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My nightmare scenario, as mentioned by another commenter, is of being present in the house when the burglar comes. I don't know what I would do or want in that

My nightmare scenario, as mentioned by another commenter, is of being present in the house when the burglar comes. I don't know what I would do or want in that case. Sometimes, when I am awakened at night by some sound, I have often wondered what I'd do if I do in fact find an intruder in the house. As someone who does not own a gun and would probably not last long in hand to hand combat with an unarmed person, let alone someone with a knife or gun, I almost wish that I am NOT awakened from my sleep so that the situation ideally does not escalate into anything that can put me in physical danger. At worst, I lose some valuables. Anyone have any thoughts on this? [Edit: Lots of helpful replies here. Thanks everyone!]

omginternets 10y ago
>My nightmare scenario, as mentioned by another commenter, is of being present in the house when the burglar comes. Really? My nightmare scenario is for these things to have network connections (oh wait) and to work in concert for surveillance purposes. I'm perpetually amazed at the wolves people invite into their homes. I'm looking at you, Alexa. It's bad enough owning a cell phone...
hcurtiss 10y ago
Get a full size dog. And an ADT sign outside. I couple these with the means of defending myself and my family (i.e., a bedside gun in a biometric safe and training to use them), but to each their own.
- appleiigs 10y ago
  To add to your comment, important to have the right type of dog and one that is trained. My previous full sized dogs would happily welcome any visitor. My current dobermans don't. Train the dogs to bark and bite an arm on command. Some people say "oh, my dog will know when to protect me"... really? You're going to rely on a dog's judgement of the situation? I also don't want the dog to just react after I'm getting punched in the face. There has been numerous times where there is an odd noise in the house. They sleep in my bedroom so I just open the bedroom door and tell them "go get 'em" and I follow them out there while the wife stays behind.
bmelton 10y ago
I've been in a home that was burgled, and slept through it. It wasn't until I was woken up by my wife asking what I had done with the X-box that it got weird. Knowing that we had two dogs and three people living in the home, none of whom were apparently woken by the intruders? That freaked me out for quite a while.
smt88 10y ago
If you value your safety, don't buy a gun. Owning a gun makes the people in your household statistically more likely to be killed both inside and outside the household[1]. It also makes you more likely to murder an innocent person or have the gun used against a family member[2]. 1. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-guns-in-home-increase-suicide-homicide-risk/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-guns-in-home-increase-suic... 2. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/defensive-gun-ownership-myth-114262 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/defensive-gun...
- hcurtiss 10y ago
  Those points remain in contention. Here's the rebuttal, also published in Politico. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/defensive-gun-ownership-gary-kleck-response-115082 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/defensive-gun...
  - smt88 10y ago
    Kleck's science is terrible. There's an entertaining overview of it on the Science Vs. podcast[1]. His rebuttal is basically debunked at the bottom of the rebuttal itself. 1. https://gimletmedia.com/episode/guns/ https://gimletmedia.com/episode/guns/
- BearGoesChirp 10y ago
  Does it actually make you... or is it a correlation vs causation? Neither of those sources are ones I would trust for being able to tell apart correlation and causation.
  - smt88 10y ago
    It's causation when the gun used to harm you is your own gun.
- posixplz 10y ago
  Why make such blanket statements and logically loose arguments? You might as well advise the commenter to refrain from buying knives and baseball bats, too. Because, statistically, you're much more likely to be killed with a knife or a baseball bat in the commission of a crime. A gun is a tool with a high(er) degree of lethality. Just like any other tool in the house, if one is not trained and practiced in its use, one is far more likely to make an error when using it in an emergency situation. If you want to make blanket advice statements, at least qualify them. The responsible thing to say, in this situation, is, "Please don't buy a gun without undergoing proper training." Guns are a force multiplier/equalizer and we live in a society where guns are easily obtained by criminals. Telling law abiding citizens to strictly avoid force-multipliers like firearms, in our society, benefits the criminals and anti-gun lobby -- but it doesn't benefit the person to whom you've replied. In fact, you've only perpetuated the cycle of fear by trying to instill more fear in your argument to avoid guns (lest they kill a family member, murder an innocent person or be shot with the firearm).
jsmthrowaway 10y ago
