Someone is casing our house

[Anonymous]

Organize your Neighborhood Watch. I did after we were burgled in the middle of the day while I was napping with baby. Fortunately, husband came home mid-day and found the guy (hood over the head, all in black w/ gun - the whole bit) in the kitchen and began yelling for me, upstairs, to call the police. Turned out to be Oxycontin addicts looking for quick cash in all our neighborhoods - we were one of 27 hits. Everyone got together and we got our Neighborhood Watch sign and, since then, have really watched out for one another.

[Anonymous]

Woot! Glad everyone's so supportive! yes, you call the police. yes, you get everyone on the block to keep an eye out. yes, you take his picture. yes, your husband or neighbor tells him everyone's keeping their eyes out because he doesn't belong or live there. and yes, yes, yes, you always call your neighbors and the cops the MINUTE you see him again for any reason.

I've lived in the city for years, and this is my m.o.. I would and have done this for others on my block, when something didn't smell right. We diverse neighbors, young, old, single, married, partnered, with and without kids, white, black, Hispanic, English speaking and not believe in the same thing: taking care of each other.

Oh, and if you want to step things up a notch, get some security cameras that you can check on using your computer or cell phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why has no one stated the obvious solution?

Get a gun.

Unless you're in DC, where you have to cower to a home invader and just hope he doesn't feel like raping you.

Refuse to be a victim.

Ha! Or BETTER yet, get a gun, and let him come in and steal it while you're out. OR, get a gun, and shoot him at the front door and maybe also hit an innocent bystander. OR, get a gun, let your kid find it and hurt himself. OR, get a gun, and while you're in the basement and he's breaking in, you race him to the upstairs "hiding spot," have him overpower you, and you're effed. AMERICA, EFF YEAH!!!

Or, you know, create a safety zone around yourself with neighbors always keeping eyes out, check your security cameras, and call the cops for any reason you suspect something's amiss. I don't think the security cameras are going to accidentally shoot anyone or be used to overpower you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Organize your Neighborhood Watch. I did after we were burgled in the middle of the day while I was napping with baby. Fortunately, husband came home mid-day and found the guy (hood over the head, all in black w/ gun - the whole bit) in the kitchen and began yelling for me, upstairs, to call the police. Turned out to be Oxycontin addicts looking for quick cash in all our neighborhoods - we were one of 27 hits. Everyone got together and we got our Neighborhood Watch sign and, since then, have really watched out for one another.

Dang. Where do you live?

[Anonymous]

Ok OP here. There is no way I'm getting a gun. But thanks for the other advice. I talked to my neighbors and we're being extra vigilant.

[Anonymous]

Is George Zimmerman on this board?

Wow. Neighborhood watches work for a time, then tend to peter out, statistically. This is 2013, not 1962. Get with the program.

Get an alarm installed, get cameras in place, get a dog that notices everything. The latter is not practical of human beings. Plenty of human beings notice neighbors comings and goings, yet are useless when a crime actually hits (cars and houses broken into, especially, as these are most often at "inconvenient" times).

Learn about crime and when and where it happens and act accordingly. Unless you plan to "neighborhood watch" between the hours of 2 AM and 6 AM every evening. EGADS. Brains anyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:311 is non-emergency in DC. It's the Mayor's Citywide Call Center. After hours, you have no choice but to call 911 even if it's not an emergency because they don't staff 311 overnight.

I'd call. I watch a lot of true crime shows, and there was one such show where someone "used to" live in this house and the person looking for them broke in looking for them. I'm not going to tell you the whole thing because it didn't happen here and it doesn't sound like you live in a run of the mill neighborhood, but gentrification is tough, and you never know if this guy just got out of jail and is looking for someone who lived there years ago.

I've lived in DC a long time. You have to overreact to get the police to do a mediocre job, so don't forget that. I had someone force their way into my condo building and push me out of the way, called 911, no response. Par for the course with these idiot cops, so don't be afraid to amp it up a bit.

DO NOT call 911. That is the emergency line. "I think someone might be thinking about robbing my house" is not a freakin' emergency.

I definitely would call 311, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:311 is non-emergency in DC. It's the Mayor's Citywide Call Center. After hours, you have no choice but to call 911 even if it's not an emergency because they don't staff 311 overnight.

I'd call. I watch a lot of true crime shows, and there was one such show where someone "used to" live in this house and the person looking for them broke in looking for them. I'm not going to tell you the whole thing because it didn't happen here and it doesn't sound like you live in a run of the mill neighborhood, but gentrification is tough, and you never know if this guy just got out of jail and is looking for someone who lived there years ago.

I've lived in DC a long time. You have to overreact to get the police to do a mediocre job, so don't forget that. I had someone force their way into my condo building and push me out of the way, called 911, no response. Par for the course with these idiot cops, so don't be afraid to amp it up a bit.

DO NOT call 911. That is the emergency line. "I think someone might be thinking about robbing my house" is not a freakin' emergency.

I definitely would call 311, though.

As stated previously in this thread, all police calls are supposed to be routed through 911. 311 is for city services. This has been the rule for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why has no one stated the obvious solution?

Get a gun.

Unless you're in DC, where you have to cower to a home invader and just hope he doesn't feel like raping you.

Refuse to be a victim.

Ha! Or BETTER yet, get a gun, and let him come in and steal it while you're out. OR, get a gun, and shoot him at the front door and maybe also hit an innocent bystander. OR, get a gun, let your kid find it and hurt himself. OR, get a gun, and while you're in the basement and he's breaking in, you race him to the upstairs "hiding spot," have him overpower you, and you're effed. AMERICA, EFF YEAH!!!

