Home Invasions – A Growing Epidemic In U.S.
Earlier this week, we ran a story highlighting a recent episode of Spike TV’’s , Surviving Disaster. The post and the show focused on ‘How To Survive A Home Invasion‘. It was a brief post with a small video clip, however the response was anything but small. Within just the first couple of hours of posting, over 1000 people had read it… That’s unusual for a post that is not a “breaking news event”. I received a number of emails and a variety of questions.
Why so much interest? I’m still not completely sure but I believe it’s partially due to the following. To most people home invasions are a shockingly new and horrific type of crime that few are prepared for, or know how to prepare for. Most have read about them, are shocked by the violent and disturbing nature, but they themselves and the people they know have not been personally affected. People see the rising epidemic and understand that it’s no longer a crime relegated to just the big cities. They see the stories in their local newspaper and they’re afraid it could just as easily happen to them. They want to know how to prepare and hopefully prevent such an attack.
So how bad is it…. Take a look, the stories listed below. All of these stories appeared in the news in the past 24 – 36 hours, yet they represent only a fraction of the home invasions that are taking place across the country. Keep in mind, there are people behind each of these headlines, people who will probably never again enjoy the sense of safety and security they had just 48 hours ago.
- Man pistol whipped in Southwest Miami-Dade home invasion
- Novi police have arrested five men they believe to be responsible for a string of nine home invasions that have taken place in Novi since July 30.
- Home invasion leads to SWAT standoff
- Patriots CB Jonathan Wilhite victim of a home invasion early Sunday morning
- 1 Shot in Leavenworth Home Invasion
- 77 year old homeowner Hurt During Home Invasion Robbery
- Police investigating violent home invasion
- Police searching for suspects in Lubbock home invasion
- DeKalb Home Invasion Leaves 1 Injured
- Two men were arrested by Corpus Christi police after a home invasion Wednesday night.
- 2 arrested in St. Bernard home invasion
- Home Invasion Robbery in Centralia
- Shocked Neighbors Gather After Home Invasion Homicide
- Morning Home Invasion Injures Two
- Fairfield Home Invasion Gang Busted
- Two suspects on the run after violent home invasion
- Three people attack 69-year-old man in South Bend home invasion
As I mentioned in the previous post, Home invasions are among the most insidious of crimes, shattering the sense of safety and security for children and families for many years after the crime, often for a lifetime. With the rise in these types of crimes it’s important to learn what you can do to safeguard your home and family.
What can you do to protect your home and family from such an attack? I had planned on writing a post on how to survive a terror attack on a hotel but instead, next Tuesday I’ll publish a special report detailing the steps you can take to reduce your risk and increase the odds of thwarting a home invasion.
Surviving a home invasion begins long before the actual event. In the report we’ll discuss the following:
- Specific actions you can take that can reduce your risk
- Fortifying your home against a home invasion
- Creating an emergency plan to thwart a home invasion
- Recognizing the signs that you have been targeted
- The first 60 seconds of a home invasion
- After the first 60 seconds
- New Products and Technologies for safeguarding your home
Alarm system, 12 ga pump shotgun, good loyal dog & eternal vigilance = beating the odds.
My mother died June 5, 2008 due to a home invasion in rural Oklahoma. Someone entered her home and cut her throat 9 times. She was 68 years old. It is unsolved at this time. The outrage that something like this can happen in your own home, in America is overwhelming. We are not barbarians like the Iraqi’s or the Afghanistan’s, but here we are and these crimes are on the rise.
Then there is the frustration that you can’t do something to help solve the crime. You lose your own sense of security. It becomes a battle then to conquer fear to continue your life, to let your children go out.
What is happening that these kind of crimes are on the upswing. My belief is that it is two-fold. One is the dissengration of the family. The other is network tv. When most of the shows are crime scene shows, they are fed these images daily and to keep their ratings the crimes become more sensational.
I admit I love NCIS, but when you pull in and there is crime scene tape on your mother’s property it changes your perspective forever. You wonder if the coroner handled her with respect and care. When you read an autopsy report of someone you loved dearly it is not unfeeling and businesslike as they show on TV.
We grew up with shows that constantly taught morals and values. That is not the situation now. The economy doesn’t help. We have a generation who wants their needs satisfied now and have no regard for human life. When we abort millions of lives yearly. When we spend more money on protecting wildlife than human life things are out of whack. Everyone has a theory, but our nation is in chaos with rampid violence. It is no longer on the city streets with gangs, but spilling over into rural and suburban areas.
I now go to deal with my parents estate and carry a pistol with me due to rural location. What else is a person to do? In my own personal home, how do I protect myself? Security systems are expensive.
