broke in and took the Appliances and the Manuals. During that particular extravaganza, the people who broke in took the life of two beautiful guard dogs. They have companies that rent the Dogs to you. The straw that broke my back was when the actually took the front door from a house that was just inspected and deemed complete the day before. I guess they never saw a house with two sidelights.

Lockup so I don't worry about you! :pray:

We have reasons for locking up. It's been our practice and a survival skill. :boom:

Sumter Sheriff recommends locking doors so we do.

I grew up on Long Island and had a NYC apartment when I was in my twenties.
I always lock up, always put on our alarm, and always know where my purse is. ☺️

I don’t lock front door because it could be pushed in easily
Other doors and garage always locked

My idea of a walk on the wild side is to not lock the door into the house from the garage. But the other doors are locked.

We have owned several houses throughout the years, and we always have the locks changed as soon as we take possession. We also always change the garage code.

Even though you are buying from perfectly nice people, you never know how many keys are out there somewhere.

Just think — you could come home to find a stranger drinking your beer or taking a nap on your couch because the family had moved but did not tell him. :shocked:

I will assume the people that don't lock their doors or own guns have never had a reason to.

I have electronic locks, several security cameras, lots of fire power and other levels of protection. I've been shot at more than once, robbed, made half dozen arrest at gun point and been in dozens of street fights. I've lived in some bad areas. The last place I lived, a drug dealer came up to me as I was rehabbing my house, she welcomed me to the neighborhood. She was in her 60's and a skinny white lady. She said she was a thief and a drug dealer if I needed anything to let her know. I then installed security cameras and security bars on the doors and windows. I also found out that the Warlocks had a house one block over.

I feel very safe here in TV but old habits die hard.

Yes we do. There are thieves that have moved here also.

Sometimes it’s the people we allow in our homes that do the stealing. Family, so called friends and people that do service work in and around our homes. Please be careful!

Couldn't agree anymore.
Many front doors here in The Villages have a plastic decorative insert that can be easily pushed-in to gain easy access to a residence. Also a firm push on the front door will also gain an easy entry.

When we first moved here (19 yrs ago) we did not lock up like we do now. There are toooo many undesirables amongst us & the druggies need to support their habit ... would love some valuables! Yes we lock up even tho our valuables are only valuables to us!

I nearly always lock my house and car. I carry my keys in my pocket all the time. That’s just the sort of person I am.

That said, I don’t recall there being ANY burglaries of houses in The Villages since February. NONE. There were several burglaries of cars parked on the street back around March, I think, but that person was caught. So if you don’t lock your door, you are probably fine. In a grocery store parking lot, if you leave a valuable in the car, lock the car! You never know who might park next to your car.

This is NOT the case in some of the surrounding communities. Many of them have much higher crime rates. Where there is drug abuse and unemployment and poor educations, there is crime. Drug abuse is a huge problem in this part of Florida—but not really in The Villages, except among the children of some of the owners.

Remember, no one here is a Villages native. Everyone has come from somewhere else. Think about that then decide if you want to leave your doors unlocked.

.....and do those people (who don't lock up) realize how stupid they would look? They get robbed and when the police come to investigate, they say, "No, nothing was locked up." OH, but of course, they would never admit to their own stupidity.

We're from S. FL also and always lock doors, car everything.

Actually - I am a Florida native 53 years since birth so... I bought here at 28 - How ???
Because they told me the Benjamin's on my cash were all over 100 years each

And no... as a kid, we never locked a door - that only started recently if you hear me

-Steven Dean -

Harder to push in if locked. :ohdear:

This is not Utopia like some think. Anyone anywhere who leaves any doors unlocked needs to rethink that poor idea. How hard is it to lock ip? Takes about 2 seconds of your day. Would you load up your car with shopping from Kohls or Beals and keep your doors open while you catch some lunch? TV isnt as safe as some think. The age of the residents alone make it vulnerable to crime

It should be the norm. Use common sense.

Geeez. We need cops to tell us to lock up???

Do you lock your doors
 

I can’t believe that this question was even posted with replies

There is a police video showing how to harden your front door with several long screws. There are also door hardening kits available. Very easy to do and very effective.

Yes I keep my doors locked. I have a screen for my garage that doesn’t lock but I lock the door into the house. I wouldn’t mind if someone wanted hubby’s junk in the garage 😄

The houses are so similar, I’m afraid someone will accidentally walk into my house. That is the reason I lock our doors And if we forget when we go shopping or one night I don’t worry about it.

No! You’re not being paranoid. It’s stupid to leave house doors or car doors unlock
 

No, you’re not being paranoid. I wouldn’t even consider leaving my house or car unlocked. We don’t live in a bubble contrary to what some might say. This is a big city and there are the same problems here as anywhere else.

Hmm...I'm not really understanding this philosophy. Is the thought that thieves/burglars wouldn't try to access through the front door?

Notwithstanding whether the door can be forced open - and honestly, that's probably true for almost any door - I come from the frame of mind that you're only as secure as your weakest link provides. An unlocked door is about as weak as it gets, security-wise.

Why do people lock car doors? It's certainly not because a car window can't be broken. They do it because it makes it harder for a thief to get into the car without doing extra work - work that could easily draw attention from others.

I retired from the Miami-Dade Police Dept. Although our crime rate here is considerably lower than Miami, locking home and vehicle doors is a prudent thing to do. Lock up !

Although most of the Villages area is very safe, it doesn't mean that criminal trolls from the outside aren't cruising neighborhoods looking for an easy mark. It has happened almost throughout the Villages over the years. Someone in our village recently had their bicycles taken out of their open garage while they were home. Leaving doors unlocked, garages open for long periods and especially keys in ignition, is not a good practice here or anywhere.

Need to lock home doors ?
 

Life is filled "PROBABILITIES". Whether you'll be alive tomorrow, get in a car accident today etc,., etc. Some probabilities are higher than others - like a stranger in The Villages trying to enter your house. Car and golf cart keys a little higher.

People from small towns and rural areas generally feel one way; people from big cities might feel differently. I lock my doors out of habit, with little concern for mischief.

I once lived in Houston, in a high-rise bldg. I would go downstairs to the lobby to get my mail. When the ladies sitting sitting on the couches found I didn't lock my door ON THE TWELTH FLOOR, with TWO electronic doors to enter the building they were aghast !

Everyone has their own risk tolerance.

A few weeks ago, I heard someone stole a bike out of an open garage. Wife went to work, left garage open. A few minutes later husband went to get the bike, and it was gone. It was near Lake Sumter. Sorry for the redundancy, I didn't see the same post.