Home and Personal Safety

[phoenixgirl]

I realize this topic has been visited many times before, but I was thinking about how to better hide my jewelry today and found those hidden compartment food and toiletry cans, etc. Then I read the posts on here about how burglars are onto that.

No one mentioned the hidden compartments in books . . . Does anyone have any knowledge of burglars pulling all your books off the shelf looking for those?

Honestly, I don't really worry about being robbed here (third floor, front entrance has security code and we're the last unit, back alley entrance passes 18 other back doors and leads to very narrow alley with about 2 feet of space to reach street). We know all our neighbors . . . two of them got the dates we were supposed to be gone wrong and told us how worried they were about us, so I know they wouldn't just ignore suspicious activity. But I don't want to leave my valuables in some stupid place . . . DH has a brother with problems, and it wouldn't surprise me if something "went missing" while he was here, and you never know.

What's funny is that I feel a lot safer here in the city than I did in one of those nice complexes out in the suburbs. But I was on the ground floor and really afraid of somebody breaking in and attacking me. I got an alarm system installed with alarms on all points of entry. The alarm company guy told me I didn't need to put on one the window because chances were burglars would enter by the sliding glass doors, but I was like, "Um hello, I am spending hundreds of dollars to install this thing, obviously I want every point secure!" I never opened my door for men, and I learned my lesson when I had called the cops on my upstairs neighbors who were dropping beer bottles missile style from their balcony at 4 pm, and he sent his girlfriend to yell at me the next day. So now I don't open the door, period.

So I was wondering what tips and people have . . . I've read some of the old threads, so no need to repeat yourself if you don't feel like it. Where is a good place to store extra checks, passports, jewelry, etc? We have a hollow space behind our mirror in the bathroom, but I feel like it is really obvious so I just store the bathmat there. We also have those tiny spaces above our closets that old houses have, and mine is so full of junk that you have to balance on a ladder and carefully remove each item. So that would be a very inconvenient place for a robber to find something, but the problem is that the same applies to me. DH and I have a bunch of three ring binders from college on our bookcase, and I have slipped some things into those (hard to find even if you know to look there).

Aphisiglovessae mentioned a scary incident where someone came to ask to use the phone, let himself into the kitchen, asked really personal questions, and had to be urged to leave (and then was spotted hanging around outside for a month!). The point was brought up that you never know what you would do until it happens to you. That's definitely true. A year ago I had to travel up one floor in a hotel and a creepy guy started talking to me. It never occurred to me that he would ride from the 5th to the 6th floor with me, but thank goodness there were other people on the elevator. He was still really creepy and was in the lobby and trying to make eye contact with me whenever I went through there.

DH and I saw the Tour de France finish up in Paris last month, and while DH was in the bathroom some creepy old man came up to me and asked if I spoke English. I just shook my head (when they ask you that they are looking to take advantage of you somehow), and he started patting my knee and shoulder and asking different questions in both French and English. When I said, "Don't touch me!" that just seemed to encourage him (probably because I revealed that I spoke English). There were millions of people everywhere. I wasn't annoyed enough to give up my spot on the bench (they are scarce on the Champs Elysees the last day of the tour), and I didn't want to cause a big scene by screaming. I briefly considered driving my fingernails into his hand, but I didn't want to get into any legal trouble in a foreign country or hit by him. So don't ask me why, but I decided that the best thing to do was to beat him at his own game. I started batting my eyelashes and giving him a maniacal smile and saying, "Ooooh! I like it SO MUCH when you touch me! Oh yes! Oh, you are so good!" And his expression was like, "What the crap?" and he ran away, so however perverse my instinct was, it accomplished my goal.

I do carry pepperspray in my purse (and it's illegal to carry it onto school property in my state, but that's just too bad because there have been several shootings recently involving students, one across from school, and a gang was living in the apartment complex across the street trying to recruit students until a year ago), but I wasn't sure if it was legal in France so I left it at home. It's disguised as a really big pen. In Europe I always walked with my purse turned backwards so that the front part with my credit cards was against my abdomen. I always carry it over my head anyway (can't slip off that way). DH didn't carry a wallet, which made me feel better (and I always got to be in charge of what we spent money on -- a wife can't complain about that).