Or, you know, create a safety zone around yourself with neighbors always keeping eyes out, check your security cameras, and call the cops for any reason you suspect something's amiss. I don't think the security cameras are going to accidentally shoot anyone or be used to overpower you.

Go ahead and be part of the sheeple. The strong eat the weak. Guns level the playing field.

If you know how to use a gun and keep it in a safe but accessible place, you can use it to advantage in an emergency. The scenarios you describe are all anecdotes. The data shows that defensive uses of firearms outnumber accidents.

[Anonymous]

Get a dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why has no one stated the obvious solution?

Get a gun.

Unless you're in DC, where you have to cower to a home invader and just hope he doesn't feel like raping you.

Refuse to be a victim.

Ha! Or BETTER yet, get a gun, and let him come in and steal it while you're out. OR, get a gun, and shoot him at the front door and maybe also hit an innocent bystander. OR, get a gun, let your kid find it and hurt himself. OR, get a gun, and while you're in the basement and he's breaking in, you race him to the upstairs "hiding spot," have him overpower you, and you're effed. AMERICA, EFF YEAH!!!

Or, you know, create a safety zone around yourself with neighbors always keeping eyes out, check your security cameras, and call the cops for any reason you suspect something's amiss. I don't think the security cameras are going to accidentally shoot anyone or be used to overpower you.

Go ahead and be part of the sheeple. The strong eat the weak. Guns level the playing field.

If you know how to use a gun and keep it in a safe but accessible place, you can use it to advantage in an emergency. The scenarios you describe are all anecdotes. The data shows that defensive uses of firearms outnumber accidents.

So you think your house is being cased, so you go out and get a gun. Guess what, the punk is still going to burglarize your house while you're not there, except now he's going to take your gun too. Bonus! This has actually happened to someone we know. Now we've got someone out there who likes to break into houses and has a gun too. Good job pp, great advice. I'm glad you're out there helping us poor little sheeple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. I think there is a pending lawsuit, so I have not been made aware of the details, but I know the neighbor is not very smart, thinks my friend is as dumb as (the neighbor), and the neighbor stands to lose everything. There are other neighbors unknowingly involved. There are stalking, mobbing, and other charges involved. Some people are creepy, have an inflated view of themselves (and their place in life) and have a distorted view of reality.

So many neighbors approached my friend when my friend first moved in, and the friend refused to believe it. But now the friend is grateful for all of the people on her side, without ever having said a word herself!

The creepy neighbor tries to approach the new neighbors, since the creepy neighbors reputation is so irreparably sullied (by the creepy neighbors own doing, apparently) among the existing neighbors.

Suffice it to say, the more the creepy neighbor opens their mouth, the worse they look. The creepy neighbor is obsessed and off kilter, at best. The funny part is the creepy neighbor is preoccupied with "appearances", but keeps ruining it for themselves. The local administrations are well aware of the reputation the creepy neighbor has made for themselves. The creepy neighbor just has no boundaries, and no idea when to say when - like most criminals.

Anyway, document everything and get a good lawyer if you have to, OP. Proof is what the perp thinks you don't have, so stock up on it!

But what is the creepy, obsessive behavior that has to do with "appearances"? Please share, I'm dying to know.

Peeping tom? Pooping on lawns? Sabatoging someone's prized dahlias? Stealing zucchini and passing it off as his own?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why has no one stated the obvious solution?

Get a gun.

Unless you're in DC, where you have to cower to a home invader and just hope he doesn't feel like raping you.

Refuse to be a victim.

Ha! Or BETTER yet, get a gun, and let him come in and steal it while you're out. OR, get a gun, and shoot him at the front door and maybe also hit an innocent bystander. OR, get a gun, let your kid find it and hurt himself. OR, get a gun, and while you're in the basement and he's breaking in, you race him to the upstairs "hiding spot," have him overpower you, and you're effed. AMERICA, EFF YEAH!!!

Or, you know, create a safety zone around yourself with neighbors always keeping eyes out, check your security cameras, and call the cops for any reason you suspect something's amiss. I don't think the security cameras are going to accidentally shoot anyone or be used to overpower you.

Go ahead and be part of the sheeple. The strong eat the weak. Guns level the playing field.

If you know how to use a gun and keep it in a safe but accessible place, you can use it to advantage in an emergency. The scenarios you describe are all anecdotes. The data shows that defensive uses of firearms outnumber accidents.

So you think your house is being cased, so you go out and get a gun. Guess what, the punk is still going to burglarize your house while you're not there, except now he's going to take your gun too. Bonus! This has actually happened to someone we know. Now we've got someone out there who likes to break into houses and has a gun too. Good job pp, great advice. I'm glad you're out there helping us poor little sheeple.

There you go again with the anecdotes and scenarios. Come up with some hard data and then we'll have a conversation.

Btw, in your scenario, this burglar has a gun... so your response is to not have a gun yourself? Congratulations, you're the next sheeperson to be devoured.

[Anonymous]

There should be a non-emergency number for your local police. Call info & get it! Can't believe people are recommending you call 911! No wonder 911 is overburdened!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There should be a non-emergency number for your local police. Call info & get it! Can't believe people are recommending you call 911! No wonder 911 is overburdened!

You're giving bad information. In DC, 911 IS the number to call for this scenario as long as you're calling when you see the guy. You call 311 for abandoned cars and potholes, not potential robberies. See the chart at this link for the distinction: http://www.stoddert.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Screen-Shot-2012-01-09-at-8.05.49-AM.png