My van was broken into.

[Sugarcube]

Someone broke into my van last night. They didn?t take a whole lot. I didn?t have a whole lot in there to take. My guess is whoever it was made off with about $10 worth of change from my console, maybe a little more.

This has really got me disturbed. It happened in the parking lot where I live. My van is parked about 10 feet from my front door. I keep thinking that someone with not so good intentions was way to close to my living space. It?s scary.

I want to feel safe here. I don?t want to wake up in the middle of the night with someone standing at the foot of my bed. I called the police and they came out and did an investigation. They questioned my neighbors. No one saw or heard anything. Bummer!

So, now I?m trying to think of some ideas to make it safer here. My first thought was to install an alarm system in my van. That would be a good start.

I don?t know how to make my apartment safer. I?m not sure if the landlord would allow any type of changes here. Anything ideal would probably be costly though.

I would love to rig up some type of trap to catch whoever it was in the act. People keep telling me that it is highly likely that they will come back. That?s not very comforting.

[skippy13]

My car got broken into about a year ago. It was parked in a space that was about 20 feet from my window. It was parked directly under a light that was working intermittently (and I had reported it) and they actually broke a window to get in on a night when the light was dark.

Meth heads will take the pennies from your loafers if they have half a chance. I don't keep coins in the console or anything else anymore. They got ten cents and I got a 350.00 estimate to repair my window. I did it myself with a window sent from ebay for 30 bucks. They broke all of the interior lights as well.

Sorry about your theft. I know how it feels.

[rlmtrhmiles]

sugarcube, did you call the police? If not, do so and explain what you are saying here. If you have any additional information, tell them about it. Many times when this happens, the police will randomly check to make sure everything is ok.

[baldfatdad]

My advice is to leave the doors of the vehicle unlocked and nothing inside worth stealing. You can wrap your garbage in a nice box and leave it in the van, if you'd like to get rid of it>.
For you home, there are many simple ways to protect yourself. A door bar: http://www.rakuten.com/prod/masterlo...FWxp7AodX0kA_A. If you don't have a problem with falling and having someone come rescue you. There are any number of good locks. A flash camera to blind someone that breaks in. A compressed air boat horn is a great device. Cell phone with one button 911.
And someone will chime in to get a gun. If you can handle a shot gun full of rock salt its kind of fun. But a weapon that could kill someone or paralysis them is a tough decision to make.

[Donno]

I would think twice about putting in an alarm. How many times have you heard an alarm going off in a parking lot and called the police? If you are like me, it would be never. They are not a very effective deterrent. All it will do for you at 2 in the morning is wake you and your neighbors, and you will be upset for the rest of the night. Baldfatdad's suggestion is a good one, take out anything worth stealing and leave it unlocked.

[Curt Leatherbee]

Wow, sorry to hear this. I use alarms for my house and cars that call my cell phone. Like was said, don't leave any visable change in the car in the center console or anything, that's probably all they were looking to steal. A lot of people don't even care if they get caught these days, that's the real scary thing. I'd suggest having a panic button with an alarm near your bed just to be safe and also keep your cell phone on your end table or close by.

[Sue Pendleton]

You might talk to your landlord about motion detection outdoor lighting near doorways. The set ups and maintenance are inexpensive compared to alarm systems. If parking is close to entryways, lights popping on will scare away more away than alarm signs. I agree with Curt too about keeping a cell phone in or next to your bed.

[Sugarcube]

I’m curious, why is everyone saying to leave the van unlocked? Does that make it a less desirable target for some reason? I never heard of that before. I’m afraid someone will take my van if I do that.

Skippy, I’m sorry to hear that your car was broken into and about the damage. I was fortunate that there was no damage to my van. I have no idea how the robber got inside. I only know that it was through the passenger side door. All of the other doors were locked, and the passenger side door was left partially open. All of the locks in my van are controlled by the key ring fob. So the locks are either all locked, or all unlocked. The robber had to of broken in through passenger side door somehow. The police officer tried to figure it out. At one point, he went to his car to get a “slim jim.” LOL I thought he was leaving to get a snack. I am such an airhead sometimes. I’m glad that I kept that thought to myself.

Anyway, he said that there was no way they got in using a slim jim. The seal around the inside door was disturbed, but the outside of the door had no damage. I guess I’ll never know for sure how it happened

Baldfatdad, I’ve tried using those bars you mentioned. They work wonderfully on carpeted floors, not so much on linoleum. I love the idea of a flash camera. I’m going to look into that.

Donno, lol just last month another tenant’s car alarm went off. That bugger rang out through the parking lot for over an hour, until the owner was finally able to get to it. Lucky for us, it was during the daytime and no one was awakened from their sleep. The police never came for that. I forgot all about it, until your post. I suppose you are right. Besides, even if it did go off in the middle of the night, what would I do? Certainly I wouldn’t go out there by myself.