At Mont Martre we saw some poor American kids being conned by these African guys selling bracelets (they leap out at you, tie the bracelet on, and then demand that you pay them), and just after that a very suspicious guy was obviously looking for someone to pickpocket. He somehow got between me and my parents, and when I lunged back and blocked his access to my dad's back pocket where his wallet made an obvious bulge, the guy gave me a dirty look. My dad's pocket button was undone, which may have been an accident, or it may mean the guy had gotten farther than I thought.

Another time in Spain two men tried to rob my dad in broad daylight on a busy street -- one of them basically tackled my dad around the legs and wouldn't let go while the other went for the wallet. My dad always liked to walk behind us so that he could keep an eye on us, but I think me getting my butt pinched by some jerk is a lot less of a problem than him getting his wallet stolen while we're obliviously walking ahead of him. Six weeks ago he had a mini-stroke and lost 40% of his vision, so I felt like I had a good excuse to turn the tables and be the one to walk behind him.

 

[Mara]

personal safety for women is so important...a few months ago we had an incident in our local park where a guy stabbed this young girl he had been stalking for weeks apparently. what''s even scarier is that a bunch of us park people had seen him riding his bicycle around for a week before that and just looking generally creepy. i remembered him because one day i was out walking P and it was about 6pm on a weekday and there were a lot of people in the park and he kept riding his bike around the park loop and then as he passed us he would turn and look at us for 30 seconds, just a dead on stare like he was trying to memorize us or something. i just glared back at him and then when he went outside of the park loop....i hustled us over to the house really quickly because i didn''t want him to see where we lived. not like i felt like he was after US or anything, he just was really creepy and i didn''t want him to know we lived there or which house was ours. as i was closing the garage door, i saw him come back around and he was scanning left and right and i quickly jumped inside and closed the door. about 30 minutes later i went out onto the patio to water the plants and i saw him on the main street riding around looking around. totally creepy!! i felt so silly but i dropped to the ground on the patio (i have lots of plant coverage and we have huge bushes in front of the houses) and then crawled in the house and shut the door, because again, i didn''t want him to see where we lived. anyway it was totally creepy and it stuck with me and then a week later this girl was stabbed coming home from the mall with some friends. apparently this guy had been stalking her and hanging out around the park for weeks. they caught him within a week, he lived in the neighborhood and he was underage which just means he''ll be back out from juvi or detention or whatever within the year. kinda scary. but within the last few months, we have implemented a neighborhood watch campaign for both complexes, and i feel really happy that most of our neighbors and most of the other complex neighbors are nosy enough about people to watch pretty closely after that incident especially. but after the whole seeing the guy thing, greg wanted me to get mace to carry around with me or something that i could use. he also doesn''t want me walking around as much at dusk as i used to, so now he pretty much always walks with me.

at the neighborhood watch meeting, a police officer visited and we asked all sorts of questions like what do they recommend for personal safety. surprisingly enough he said if anyone ever attacks you, don''t scream ''help'' or anything like that. he said you should scream something like ''rape'' or ''fire'' was a good one. he said people ALWAYS come running for ''fire'' but not for ''help''. isn''t that kind of sad? anyway, he also said things like mace or pepper spray or the loud noise alarm keychain or something that either gets you some time or creates a really loud annoying noise will often scare the attacker and also get people''s attention.

he said that people are generally too trusting and that you should not leave doors open, windows open, garage doors open (even partway). he said that many people leave their garage doors open while in the house and don''t realize that someone just has to come into the garage, use TOOLS in your own garage to get in your locked house. he also said don''t leave your garage door opener in your car in a prominent place .someone just has to break into your car, take the garage door opener, look in your glove box for your car registration which should have your home address on it and by the time you get home, chances are your home has been burglarized.