The kind of person who is in your home on the prowl rarely wants to escalate to Murder 1, unless they're after you and not your things. If you're not confident in your ability to subdue or do not have an opportunity, comply and protect your family. Best you can do, even with training; waking up you're at a disadvantage and don't know if they have backup. I know an Air Force major who has won awards for hand to hand combat and he still let his stuff go. Smart. Your goal should be to get them out. Grease those wheels. Offer more. Be blunt. Nothing you own is worth the escalation.
- kinkrtyavimoodh 10y ago
  They might not have come with the intention to murder (if they did, I am already toast), but it's not uncommon for such things to randomly escalate from a simple burglary into a total disaster. The intruder can freak out or suddenly feel exposed and take an unintentional drastic step. My point it that it's very difficult to second guess these things and anything can happen in the heat of the moment.
monkmartinez 10y ago
Not a fun thought experiment to be sure. I own a gun, and I am constantly awoken in the middle of the night for my "real job" so I have an unfair advantage. That is, I generally have my wits about me very quickly post eye opening. Still, I am not sure that discharging a firearm in the darkness of my house would be easy. I am in good shape due to said job, but that doesn't mean the burglar comes after me, they may have my 7 y.o. "hostage"... or something. I would probably try to negotiate with a burglar. The only thing I really care about are pictures, videos and my family. They can literally have the rest... funny that sometimes I am a bit jealous of people when their houses burn to the ground. They get to start over... I always hope they keep offsite backups of what really matters.
- jdavis703 10y ago
  I would question whether pictures or videos really matter. I think it's the memories that are more important (I'm assuming these pictures and videos have sentimental value, and minimal financial value). It's why I really don't take many pictures when I'm on vacation, at family gatherings, etc.
  - athenot 10y ago
    Pictures can help relive the memories. When I take pictures on vacation, it's not to show off to my friends how cool of a place I'm at (ok, sometimes I'm guilty of that). It's so that afterwards I can look at the picture with my family, and remember the experiences & feelings that went along that static picture. And who knows what state my mind will be when I get old: those pictures may come in super handy in a few decades.
    - hueving 10y ago
      Why not backup the pictures and video off site as well so the entire house is disposable?
  - appleiigs 10y ago
    When I'm on vacation or at family gatherings, I rarely take photos too. So many photos taken nowadays that I don't need to take any unless I see something that others aren't paying attention to. People are always very willing to share given the tech these days.
ArlenBales 10y ago
Hide and call 911 (or whatever emergency number for your country) is usually the advice police give. If you're not living alone, it's a bit more complicated. Instruct your family to know how to hide in situations of home invasion and to call 911. Engaging with burglars is not really worth the risk. Valuables can be replaced, life cannot. As for preventative measures, you could get a dog or two (and train them properly), multiple loud alarms all over the house, and put night-vision enabled cameras in very visible places pointed at entry points (the cameras should be obvious to the burglar that it's a camera, it might scare them off). If you want to go further, burglars tend to not burglarize homes that they know are occupied or with people awake. If you leave lights on or audible TV/radio/music on, it might be enough for them to back out. That could be distracting to sleep/power-bill-costly though.
adamsea 10y ago
Live in a nice neighborhood the police pay attention to. Install an alarm system which makes a lot of noise and calls the cops, probably most people trying to break in will not stick around once the alarm goes off. Statistically the chances of a breakin, especially by some sort of violent uber-cat-burglar, are probably quite low. [Edit] And as another poster said, get a dog. It's the principle of parking a crappy car next to a Mercedes. You just need to convince the car thief to steal the other guys car, ie, convince the burglar there are easier targets around.
adamsea 10y ago
Live in a nice neighborhood the police pay attention to. Install an alarm system which makes a lot of noise and calls the cops, probably most people trying to break in will not stick around once the alarm goes off. Statistically the chances of a breakin, especially by some sort of violent uber-cat-burglar, are probably quite low.
glibgil 10y ago
> I don't know what I would do or want in that case Leave the house. Quietly slip out a window or a back door
- kinkrtyavimoodh 10y ago
  That's a good suggestion. Unfortunately I don't live on the ground floor...
  - Razengan 10y ago
    Then you loudly slip out a window..
oh_sigh 10y ago
Buy a gun if you're a responsible individual. If you aren't, then take solace in the fact that the odds are low that your house will ever be broken in to, let alone while you are there

