How did the burglars enter?

Answers:

1. Yes, if the casement window was left slightly open you would not need a pry bar to open it further if you know what you are doing... If the sliding door was left unsecured all someone had to do was give it a tug...

1. As someone else said, the side of your house where the casement window is located may have provided better cover or been closer to the getaway vehicle than the slider and may have been out of line of site from any neighbors who were home at the time...

2. They didn't, that damage clearly occurred when the window was pushed or forced from the outside when it was in the fully open position... You wouldn't be able to do that to the operator when the window is closed as the frames of both the window pane and the window opening would protect that piece from bending that far...

It sounds like you left one or both of these openings unsecured when you left...

It also looks like you were robbed by junkies who needed a fix really badly and they were looking for money in all the typical places people hide it:

In various spots in the kitchen, under couch cushions, under the mattress and in bedroom drawers/closets...

If your house had an alarm system installed in it, your forgetfulness of leaving a door or window unlocked would have only afforded the burglar

You were robbed by junkies because a pro would not have left your house in such a mess and would have only taken a small backpack's worth of the most valuable stuff -- i.e. bank statements, credit card statements, extra credit cards you don't carry with you, valuable jewelry/silver, spare car keys so they can return and steal your vehicle at a later date, spare house keys so they can return and burglarize your home again easier the next time, etc... Pro burglars take so little and leave hardly a trace behind, your burglar was disorganized and frenzied and left a huge mess...

You should at once do the following:

If you had any vehicle or house keys which are now missing have the door locks and vehicle(s) re-keyed...

If you had any account statements for a bank or credit card account go missing have the accounts frozen/closed and the account numbers changed...

Consider installing a home security alarm system and some motion detector activated lighting around the perimeter of your home...

~~ Evan

Good idea. Have two very loud bells or sirens installed inside and outside of the house. Junkies freak right out from the noise and leave (so my cop friends say) and even pro burglars get unnerved by an unholy loud racket. Some people even mount a flashing light on the house so it's readily apparent where the noise is coming from. Unfortunately burglars can do a lot of damage and take a lot of stuff in the time in takes for the cops to arrive. That means trying to "evict" them as soon as possible. My alarm flashes all of the inside lights that are on X-10, making the place even more uninviting.

-- Bobby G.

Excellent ideas. I'm torn between having a silent alarm that notifies the police so they can catch the burglars vs. a noisy one to scare them away and let them strike elsewhere. I'll start a new thread addressing the pros and cons of each approach.

No need, it's a no-brainier. In a residential situation where people are sleeping always go with a siren. Tell the kids ahead of time what to do if the siren sounds in the middle of the night, have a plan. If you have your motion detectors off at night, and you don't know what caused the alarm DO NOT TELL THE OPERATOR YOUR CODE WORD AND SAY EVERYTHING IS FINE. You do not --know-- everything is fine until the reason for the alarm trip is found, and the house is swept for intruders. If you say the code word out of habit, don't forget to tell them to send help! Secure the family, then either wait for police in a locked room or get out if you can without being seen (MBR exterior door perhaps). If you have a gun, now would be a great time to de-holster and take it off 'safety'. Have pre-determined hand-signals for family members. The siren is supposed to be loud, so you can't hear each other without yelling and giving your location away to the bad-guys.

If you have monitored smoke/heat detectors, you have no option per code, plus that is your wake-up call to get OUT. A similar wake-up noise will scare a burglar and hopefully make them leave! This is the safest option, you don't need to play superhero. You want them OUT, a properly designed system will alert the system

Don't worry about 'catching' the prick in the act, response times are not guaranteed and alarms get a low priority unless you have verification a burglary is in progress. If you have voice/video/witness verification the cops will *haul-ass* to your house in hopes to catch a "live one".

Agreed. While catching them might seem a nice idea, the primary goal is to prevent loss. A confrontation with a panicked burglar could end up very messy - for both home owner and burglar. People have had to move after shooting someone in their house because the smell of blood lingers like nobody's business. It's a little like cat urine in that it's a disturbing smell that never quite goes away, especially when it's humid.

Yet to claim self-defense, it used to be they had to be inside the house. (-: That's why I bought a Taser.

Lots of people don't feel comfortable with alarms that have interior video or audio. Do you know what jurisdictions require voice/video verification. I know that when I called and said "I've got a suspicious character in front of my house that came from the backyard" I had the cops there in less than a minute. A lot of their response time is dependent on whatever else is going on, police-wise, but you're right. Automatic calls get low priority. "I see him!" calls get a much higher one.

-- Bobby G.

No I don't but I will cross post this to ASA where hopefully someone will know.

Does anyone have a list of burg. A/V verification jurisdictions?

I see them posted in Security Systems News every month but I don't know if they would have a running list on their website or not. You'll have to look up their website.

You might try any of the trade magizines or trade papers websites ..... come to think of it.

Also SIAA(?) may have a list.

I'd suggest the NBFAA or what ever their alias is now but I'm sure that the only list they have is the names of vacation resorts where they're going to hold their next junket conference.

would have a running list on their website or not. You'll have to look up their website.

think of it.

only list they have is the names of vacation resorts where they're going to hold their next junket conference.

Thanks, I usually look at the trade rags while doing my business in the bathroom. I have not seen a list, but wasn't looking for one either. I can go back and look through the stack.

I may ask on the SIA group on LinkedIn too, thanks.

Thanks. I can see why they require it. When my neighbor had a new alarm installed, the tripped it at least three times a month. The fines stopped that. (-:

-- Bobby G.

I think you may have missed the point.=20

Fines are a good deterrent. But verification says that the police don't sho= w up unless there is some prior visible observation that a crime is/has tak= en place ...... but that's for EVERYONE.... whether they've had a false ala= rm in the past ..... or NOT!=20

That means that the police can continue drinking their coffee and eating th= eir doughnuts behind the Fire house without having to take a work break. Af= ter all, of what good could come of the police having to show up even for a= false alarm. What's that word .... Oh yeah .... deterrent.=20

Buuut ... I'm sure that they'd much rather show up for an actual burglary .= .. and catch some one ...... but wait a minute now .... I guess they'll nev= er get the opportunity to even experience that ... by the time that they ge= t their verification. I'm sure the theives will never catch on that they're= not going to show up first ....... right? =20

Oh .... and what about all the money that's going to be saved by them not h= aving to respond? All that saved money is now going to be given back to th= e taxpayers ...... right? Because all the policemen that they had to hire t= o take care of the false alarms can be laid off now.

ROFL