it''s really scary to think about these super simple things putting your life or your home in danger...and it''s especially scary if you have a pet or something at home to worry about in your absence. he also said that typically burlgars or similar will not hassle a home with a dog, even a small one, because dogs can be powerful alert systems and can be dangerous even if they are small and fluffy. most people do not want to deal with a dog. same with an alarm system. anything that draws attention to what could be going on at the house.

lastly, he said some really obvious stuff but i guess it''s not obvious since he says people do it. never leave a note on the door for the UPS man going ''i''m out til 12, please leave package'' because that just advertises to someone you are out for the next 2 hours! great time to break in. stuff like that.

anyway, i always try to be very alert when i am out walking around....i am naturally pretty defensive in general and i tend to notice people and catalgue things for later...you can tell much of the time when someone is just plain up to no good. just stay alert and if you are a woman, take some self defense classes...if nothing else it just makes you feel more empowered to defend yourself if necessary.

 

[jcrow]

the one thing i''ve heard about the books with a hidden compartment is if you don''t keep your house well-dusted, the burgular will look for the area that has been used recently and look at that book. for instance, you have a shelf with 10 books and you haven''t dusted recently. you removed a book and put it back, the area in front of the book will have no dust. people i guess tend not to look at their books in their shelf very often and a clean spot on the shelf could be a sign for the thief that the book isn''t a book.

for me rule of thumb for hiding things in the house is if it''s hard for me to get to, it''s less likely for the thief to find. yes, it may be frustrating for me to get to, but it''s ok.

 

[rainbowtrout]

I have a bit of a phobia about serial killers/personal safety/etc, so I have to consciously try to form a balance...

One thing I have noticed that most people ignore is this: passwords. My grandparents are renovating, and they had a brand spanking new alarm system installed. What does my grandfather do? He types up the combo, leaves it on a cheat sheet on his desk THEN he makes the password the dog''s name, and writes the "cue" "Animal" on the sheet, thinking this is SO clever.

THEN he tells every contractor the passkey and code.


I hear to never make your combinations your birthday, your spouse''s or parent''s birthday, or any combination thereof. And NEVER EVER use your pet''s name.

Another vunerable point is basement windows.

 

[rainbowtrout]

Another point, more in line with Mara''s comments about women and safety:

Make sure no one can see in your windows. I live off a major street and everyone can just see in if we are not careful with the drapes. ALSO, if you live in a buliding with a fire escape--I don''t care that the ladder hoists up at the bottom or how hot the weather is--CLOSE YOUR WINDOW AT NIGHT. There is some large number of stranger rapes in NYC every year because of this. We have a fire escape and I lock the window and brace it with some wood at night. If I''m alone I also put a chair in front of the door.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Date: 8/13/2006 2:53:49 PM
Author:phoenixgirl
I realize this topic has been visited many times before, but I was thinking about how to better hide my jewelry today and found those hidden compartment food and toiletry cans, etc. Then I read the posts on here about how burglars are onto that.

No one mentioned the hidden compartments in books . . . Does anyone have any knowledge of burglars pulling all your books off the shelf looking for those?

Hi Phoenixgirl ~

The best way to "Hide" your jewelry and keep it from growing legs and walking off is to get a "safe".

A real safe the is built into the wall, or a real safe that bolts down to the floor joists and wall studs.

Other than that, you can try hiding your jewelry where ever ... but burglers are ruthless, this is their livelyhood and will go thru you whole house and not care about the condition they leave it in. They will even take one of your dresser drawers, empty all the clothes out and use it like a crate ... they will put whatever little things they think they can get money out of at a pawn shop or resale shop into it ... they will take anything ... no rhyme or reason to it all.

From what I understand, all the sentimental stuff that they take & can''t get any moola out of ... gets dumped into a dumpster!

As far as personal safety ... never can be too careful in this day & age! Peperspray is only as good as having it on and ready ... alot of people put it on their keychain, or in their purse ... It''s only going to be effective when it''s on and in your hands ... ready for an assault. Not going to do anyone anygood if it''s in your purse, and as your trying to open your apt door someone runs up behind you and shoves you into your own apt, only to take advantage of you.

