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Do you always lock your house and car doors at night?

Absolutely.
Growing up if you left your car unlocked on any given night there was a 75% chance it’d get ransacked. Even locked there was a risk so we often parked on the lawn close to the house, or in the backyard behind a fence. House was broken into twice, as were almost all our neighbors.

Now, I live in a completely different type of neighborhood but check everything religiously before going to bed and always turn alarm on at night.
 
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Cars are in garage unlocked, dog and I do a perimeter check before bed every night, bar on sliding door, front door locked. He sleeps in a spot that's like perfectly centered between the front door, patio door, and garage, he'll give a heads up should anything happen. North Liberty, nothing happens in our neighborhood but he did bark like crazy one night last summer, I got up and saw a car speeding off, found out next morning some idiots were trying to steal catalytic converter from neighbors truck across the street. His camera caught everything.
 
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Cars are in garage unlocked, dog and I do a perimeter check before bed every night, bar on sliding door, front door locked. He sleeps in a spot that's like perfectly centered between the front door, patio door, and garage, he'll give a heads up should anything happen. North Liberty, nothing happens in our neighborhood but he did bark like crazy one night last summer, I got up and saw a car speeding off, found out next morning some idiots were trying to steal catalytic converter from neighbors truck across the street. His camera caught everything.

All good except you should lock your cars in the garage.

Lock them up.

Safety first.
 
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Ever since I listened to a podcast about how The Golden State Killer would sneak into his victims houses during the day and unlock a window, which he would then sneak in through at night when the owner locked the doors, I do a walk around my entire first level and basement to check windows before going to bed. Probably silly, but listening to that podcast freaked me out. After about three years, it’s just part of my normal bedtime routine now.
 
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Ever since I listened to a podcast about how The Golden State killer would sneak into his victims houses during the day and unlock a window, which he would then sneak in through at night when the owner locked the doors, I do a walk around my entire first level and basement to check windows before going to bed. Probably silly, but listening to that podcast freaked me out. After about three years, it’s just more part of my normal bedtime routine.

Yep.

Maybe the scariest part is that he was a cop.
 
Yep.

Maybe the scariest part is that he was a cop.
I've got definite ocd when it comes to locking the house up at night, have a routine I do every night checking doors and sometimes windows if I know they were open during the day. I know someone can get into any house if they want, but I want to hear them first.

As a kid, I did the same thing growing up at home with my parents house...not sure why it started.

I grew up in a rural setting as a kid and now live in CR by a very busy street with significant amount of foot traffic. I keep the doors locked during the day and garage doors generally down, as there have been increase crime in our one time 'safe neighborhood'.
 
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Growing up in small town Iowa we never locked house or cars and left the keys in them.

Now wife normally locks the house doors but vehicles are normally unlocked with keys in them and usually parked in the garage. Kids often leave the garage door open though.

My brother lives in a larger city and a number of years ago he accidentally left his keys in his truck. Someone stole all his tools and went for a joy ride but caused no damage. Cops didn't seem to care and said he should hope it shows up in the future. Sure enough a couple weeks later it was found abandined on the other side of the city.
 
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Doors locked, alarm on and car in garage, plus front porch light is on - as is the driveway light. Dog barks at sounds outside. Motion lights on back patio too.

What is so shocking to me is how many guns are stolen out of unlocked cars in driveways. How dumb do you have to be?

Pic of dog?
 
Trap Door GIF by jjjjjohn
 
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I've got definite ocd when it comes to locking the house up at night, have a routine I do every night checking doors and sometimes windows if I know they were open during the day. I know someone can get into any house if they want, but I want to hear them first.

As a kid, I did the same thing growing up at home with my parents house...not sure why it started.

I grew up in a rural setting as a kid and now live in CR by a very busy street with significant amount of foot traffic. I keep the doors locked during the day and garage doors generally down, as there have been increase crime in our one time 'safe neighborhood'.

If you really want to be safe, buy a "Beware of Dog" sign or two and strategically place them in front of your house.

To get to my apartment, you have to walk down a hill and I put this sign against the fence so anyone trying to sneak up sees it.

It's like repellent to burglars/serial killers looking for easy victims.

 
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It was among the many different things moving from Cedar Falls to Parkersburg in high school. People in small towns don't lock their doors but they all have dogs and guns.
 
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If you really want to be safe, buy a "Beware of Dog" sign or two and strategically place them in front of your house.

To get to my apartment, you have to walk down a hill and I put this sign against the fence so anyone trying to sneak up sees it.

It's like repellent to burglars/serial killers looking for easy victims.

We have a yellow lab, the only people she likes to maim is her family...she is still young and needs to have one of our arms in her mouth at most moments, but I have no doubt she would run and hide under the bed if shit went down....lol

The good news is, she is very lippy and vocal, it's a 4 alarm barkstorm when ever her spidey senses detect any dog in the neighborhood is outside.
 
If you really want to be safe, buy a "Beware of Dog" sign or two and strategically place them in front of your house.

To get to my apartment, you have to walk down a hill and I put this sign against the fence so anyone trying to sneak up sees it.

It's like repellent to burglars/serial killers looking for easy victims.

Or place the sign from the alarm company in a highly visible spot.
 
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We have a yellow lab, the only people she likes to maim is her family...she is still young and needs to have one of our arms in her mouth at most moments, but I have no doubt she would run and hide under the bed if shit went down....lol

The good news is, she is very lippy and vocal, it's a 4 alarm barkstorm when ever her spidey senses detect any dog in the neighborhood is outside.

I don't even have a dog...just the "Beware of Dog" sign.
 
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Park car in garage unlocked. Both front and backed door locked. As I use the garage door as my entry and exit point 99% of the time rarely lock or unlock doors they just stay locked.
 
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This is not a lie….there is a poster on this site who sometimes lives with his mother across the street from me….in the last year he has been arrested about 10 times for theft, burglary, etc….so yea, everyone in this neighborhood locks their cars, houses, sheds, etc every night.
 
Have lived in current residence for over 10 years. Never lock up house or vehicles. This is the benefit of leaving in rural Iowa in the middle of freaking nowhere. Negative of locking doors is having to fix broken door when someone breaks. I figure if someone needs something that bad come in and get. Plus have a dog who barks when a vehicle comes in driveway and 9 mm in bedroom every night. I doubt any intruder makes it out alive.
 
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Have lived in current residence for over 10 years. Never lock up house or vehicles. This is the benefit of leaving in rural Iowa in the middle of freaking nowhere. Negative of locking doors is having to fix broken door when someone breaks. I figure if someone needs something that bad come in and get. Plus have a dog who barks when a vehicle comes in driveway and 9 mm in bedroom every night. I doubt any intruder makes it out alive.

You live in rural Iowa in the middle of nowhere?!
no-way-213f11.jpg
 
This is not a lie….there is a poster on this site who sometimes lives with his mother across the street from me….in the last year he has been arrested about 10 times for theft, burglary, etc….so yea, everyone in this neighborhood locks their cars, houses, sheds, etc every night.

Is that why @Herkmeister hasnt responded to his thread?
 
Have lived in current residence for over 10 years. Never lock up house or vehicles. This is the benefit of leaving in rural Iowa in the middle of freaking nowhere. Negative of locking doors is having to fix broken door when someone breaks. I figure if someone needs something that bad come in and get. Plus have a dog who barks when a vehicle comes in driveway and 9 mm in bedroom every night. I doubt any intruder makes it out alive.

This is interesting. You live in the middle of nowhere and never lock your doors...but you have a gun by the bedside.
Maybe lock the door and you don’t need a gun that could end up being used on you? I dunno but this seems a little off to me.
 
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