Do you keep your dwelling locked all the time?

We locked up when we lived in the city, but out here in the boondocks, we're not concerned about crime and break-ins, etc. We lock up at night, and when we leave the house, but when we're home, the doors are usually unlocked.
 

All entries are locked day and night. Front door is behind a 10-12' locked security gate that can only be opened via a buzzer in the house or a key. The front door is never unlocked except to enter or exit the house.

Side and back doors are behind padlocked gates. When I awaken I open the wooden back and side doors but their heavy security screen doors remain locked until we head off to bed. The breeze comes in but the house remains secure from unwanted visitors of every type, from mosquitoes on up.

DH & I don't think twice about unlocking doors to go into the yard, then relocking when we come back in. It's part of the routine of entering and exiting.
 

I keep my place locked up all the time, except when I'm working outside. I also have a wrought-iron security gate that's always closed.
I only had one break in attempt & it was 28 years ago. It came very close to turning out bad. I don't want another one.
I wish it didn't have to be that way.
 
StarSong said:
All entries are locked day and night. Front door is behind a 10-12' locked security gate that can only be opened via a buzzer in the house or a key. The front door is never unlocked except to enter or exit the house.

Side and back doors are behind padlocked gates. When I awaken I open the wooden back and side doors but their heavy security screen doors remain locked until we head off to bed. The breeze comes in but the house remains secure from unwanted visitors of every type, from mosquitoes on up.

DH & I don't think twice about unlocking doors to go into the yard, then relocking when we come back in. It's part of the routine of entering and exiting.
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Good lord, I'd feel like I lived in a prison... :eek:...I understand with all the gun crime in the USA this would probably be necessary in high crime areas...but how sad it is..
 
A common house design is to have an entry from your garage directly into your house. We keep that door locked most of the time too. If we go out, it’s locked. Many feel that if the garage door is closed, that’s good enough.

Recently read a warning from a fellow who went camping. His truck at the campsite was broken in to. He returned home the next morning to find they had stolen his garage door opener & insurance papers with his address. Using these, they went into his house via the unlocked interior garage door.
 
Yep, locked up pretty much 24/7. I have a dog and she is very good about alerting me to noises but she's too little to do anything if someone gets in. She's learned the chime sound from the Ring camera when it detects motion and goes to the door when she hears that in order to put her two cents worth in so I always know if there is anyone or anything meddling around - usually a cat. I live within a block of the mall and have watched as cops chase shoplifters from there down the street to my location. Don't want to make it easy for them to find a hiding place. Also have had several weirdos knock on the (locked) front door and beg me to let them in to use the phone or express some kind of emergency. I'll call some help for them but they are not coming inside. So far no break in attempts here. People across the street had a very expensive bicycle stolen from their garage. People next door have had attempts to break into his work truck which he leaves parked in the driveway at night. I became much more aware of the need to be cautious when I was visiting a friend for the evening and we were watching tv. I kept hearing something like a slight bang from the bedroom. She got up to check, opened the back door and then grabbed her shotgun she kept by the door. She saw there was a man who had gotten the screen off the window and was apparently trying to raise the window to get into the apartment. Of course he ran and the police didn't locate him. Since that time I have been careful to keep the doors and windows locked. I also have an alarm system that I arm when I leave the house and was told I should really keep it armed all the time, even when at home. I added the Ring cameras mainly for curiosity to see what goes on out there at night. I intend to add digital locks as well. Sounds like a fortress but when you are a female and live alone I don't want to take any chances.
 
First, I live out in the sticks. I'm 75, alone, and disabled. I keep my door unlocked all the time. I do have a history of getting hauled out of my p[lace by EMTs. I was on the floor, calling 911, and telling the dispatcher that my door was unlocked. But I could hear the EMTs looking around for a lock box, and trying to figure out how to get in. Now, I'm yelling that the door is open, and I can hear the dispatcher telling them the door is open. This goes on for 10 minutes. Finally, somebody tries the door and finds out it's open. I thought that if this is the grief I have to go through with an open door, can you imagine how long it would take with a locked door. Hell, I'd be long gone. So, in view of my age, and health, I never lock my door.
 
hollydolly said:
Good lord, I'd feel like I lived in a prison... :eek:...I understand with all the gun crime in the USA this would probably be necessary in high crime areas...but how sad it is..
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I can see how you would interpret it that way, but TBH it's second nature for most who live in cities and suburbs.