Also, if you carry a purse with straps across your chest or around your neck ... it still is not safe. If the straps are visable, they can cut the strap and your purse is gone! Just like that! It is best when traveling to have an undergarmet purse ... or if you do have to have a purse ... wear another shirt over it, helping to conceal those straps that will go across your back/around your neck ... they will have a more difficult time cuting the strap and running with your purse. The gypsy''s in Europe are very clever and quick! My sister was warned by her fiance who grew up there, and she did witness a gypsy take a switchbalde and litterally slashed this lady''s back ... ran off with her purse and left her to bleed on the sidewalk! Oh the stories I have heard!

If you have jewelry, even costume ... when traveling it is best to leave it at home. It doesn''t matter if it is worth $10 or $10,000 if someone notices it, and wants it ... they will find a way to get it! Sometimes all you end up with is a few scratches and bruises ... but there have been times where they will cut of your fingers off or stab you to get what they want. It is really sad & scary that we live in a society that can prey so much on the unsuspecting!

Always watch your back! You never know. If it''s dark out ... always have a companion with you at all times.

Take care,

 

[perry]

I''m in agreement with Mrs Darlin Joy.

Safes can come in a varitity of forms. But unless your house has some really unusual construction features (very rare) - then most thieves will be able to find your hiding spots really easy.

Safes have limits too. Far to many people buy a small safe - one that is just screwed to a wall - only to find that the thief''s have pried it out and taken the whole safe.

More rare is for a thief to break into a safe they don''t want to carry - and that is sufficiently rare that it is in the realm of the professional.

So what you need is a small safe - easily and quickly opened (without keys) - that weighs enough so that thief''s wont take it far.

Here is my solution:

Start with a GunVault (for handguns) - and I advise you to stick with the original one as I still feel its the best built and has the best features.

www.gunvault.com
Next call arround to machine shops or metal working shops and tell them you want a 2" to 3" piece of plate steel that is drilled and tapped for mounting cap screws on the bolt pattern on the bottom of the gunvault (I used 1/2" long, 1/4" x 20 cap screws).

Prime and paint the plate steel black with lacqure. using 2 sided foam tape in a couple of places between the gunvault and the plate steel - assemble the gunvault onto the plate with the cap screws (tighten them).

Get a piece of cardboad (or heavy felt, or extruded insulation) to use between your gunvault and a table (bedstand?) to protect the table.

I did that about 15 years ago - and the gunvault works just fine... and I can open it in a flash (with either hand).

Remember to set your own passcode and practice with it a while. Put the "emergency access" keys in a safe place removed from the gunvault (and definatley do not lable what they are for). I would get a series of similar looking keys and have them all cluttered together somewhere in the basement or something. (I have had to use the key only twice in 15 years).

Someday I expect to find mine half way out of the house or perhaps in the yard. No one is going to just pry it loose and run away with it (You pick it up and waddle with it). There will be a large dent in the floor or yard where they drop it.

Of course, you can bolt any other suitable lock box to a thick steel plate for the same effect. I just like the hand open lock of the gunvault.

Perry

ps: If anyone was wondering. Wisconsin has a law that says you cannot have a loaded handgun in easy access to children under 12. Having one in a gunvault when you are not arround is suitable. Back in those days I was also living with roomates - and needed to keep their hands off of it too (they liked to play and shoot up my ammo). Of course, there''s pleanty of room for other things in it (especially the new larger one that is meant to store a handgun and other things).

 

[VegasAngel]

We keep our personal items in our 250 pound digital gun safe. It is heavy but not bolted to the floor/wall. We were going to bolt it to the floor but it is quite a job removing carpet and drilling into concrete. My MIL told us about of friend of hers who had the same safe as us & was robbed. They used a hand cart and took the entire safe. I have had a lot of strange things happen to me and am not trustful of others at all. I seam to attract weirdos of all sorts. I never open my door when someone knocks unless it is someone I am expecting. My uncle was beat up & robbed by men who were banging on his door telling him there was a fire hurry up & get out. When he opened the door they forced their way in and did whatever. When I had my condo I always kept a lock on the patio gate so people would stay out. One evening I didnt put the lock on after coming home. My idiot roomate opens the door to some guy saying he locked himself out of his house and asks if he can give him a ride to Walgreens to pick up his kids medication that he needs asap, his kid is diabetic blah blah blah. Me being a sympathetic person-NOT slams the door in his face.

