Would you sleep with your door unlocked at night.

[Treacle]

In 1980 my brother shot one of his neighbors through the window while the man was watching Billy Graham. The door was locked. He shot the knob. That didn't work. So he knocked in the front window with the butt of his gun, went inside and shot two adult. They died, as did two more neighbors down the road. He shot them through the window also. Thus began the most horrid nightmare. It nearly destroyed my loving parents, and I had to help them cope. They were at his house at the time he sneaked out his gun. I mentioned this on this site years ago. It not only destroyed the lives of his victims and their families, some of whom we knew, but also destroyed my marriage - my husband was ashamed of me because of my brother's actions. It destroyed everything I believed in. Except for my sister none of my family was there for me, and I was the one who took care of the legal stuff, etc. I'm bringing this up now because I want to dispel any illusion that there is safety. One can take precautions, but when someone is determined and mentally unbalanced because of prescriptions drugs they can do anything. My brother is a case in point. He finally died in prison in 2016, and I no longer had to fear him having me killed.

I'm so so sorry for YOU Phonenix. Clearly your brother had problems which no one picked up (I'm making that assumption) and you paid a heavy price along with others. I'm just relieved that you do not live with that fear anymore.

 

[Pecos]

In 1980 my brother shot one of his neighbors through the window while the man was watching Billy Graham. The door was locked. He shot the knob. That didn't work. So he knocked in the front window with the butt of his gun, went inside and shot two adult. They died, as did two more neighbors down the road. He shot them through the window also. Thus began the most horrid nightmare. It nearly destroyed my loving parents, and I had to help them cope. They were at his house at the time he sneaked out his gun. I mentioned this on this site years ago. It not only destroyed the lives of his victims and their families, some of whom we knew, but also destroyed my marriage - my husband was ashamed of me because of my brother's actions. It destroyed everything I believed in. Except for my sister none of my family was there for me, and I was the one who took care of the legal stuff, etc. I'm bringing this up now because I want to dispel any illusion that there is safety. One can take precautions, but when someone is determined and mentally unbalanced because of prescriptions drugs they can do anything. My brother is a case in point. He finally died in prison in 2016, and I no longer had to fear him having me killed.

Wow, that is an extremely rough thing to have to deal with. You have my deepest sympathy.

 

[Kayelle]

I find it sad that people have to live like this. Our doors are only locked at night - and sometimes we forget. The front door is rarely used here and the back door is always open if we're at home or in the garden. In the time I've lived here there has only been one alleged burglary, and that turned out to be an insurance scam.

I used to live like you do Capt.
Many moons ago in my "previous life" I felt quite safe without much thought to locks. We often would leave the door unlocked separating the kitchen and garage. My laptop computer was on the desk in the kitchen, and one morning my husband came into the bedroom asking where my laptop was. Whaaaat??? My laptop was gone and there was my broken ashtray on the floor, but my diamond wedding rings were still in the holder by the sink.
A home invasion robbery while we slept with our dog will sure get your attention. I can only imagine what could have happened if we had confronted the jerks. Shudder...
All doors are locked when we retire for bed.

 

[Devi]

We keep our doors locked at all times. It's not much trouble, and it's safer. (And it's not as if we go in and out all day.)

 

[debodun]

I leave the screen doors open at night in the hottest part of the summer (like now). They are locked, though, but leaving them open doesn't keep me awake. Lucky to live in a very low crime area.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

Nope. I don't lock my front door. The reason is I live alone. I've been taken to the hospital in an ambulance a few times. I don't want anything to stop them from assisting me, so I keep the front door unlocked. Lock boxes sound good, but I found they just delay assistance. I've been on the floor yelling at the dispatcher that my door is unlocked, and I can hear the crew, outside my front door, still wondering how they are going to get it.
This isn't TV, when the crew busts down the door and saves you This is the real world with litigation and stand your ground laws, and complicated plans for a lock box are in the way. Locking my door would only put up a barrier in the way of getting medical help.
At first, I was frightened, but then if I get murdered, well, that was probably the way I was supposed to go. Who knows. Doesn't bother me, anymorw.

 

[PamfromTx]

We always lock our doors .

 

[Phoenix]

I woke up one night in Hawaii around 3 in the morning to go to the bathroom and encountered a cat burglar at the top of the stairs. I was in my early 20's and not thinking too straight when I chased him down the stairs, out the back door, and down the sidewalk between the apartment buildings. He was pretty fast and I did not catch him which is probably a good thing as I soon realized that I was buck naked. He did look pretty worried, and I beat a hasty trip home.