omginternets 10y ago

>My nightmare scenario, as mentioned by another commenter, is of being present in the house when the burglar comes. Really? My nightmare scenario is for these things to have network connections (oh wait) and to work in concert for surveillance purposes. I'm perpetually amazed at the wolves people invite into their homes. I'm looking at you, Alexa. It's bad enough owning a cell phone...

hcurtiss 10y ago

Get a full size dog. And an ADT sign outside. I couple these with the means of defending myself and my family (i.e., a bedside gun in a biometric safe and training to use them), but to each their own.

appleiigs 10y ago
To add to your comment, important to have the right type of dog and one that is trained. My previous full sized dogs would happily welcome any visitor. My current dobermans don't. Train the dogs to bark and bite an arm on command. Some people say "oh, my dog will know when to protect me"... really? You're going to rely on a dog's judgement of the situation? I also don't want the dog to just react after I'm getting punched in the face. There has been numerous times where there is an odd noise in the house. They sleep in my bedroom so I just open the bedroom door and tell them "go get 'em" and I follow them out there while the wife stays behind.

bmelton 10y ago

I've been in a home that was burgled, and slept through it. It wasn't until I was woken up by my wife asking what I had done with the X-box that it got weird. Knowing that we had two dogs and three people living in the home, none of whom were apparently woken by the intruders? That freaked me out for quite a while.

smt88 10y ago

If you value your safety, don't buy a gun. Owning a gun makes the people in your household statistically more likely to be killed both inside and outside the household[1]. It also makes you more likely to murder an innocent person or have the gun used against a family member[2]. 1. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-guns-in-home-increase-suicide-homicide-risk/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-guns-in-home-increase-suic... 2. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/defensive-gun-ownership-myth-114262 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/defensive-gun...

hcurtiss 10y ago
Those points remain in contention. Here's the rebuttal, also published in Politico. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/defensive-gun-ownership-gary-kleck-response-115082 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/defensive-gun...
- smt88 10y ago
  Kleck's science is terrible. There's an entertaining overview of it on the Science Vs. podcast[1]. His rebuttal is basically debunked at the bottom of the rebuttal itself. 1. https://gimletmedia.com/episode/guns/ https://gimletmedia.com/episode/guns/
BearGoesChirp 10y ago
Does it actually make you... or is it a correlation vs causation? Neither of those sources are ones I would trust for being able to tell apart correlation and causation.
- smt88 10y ago
  It's causation when the gun used to harm you is your own gun.
posixplz 10y ago
Why make such blanket statements and logically loose arguments? You might as well advise the commenter to refrain from buying knives and baseball bats, too. Because, statistically, you're much more likely to be killed with a knife or a baseball bat in the commission of a crime. A gun is a tool with a high(er) degree of lethality. Just like any other tool in the house, if one is not trained and practiced in its use, one is far more likely to make an error when using it in an emergency situation. If you want to make blanket advice statements, at least qualify them. The responsible thing to say, in this situation, is, "Please don't buy a gun without undergoing proper training." Guns are a force multiplier/equalizer and we live in a society where guns are easily obtained by criminals. Telling law abiding citizens to strictly avoid force-multipliers like firearms, in our society, benefits the criminals and anti-gun lobby -- but it doesn't benefit the person to whom you've replied. In fact, you've only perpetuated the cycle of fear by trying to instill more fear in your argument to avoid guns (lest they kill a family member, murder an innocent person or be shot with the firearm).