Well the roommate opens the door back up and after listening to this guy ramble on agrees to give him a ride to Walgreens. Well, the roommate took a while to get ready by the time he got outside the guy was gone. About a week later I see an alert on the mailbox asking residents to beware of men knocking on your door for help. Turns out this was a crime ring. Once they got you in the car they stole your car, wallet, etc.. Didnt take long for me to get rid of the roommate.

 

[asscherisme]

I have a fear of personal safety as well.

Speaking of passwords, has anyone seen that movie Fear? The one with Mark Walbert and Reese Weatherspoon? I just rented it and what a creepty scary movie.

If thats not a reminder to NEVER give your password to anyone, I don''t know what is!

 

[rainwood]

A good way to protect your jewelry is to have a decoy jewelry box containing inexpensive costume jewelry or jewelry you no longer care about. Keep it in plain sight and in a logical place for jewelry. Also make sure it isn''t dusty so it looks like it is being used. Then put your good jewelry somewhere else that is not obvious or logical. The great thing about the decoy box is the burglars will think they found your jewelry and will stop looking for it. Worked for me the one time we were burglarized.

 

[MissCongeniality]

I used to teach classes for the state of CA and help out other retired cops teach pepper spray classes, defense classes, etc.

the one thing I remember that I heard while helping out with classes :

never hide your valuables or safe in the master bedroom. it is the first place the burglars go when they get in your home. put your jewelery, important papers, etc. in the safe, but put that safe somewhere else besides the master bedroom. they can also lift very heavy safes...so you''d probably want to bolt it to the ground, or make that safe really tough to find.

also, i hear that if your home is being tented for termintes, your house is a prime target during those days. burglars like that they are unoccupied and nobody can see them rummaging through the house because they have the big covering over the house.

Desiree

all of this talk reminds me of our own intruder when i was a small child. his name was gill and he walked in our house in the middle of the night and had NO CLOTHES on.

he was strung out on some mixture of crank or meth. he walked a half mile with no clothes on in the street, all the way to our house. it is a family story that is legendary.

 

[fire&ice]

Lock your car even if it''s in your driveway. My car was riffled through this past week. I''m unsure if they took anything - but I keep receipts stuffed in there - I think it was just kids looking for money - but still worry about ''information" that may have been taken. Creepy just to think people went through my stuff.

 

[Allisonfaye]

To tell you the truth, I really don''t care about being robbed other than how creepy it would feel to have someone in my home. I have insurance. I would be more worried about anyone hurting any of my family.

On a funny note, I have a lingerie chest with a ''secret'' drawer. I realized it was not so secret when my two year old cracked the code and found it. lol

 

[strmrdr]

Home and Personal Safety is not a thing its a process.

defense in layers and awareness are the only way to win.

By the time a hollow book will be of any use its much too late because the person has made it too far.
Think layers:
How do I keep him out of my neighborhood?
How do I keep him out of my yard?
How do I keep him out of my house?
How do I keep him out of my safe room?

The farther up the chain you stop the bad guys the safer you are.

 

[firebirdgold]

If my fi thinks he''ll ever talk me into getting a small dog he''s nuts. I love the worried look people get when they see let alone hear my monster dog! He''s extremely protective and extremely suspcious of strangers, so I take him everywhere I might feel uncomfortable including night-time errands. When the time comes for our next dog I''ll probably shell out for a trained german sheperd.

Attack dogs aside, I should probably worry more about security. My house is alarmed to it''s teeth including the screens, but I don''t always lock my door during the day. I also don''t have pepper spray or anything like that.

I do keep my valuables in a big heavy safe that''s bolted down and in an alarmed room. Not that I have a lot of valuables, it''s mostly papers and work stuff I can''t afford to lose. The only way I''d do a book hide-a-way is if I made it myself so it''d blend in with our giant collection of books.