Thanks Curt. Yeah, I’m definitely not going to leave my change in there anymore. The crime here is really getting bad. The policeman told me that car theft is running rampant in this town. I’m going to take your advice and have some type of alarm near my bed at night and my cell phone too. It is amazing to me the trouble someone would go through to get a few extra dollars. I’m glad I never was and never will be addicted to drugs.

Sue, we do have motion detecting lights here. I really think it is someone who lives here, or someone who knows the habits of the tenants here. I really wish there was a way to catch them in the act.

[Curt Leatherbee]

I know the feeling though Sugarcube, you just feel violated when something like this happens and then you feel unsafe. The other thought is a security camera. I know that saved me more than once at my Service Station.

[Sugarcube]

Funny you should mention a security camera. I've been spending the better part of my day researching them. I thought about getting a "dummy" camera too. That is the least expensive option. I haven't decided what to do yet, but I'm going to do something. I feel like I have to do something. I refuse to let myself "stay" afraid. I am sorry to learn that you have been affected by this as well.

[nayr]

$70 will get you a wireless camera that has night-vision:

http://www.amazon.com/Foscam-FI8910W...eywords=foscam

We have two of these for our house. One caught a teenage girl stealing our daughter's powerwing from our driveway in the middle of the day. With the video, we were able to call the cops, find out who it was, and scare the crap out of her (by her having to be questioned by the cop)... hopefully teaching her a good lesson. The camera works better over a wired connection vs the wireless connection (more frames per second when viewing/recording). You can also view the live video on an iPhone, probably android phones too. I don't know if this would be a good solution for you where you live, but I thought I'd share because it works well for us.

[baldfatdad]

You leave the van unlocked so they don't break the window to get in. Getting the window fixed is either expensive or will raise your insurance. Just learn to look in the car before you get in so no bum is sleeping in the back seat. Thief's don't care much about camera's, lights or alarms. They are quick, grab and go. Someone that would steal you van will break the window or jimmy the door, be in and gone in seconds. Van's aren't high theft targets, not cool enough. If you leave it open for a couple weeks they will realize there is nothing in it and leave it alone. Take some small pieces of paper and catch them in the bottom of the doors. If any are missing or on the ground, you know someones been in the van.

[lynnifer]

Kids are always after change in the console - I'm pretty sure it was just teens or something. I've had the same happen - even went through my trunk. The funny part is that there was an entire box of catheters in there that I'd picked up mistakenly while getting foley caths. I do hope they're using them as straws and have no idea what they're for. lol Never leave anything of value in vehicles. I've seen people lose jewelry, laptops, CD's, change, wallets with ID - all kinds of things.

[Sugarcube]

$70 will get you a wireless camera that has night-vision:

http://www.amazon.com/Foscam-FI8910W...eywords=foscam

We have two of these for our house. One caught a teenage girl stealing our daughter's powerwing from our driveway in the middle of the day. With the video, we were able to call the cops, find out who it was, and scare the crap out of her (by her having to be questioned by the cop)... hopefully teaching her a good lesson. The camera works better over a wired connection vs the wireless connection (more frames per second when viewing/recording). You can also view the live video on an iPhone, probably android phones too. I don't know if this would be a good solution for you where you live, but I thought I'd share because it works well for us.

This looks interesting. I like how it has two way audio. If I see someone in the live video, I can say something like “Hey get away from my van.” through the speaker and be perfectly safe inside my apartment. LOL I would love to see the expression on the robber’s face when that happens. Seriously, I wonder if the video would be clear enough to actually identify the person.

You leave the van unlocked so they don't break the window to get in. Getting the window fixed is either expensive or will raise your insurance. Just learn to look in the car before you get in so no bum is sleeping in the back seat. Thief's don't care much about camera's, lights or alarms. They are quick, grab and go. Someone that would steal you van will break the window or jimmy the door, be in and gone in seconds. Van's aren't high theft targets, not cool enough. If you leave it open for a couple weeks they will realize there is nothing in it and leave it alone. Take some small pieces of paper and catch them in the bottom of the doors. If any are missing or on the ground, you know someones been in the van.

Oh I see your point about the windows. I never looked at it that way before. I think my van is pretty cool, but you are right some young teenager might not think so. That makes me feel a little better about it. Thanks. I am definitely going to try the paper idea. That is brilliant. 

Kids are always after change in the console - I'm pretty sure it was just teens or something. I've had the same happen - even went through my trunk. The funny part is that there was an entire box of catheters in there that I'd picked up mistakenly while getting foley caths. I do hope they're using them as straws and have no idea what they're for. lol Never leave anything of value in vehicles. I've seen people lose jewelry, laptops, CD's, change, wallets with ID - all kinds of things.

That is hysterical! Those would be some very expensive straws. Lol Yeah, I’m not leaving anything of value in there anymore. It could have been much worse. I had a GPS hidden under a bag on one of the seats. I am very happy they didn’t find it. That Gps has been a life saver for me. I rely on it all the time. I am not exactly the greatest when it comes to finding my way around on the highways.

[Sugarcube]

Hmmm.... Coincidental? These towns are 10 to 15 minutes away from where I live.

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/artic...NEWS/140429797