jsmthrowaway 10y ago

The kind of person who is in your home on the prowl rarely wants to escalate to Murder 1, unless they're after you and not your things. If you're not confident in your ability to subdue or do not have an opportunity, comply and protect your family. Best you can do, even with training; waking up you're at a disadvantage and don't know if they have backup. I know an Air Force major who has won awards for hand to hand combat and he still let his stuff go. Smart. Your goal should be to get them out. Grease those wheels. Offer more. Be blunt. Nothing you own is worth the escalation.

kinkrtyavimoodh 10y ago
They might not have come with the intention to murder (if they did, I am already toast), but it's not uncommon for such things to randomly escalate from a simple burglary into a total disaster. The intruder can freak out or suddenly feel exposed and take an unintentional drastic step. My point it that it's very difficult to second guess these things and anything can happen in the heat of the moment.

monkmartinez 10y ago

Not a fun thought experiment to be sure. I own a gun, and I am constantly awoken in the middle of the night for my "real job" so I have an unfair advantage. That is, I generally have my wits about me very quickly post eye opening. Still, I am not sure that discharging a firearm in the darkness of my house would be easy. I am in good shape due to said job, but that doesn't mean the burglar comes after me, they may have my 7 y.o. "hostage"... or something. I would probably try to negotiate with a burglar. The only thing I really care about are pictures, videos and my family. They can literally have the rest... funny that sometimes I am a bit jealous of people when their houses burn to the ground. They get to start over... I always hope they keep offsite backups of what really matters.

jdavis703 10y ago
I would question whether pictures or videos really matter. I think it's the memories that are more important (I'm assuming these pictures and videos have sentimental value, and minimal financial value). It's why I really don't take many pictures when I'm on vacation, at family gatherings, etc.
- athenot 10y ago
  Pictures can help relive the memories. When I take pictures on vacation, it's not to show off to my friends how cool of a place I'm at (ok, sometimes I'm guilty of that). It's so that afterwards I can look at the picture with my family, and remember the experiences & feelings that went along that static picture. And who knows what state my mind will be when I get old: those pictures may come in super handy in a few decades.
  - hueving 10y ago
    Why not backup the pictures and video off site as well so the entire house is disposable?
- appleiigs 10y ago
  When I'm on vacation or at family gatherings, I rarely take photos too. So many photos taken nowadays that I don't need to take any unless I see something that others aren't paying attention to. People are always very willing to share given the tech these days.

ArlenBales 10y ago

Hide and call 911 (or whatever emergency number for your country) is usually the advice police give. If you're not living alone, it's a bit more complicated. Instruct your family to know how to hide in situations of home invasion and to call 911. Engaging with burglars is not really worth the risk. Valuables can be replaced, life cannot. As for preventative measures, you could get a dog or two (and train them properly), multiple loud alarms all over the house, and put night-vision enabled cameras in very visible places pointed at entry points (the cameras should be obvious to the burglar that it's a camera, it might scare them off). If you want to go further, burglars tend to not burglarize homes that they know are occupied or with people awake. If you leave lights on or audible TV/radio/music on, it might be enough for them to back out. That could be distracting to sleep/power-bill-costly though.

adamsea 10y ago

Live in a nice neighborhood the police pay attention to. Install an alarm system which makes a lot of noise and calls the cops, probably most people trying to break in will not stick around once the alarm goes off. Statistically the chances of a breakin, especially by some sort of violent uber-cat-burglar, are probably quite low. [Edit] And as another poster said, get a dog. It's the principle of parking a crappy car next to a Mercedes. You just need to convince the car thief to steal the other guys car, ie, convince the burglar there are easier targets around.

adamsea 10y ago

glibgil 10y ago

> I don't know what I would do or want in that case Leave the house. Quietly slip out a window or a back door

kinkrtyavimoodh 10y ago
That's a good suggestion. Unfortunately I don't live on the ground floor...
- Razengan 10y ago
  Then you loudly slip out a window..

oh_sigh 10y ago

Buy a gun if you're a responsible individual. If you aren't, then take solace in the fact that the odds are low that your house will ever be broken in to, let alone while you are there