I hope you can give us some simple practical solutions.
Sincerly,
Maria
Buy a gun. In Colorado we have “make my day” law. They break in, shoot them.
A few of those stories in the paper and the trend will stop. Too many people are helpless victims. It’s the same thing at school shootings. One person (a teacher?) with a gun could have saved lives. It’s pathetic to cower in a corner of you own home, afraid. It may get worse with many states setting prisoners loose because of budget cuts, but I think most of those are non-violent criminals aren’t they?.
A WELL TRAINED ROTT & AND A WELL TRAINED GERMAN SHEPHERD. AND AN ALARM SYSTEM WITH VIDEO
AND A GOOD 12 GUAGE SHOT GUN
AND A SIGN SAYING I AIN’T GOT ANYTHING HERE WORTH YOUR LIFE
IF YOUR FOUND HERE TODAY YOU WILL BE FOUND HERE TOMMOROW!
TRESSPASSRS WILL BE SHOT, AND SURVIORRS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN
UNITED STATES CITIZEN
SEMPER FI
ALWAYS A MARINE
I agree with Robert, a good gun, preferably a pistol that you can get to quick and fire fast, or even a short double barrel shotgun, not only will that go through a wall but it will hit the person behind the wall in case they realize you have a weapon and try to hide.
Another option if you live in a state like I do where you have to get an act of congress to get a weapon is having a good long range pepper spray. I have a pepper spray canister that can hit anyone from about 5 feet away. I also have a American Staffordshire Terrier dog who is a great deterrent.
Another advantage I have is that I work for the department of Homeland Security so I am always on the look out in the evenings and my next door neighbor is a police officer so we watch for each-other.
Another option is to put outside lights around the house that will turn on when there is movement, most burglars will run because they think someone sees them from the lights going on.
Either way when it comes down to it the local law enforcement needs to help the citizens arm themselves better than they do. With all these liberal communists trying to disarm America all they are doing is making crime easier for the criminal because they can get a gun off the street anytime they want where the law abiding citizens have to go through tons of red-tape to even think about owning a weapon, just isn’t right.
Buy a gun and learn how to use it. Seek out training wherever you can and don’t just put it it in the nightstand and forget about it. Train as much as possible. It is also very important that you have a plan and practice that plan. Everyone in the houshold must be aware of what to do when the unthinkable happens. Pick a place in your house to retreat to and make a stand. Get everyone there and get the police on the phone. Having a good plan, the right tools and the proper training will go a long way to making you feel safe and confident. Be a survivor and not a victim. No one else is going to take care of you, you have to do that for yourself.
David: I like that Law, they need to make that law set in stone in all US states. And you are right, a few stories of criminals getting blown out of a house will make other criminals think twice.
There was a recent story in New York I believe where a criminal tried to rob someones house and the owner was armed with a samurai sword. The robber went after the owner and wound up with his hand chopped off…YES! That sorry bastard bleed to death. Now anyone who knows about Samurai warriors and their fighting style knows that a cut like that is only done by a trained swordsman, looks like that robber ran into the wrong house that night. Thumbs up to the guy who protected his house.
Unfortunately I am sure some liberal [edited] is going to take this home owner to court over some allegation saying that he committed some crime against the assailant and will wind up paying a fine or doing some sort of small term in jail…that is another joke about America when our own people protect the criminals and then the court buys into it and punishes the person protecting their home.
I am not surprised by the response.
Our very home being openly invaded when they know we are still there is a terrifying reality. We all feel our home is our sanctuary, a place where we can relax and get away from the real world, and feel safe and at peace.
The thought of people being willing to break into our home while we are there with the intent to do us harm is very scary. Unfortunately it is now a reality in our society, with the potential for it to happen to any of us is there, and the police can not protect us from that type of intrusion and violence that they inflict on us.
The saying that “when ’seconds’ count the police are just ‘minutes’ away” really comes into prospective.
Thank God we still have our Second Ammendments Rights to be able to protect ourselves, our Right to Keep and Bear Arms, or else these type of invasions would probably be even more frequent and violent…of course I can’t imagine it becoming more violent that slitting someone’s throat 9-times.
We have to learn that our world is changing rapidly around us, and it’s not for the good. We need to develop some good survival skills to protect our families and homes from those that would seek to harm us. You can’t always count on the police or our government to protect you, but you can become more politically active to insure that our representatives do their jobs more effectively protecting and preserving our rights to live free from fear in our own homes.
BETTER TO BE JUDGED BY 12 THAN CARRIED BY SIX!!!