This guy had done his homework. He hit the Navy housing complex on a payday night, and he knew where all the dogs lived ahead of time. He cut through the screened portion of the louvered windows on 13 back doors, reached through the gap and unlocked the doors. He extremely quiet and only went for cash. I did not have a dog at the time and it did not take long for me to correct that blatant deficiency.

I did learn a thing or two from that episode: 1 pay more attention to door security, and 2 that I was foolish in charging into battle without knowing what I was facing. He did have a knife, but then I probably convinced him that I was crazy. I am a little saner these days.

That would have scared the kawadden out of me, especially when I was younger. These days I'm not sure. I had to work my way through my fear after what my brother did. I used B.F. Skinners self-modification of behavior techniques to get over it. And I started my writing career so I could tell my family's story. I served as my own therapist that way. I abandoned my other career plans after that. It was life changing in all ways possible.

Thank all of you here who have responded to my tragedy. Like anything that happens we can grow so much by being determined to not allow them to cripple us. We can also use it to become more compassionate.

 

[fmdog44]

What?!

 

[Sunny]

I only have one door to my apartment, and it is always locked.

 

[Lakeland living]

Dangerous times we live in, even before the pandemic and things are going down hill fast.
My doors are locked, mainly to keep the dog or dogs in. I have a security system that works great. Common sense is the best way
to go. Start with dogs and cameras. Both cause certain people to avoid them and I tell that to everyone. Buying guns can get you killed or you could kill a friend etc. If you don't know about guns stay clear of them.

 

[Lakeland living]

thought surely that'd be evident by now without asking

it's not a long trek

right this way

Yup, most of us know we are fine, the rest of the world is totally messed and so on. Nice hat Gary. I settled for a raccoon, really keeps the head warm in winter.

 

[old medic]

When we sold our old place, It was funny as hell..... when they asked for the keys we told them we didnt have any...
25 years and never locked the doors

 

[BC Flash]

The doors are always locked - whether I am in the house, in the garden or away. A key pad lock is installed on the back door so a key is not necessary.

A "VICIOUS DOG" sign on the front door (with the dog(s) barking and body slamming the door) keeps the "door to door" sales people away.

 

[oscash]

I have a good friend who is paranoid about the locks at her place, she is always checking to see if they are locked. One day when she arrived home after work to her 1st floor apartment, she opened the front door to discover a mess in her home. The thieves had come in through the manhole in the hallway and then into the manhole in her bathroom. They stole jewelry, and a number of heirlooms. She never got them back. I always check my doors before going out and even before going to bed.

 

[Alligatorob]

Would you sleep with your door unlocked at night.

Yep, always do. Here anyway, depends on where I'm sleeping.

 

[Pepper]

What's a "manhole?" and why should it be in a bathroom @oscash? Manholes in a street, but within a bldg?

 

[Paladin1950]

Being a former resident of New York City, I keep everything locked up. During summer with the screen door, it's always locked. If the main door is closed, then maybe I don't lock the screen door. I even lock my car when I go in the store.

 

[oldaunt]

The only time I lock up is when I leave the property. I have a Chow in the yard and a terrier in the house, no one is sneaking up on me.

 

[Lewkat]

No brainer, this one. Not a chance.

 

[Bella]

No, I don't sleep with my doors unlocked. That doesn't strike me as a smart thing to do.

 

[Pepper]

My locks are so old I bet a person with a credit card could get in. As for the chain on the door, one good push & Voila! "For goniffs iz nishta keyn" For a thief there are no locks.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I live in the sticks. And my front door is never locked. This goes back to the night I passed out and was unable to get off the floor. I called "911". When help came, they were looking around for a lock box. I kept telling 911 the door was open, and I could hear him saying this over the ambulance's radio, but nobody was paying attention to it. After a while somebody tried the door, and it was open. Since then, I figured which was more likely- to get ax murdered, or die, because nobody could get in to help me. So, I keep my door unlocked.

 

[David777]

Single person living alone without dog in dense urban region = ...(guess)

 

[TheOtherRick]

I live in small town America, my door is always unlocked. Weather permitting, the door is open for ventilation, and a good breeze is coming in now. We have our share of meth heads here but they've never bothered me.