I reported this on the 'shootings and homicide' thread but I'm tired of talking about gun control so I wanted to look at this from another angle:


My apartment was broken into last night -- while I was home in bed. Yikes!

Luckily my boyfriend happened to be there and I have a small window alarm attached to the door that I bought at Rite-Aid of all places. The burglar got in, but the alarm and my boyfriend's booming voice scared him off.

Called the cops; they dusted for prints but they were all smudged and probably not readable. While we were waiting for the fingerprint tech, the cop mentioned that my neighborhood was fairly safe. He said that mostly they got calls for burglaries, car break-ins, and domestic disputes. On the list of things cops can be called for, that's not too bad. In fact, it made me feel a little better about where I live, ironically... but of course I'll feel better still when I get my door repaired and some proper locks put on.

Still like my neighborhood, all in all.

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- We must be the change we wish to see in the world -
Mahatma Gandhi

Ya, ok.

Well, Im glad you are ok, and it was a harmless robber. Just remember, if you have any good stuff that they were able to see, they will probably be back. Now they know exactly how you secure your place.

Gee, Malloy, you just go around spreading sunshine wherever you go, huh?

What did I ever do to you?

__________________
- We must be the change we wish to see in the world -
Mahatma Gandhi

Hey five, glad you're okay. Just remember the most important word in NYC - Medico.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs

I'm glad that everything is okay, other than your door, five. Hopefully it was just an unfortunate annoyance that won't happen again.

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"If these walls could talk, I'd listen to the floor."--Rev. Horton Heat

Thank goodness you're OK.

It might help to make it look like you're home when you're not for a little while--maybe leave the TV or radio on, and/or a light on.

When I was a kid, another kid broke into my house while I was home with the flu. I confronted him and he ran off, but a few nights later when my family and I were out to dinner, our house was robbed!

Wow...Five, I'm glad that things didn't turn out as bad as they could have...but I'm sure it gave you a bit of a fright. It just goes to show that you always have to be on the lookout, no matter how safe the neighborhood seems. I could be pulling this out of my rear, but I think thats one of the problems with University City. It looks so nice and harmless, but its surrounded by the rest of West Philadelphia...which unfortunately does not have the same collection of nice homes. Hopefully this was a one time occurence and won't happen again.

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- George -

http://www.barackobama.com

Couldn't have said it better myself, unfortunately. And yes, it did give me quite a fright. Luckily my boyfriend does home repair/renovation/contracting, so he's very handy. My apartment door looks like the entrance to Fort Knox -- the next guy who thinks about getting in here would have to be Spiderman. Good idea about the radio, bluecuracao, and maybe I'll put it on a timer. Geez, I guess if any of you guys are the robber, I've just tipped my hand, huh? (*.Lee is trying to maintain her sense of humor....)

Also, two snaps up for the building management. Within an hour of my reporting the break-in, they replaced the broken door jamb with a 1x3 and caulked around it, replaced the lock on the utility door in the hall (the burglar was hiding in there after he got scared off by the alarm -- the cops found the piece of the door jamb that he had ripped off my door in there), and immediately gave me permission to change my lock which they nixed when I first moved in. I used to carry my own deadbolt lock and every time I moved, I'd put it on the door in addition to or instead of the locks that were already there. But I left it in NY and when I moved down here, both landlords frowned upon putting your own locks on the door. But in both cases, the doors are made of wood and the locks and fittings on the doors are not as secure as they could be (of course, mine are now). Every apt I lived in, in NY had either metal doors or wooden doors with metal reinforcements. I made a point of mentioning that to the landlord.

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- We must be the change we wish to see in the world -
Mahatma Gandhi

I'm very glad to hear that you are safe.

That had to be a frightening experience. Another good thing is those silver poles that go against the door knob. One for the front door, and then one in your bedroom.

That's great your boyfriend was there. That way at least they think a guy lives there too. Best of luck to you, five.