 

[monarch64]

Unfortunately, we do not take security very seriously in our home. We had one instance of a possible attempted burglary (or robbery?) a year and a half ago when we weren''t home, which prompted us to install an ADT security system, but we weren''t so much fearful, more that we felt it would add to the resale value of our home!

Since then there haven''t been any problems, but we NEVER arm the security system. I guess we have a false sense of security because the signs are all over the place on the exterior of the house.

I feel pretty safe leaving the doors unlocked when I''m home and DH is out of town, until I retreat to bed at night. Then I lock the doors but don''t turn on the security system most of the time. Only time I do is when there is a concert in the park adjacent to us and I feel like there are possibly some folks who don''t live around here that may be looking to cause trouble. I keep a sawed-off baseball bat next to my side of the bed, the remote for the security system is velcroed to my nightstand (although that isn''t much use when I don''t turn the damn thing on, I know

), and I have a 30 lb. beagle who barks at falling leaves and any other motion or sound he feels aren''t "right." We actually feel that the $400 beagle was a better expenditure than the $1500 security system at this point--poor pizza delivery guys don''t know what to think when they see the little guy snarling and gnashing his teeth at them while I try to get between him and the door!

We have an informal neighborhood watch type of thing going--if anyone sees people loitering or hanging around abnormally we inform each other and if needed, call the police. We actually live right down the street from the FD and PD, and they are constantly patrolling the blocks around our house--not a night goes by I am not woken by sirens. Other than that it is a quiet neighborhood with young families and we are not about to fortress ourselves in deference to some idiot who''s high and needs money for drugs. I figure ADT signs will scare them off first, then the dog, and God help them if they are stupid enough to come upstairs after all that. Even if our system isn''t armed we can hit the panic button and the PD will be there right away.

Jewelry is a different story...I hide it all over the place. I have some in obscure places, such as pockets of clothes I rarely wear, some things are sealed in plastic zip-locs underneath the washer and dryer, and some I won''t tell you...you have to be creative and find places that are not easily accessible. (Think high or low.) Yes, it is a PITA sometimes to find things, but most pieces I don''t wear every day are in the obscure locations and don''t pose a problem. Write down where you have things hidden and keep it in your work desk/locker/whatever.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Thanks to all for the tips and horror stories.

Mara, I''m glad you trusted your instinct about that kid. I hope he finds his way to another area after he gets out of juvy. And I know what you mean about people not responding to, "Help!" This year at the high school where I teach I suddenly heard a girl screaming, "TEACHER!!! TEACHER!!! HELP US!!! HELP US!!!" At least I didn''t chicken out and ran to see what the matter was (my friend next door didn''t), but it was with a feeling of "oh drat." It turned out just to be a run of the mill fight. I think if I heard someone yelling for help on the street I would just call 9-1-1.

The suggestions about hiding spaces are all good. I think one thing we have going for us is how darn cramped our place is (less than 700 sq. feet). There is stuff stored everywhere, so it''s easy to hide things. If thieves tried to look through everything, they''d make a big mountain of stuff that they probably couldn''t get around.

Rainbowtrout, that''s good advice regarding passwords and windows. We only have one reachable window, and it''s covered in bars and always locked, but I suppose nothing is impenetrable.

When we get a house, we''ll get a safe, but right now, there''s nowhere to put it.

VegasAngel, good for you for trusting your instinct. In this day and age of cell phones, I can''t think of any reason why a stranger would need to choose your residence for help. That reminds me, one time at a rest stop in college this creepy looking guy knocked on the window of my car just after my friend and I had gotten in. I just gave him a shrug and drove off. We were at a rest stop, for goodness sake, so anything he needed didn''t have to come from me.

MissCongeniality . . . how scary that you had a naked intruder! Did you see him? That would be quite disturbing.

Monarch64, I like your ideas for where to hide things.

Perry, do you think thieves would look behind a phone jack? We have one that''s busted and fell out of the wall. I was thinking I could hide some things back there and then stick it back in place.