Police warn people to not be easy pickings for those with bad intentions, and to not provide temptation to someone who isn't necessarily looking for an opportunity, but will take advantage when one presents itself. Sort of like not leaving laptops visible in one's automobile while shopping.

Locks, security cameras, alarm systems, fenced yards, and watchful neighbors help contribute to a secure neighborhood.
 
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Oh we have security cameras, and Video ring doorbell.. mature trees.. high hedges and fences.. no need to live like a prisoner with locked doors as well.. :ROFLMAO:

I was born and raised in the city.. we never had high hedging, high fences, video cameras, as one does today .. yet we were never burgled...
 
Screen and patio door locked if I leave the room. Front door is always locked. If I go out for just a bit then door in sun room is closed but not locked. We have a key on the wreath on the sun room door and our cleaners are aware of this.
 
I grew up in East Texas and we never locked the doors and left keys in the vehicles.

However, when I left home to go to work in the Oilfields all that changed.

ms gamboolgal and I have always kept our vehicles and the house locked up.
We installed Zombie/Burglar Bars years ago.
Anybody breaking in will need some tools and make a helluva racket - it will give us plenty of time to prepare to hold a Prayer Meeting with the Pilgrims.....

No one wakes up and plans to be a victim of a crime that day..... There is some sick people in the world today.
 
Butterfly said:
I keep my doors locked all the time, and my car, too. No sense asking for trouble.
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When I saw your avatar in the replies I thought to myself, "With all the years @Butterfly has spent attached to the legal field, she's undoubtedly seen and heard about some serious crimes. Betting dollars to doughnuts, she locks everything up tightly."
Turns out I was right.

We are all products of our experiences and upbringing. My husband and I both grew up in security conscious families so mirroring that behavior comes naturally to us. Our children are the same.

My parents were burglarized a couple of times early in their marriage. Also, when my mother was a small child nearly 100 years ago, from the other side of a window curtain she watched someone attempt to break into a second floor window of her grandmother's two-family home. Mom kept quiet while Great-grandma waited until he wedged the window open. As he was grabbing hold of inside of the sill to hoist himself in, GG wound up and smacked those offending hands hard with a fireplace poker. He screamed, dropped to the ground and was howling as he ran down the block, probably nursing broken bones as a souvenir.

My husband's family had their own experiences with criminal elements during and after migrating west during the Dust Bowl, and also kept their homes locked up tightly.
 
Ronni said:
This is sort of an offshoot of my other thread about who locks up at night.

I was intrigued by the statement from some of you that your place is always locked because we don’t keep our house locked when we’re home. We’re in and out all the time when we’re here. We use our back porch all the time unless it’s really cold, I’m in and out walking the dog, we both have projects going on in the shop, I’m outside watering the plants and tending to the veggies…I mean there’s just so much activity between the two of us when we’re home that it just makes no sense to keep things locked up.

Even after dark we’re in and out….it’s really peaceful to sit on the porch with the candles lit and chat. Or I might run out to the shop and put a final coat of paint on whatever the current project is, or Ron will pound a few more nails in his.

I guess if we lived in an apartment it’d be different, and I know some of you do. But for the rest of you, do you stay locked up when you’re home?
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Only when both my daughter and i are gone. Occasionally have to bolt the entry doors because the wind can be strong enough to pop them open. House is 150+ yrs old pretty sure the latch on Main Entrance that faces east is close to that old from it's design. We live in very rural area, have told teens sometimes go on burglary kicks but having big dogs tends to dissuade people with ill intent. Actually even small dogs...cause the barking carries and neighbors will look to see what's up (Could be a coyote or other predator that will come to your place next.) i don't mind the wild animals as long as they stay out of the 'house yard' kind of like knowing they pass thru, eat and sometimes sleep on our acreage. (4.9 acres mostly left wild).
 
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