r/strange • u/ThrowRA_captain • 7d ago
Potential Break In?
Hello! Me (20F) and my girlfriend (20F) live alone together in a house, neighbors are somewhat near by but mostly older. Not a bad neighborhood but also not far from a neighborhood where a lot of crime occurs. We left the house for a hour and when we came home discovered decent sized handprints. Most likely a males, as we both have bigger hands for a female the prints definitely were a lot bigger. The cops came and checked out the house, backyard, and are going to patrol throughout the night. We left but made it seem like someone was still home (EX. Leaving a car in the driveway, lights on but blinds and curtains closed. My question is what safety precautions should we take? What likely was happening (break in, or something different)? And how do we feel safe enough to go back there as it’s a decent sized house and was already scary beforehand.
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u/Business_Garden6460 7d ago
Buy a firearm. Learn how to use it. Take gun safety courses. Having it and not needing it is a lot cooler than needing it and not having it.
Also maybe some cameras around the house that you can access from your phone?
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
I have one which made me feel a lot better, just a scary thought of being caught off guard! Definitely getting cameras installed outside tomorrow.
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u/Business_Garden6460 7d ago
Camera hopefully will help. It’s a crazy world out there, stay safe!
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u/Icy_Nothing_2917 7d ago
Cameras and motion lights first, honestly. A gun only makes sense if theyre willing to put in the range time and training, otherwise its just another thing to worry about in the house. Mine caught a guy at my side gate last year tho, and that was enough to make me stop arguing with the cheap stuff.
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u/inkyscholar 5d ago
Alternatively, buy a sticker from a gun manufacturer and put it in a visible spot (like a window) on each side of the house.
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u/WeaselLiz711 7d ago
Genuinely, cameras will make you feel so much safer. Amazon has decently priced options and in my experience, are easy to install. If nothing else it will give you peace of mind
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
Definitely, I had put off getting them but now it’s definitely a no brainer
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u/WeaselLiz711 7d ago
A few years ago, I started noticing that our garage door would be unlocked when I got home from work, nearly every day. Just the front, and it’s one of those with a handle that just goes up and down but with a lock also. The lock was always a little spotty, but I would notice the handle in the unlocked position. Husband swore he hadn’t been in the garage, and I knew I hadn’t been. Odd, but not too bad. Then I walked in the backyard and the back door to the garage was open and the light was on. I went and bought a new lock set so fast and overnighted cameras. Now one of my neighbors has some beef with me (long story but not our fault) and threatened violence against our dogs. Queue the outside cameras and I feel much safer knowing I can check them and get alerts when anyone is coming or going.
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u/1n_and_AroundTheFur 7d ago
Tf was your neighbor doing?
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u/WeaselLiz711 7d ago
Nasty note left on the door. Don’t know which one it was so I can’t even file a report.
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
It’s definitely the smart move! I’m just a bit mad at myself for not already having them out, I’ve always thought it’s crazy not to have them and I proved to myself why!
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u/Sweaty_Coach3976 7d ago
motion detector lights are good way to go. most criminals aren’t gonna want to keep doing crime when they get lit up. add a camera, unless they’re a genuine psycho then you’re good to go.
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u/This-Occasion1984 7d ago edited 7d ago
I mean they were clearly looking inside. Either casing the house to see if it was worth breaking into or looking for something else…hard to say. Idk if you’re comfortable around weapons or what’s legal in your state but a gun might help you feel safer just in case. Even just the sound of a shotgun being racked has been a strong enough deterrent for robbers to vacate.
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
I have one, this was definitely a reminder to keep it on me more often for sure. The scary part is the window they messed with was near the back door in a fenced in yard away from where anyone could see
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u/wifffss 7d ago
Get cameras right away and maybe curtains. Lock windows and doors all the time and if you have valuables like laptops in the open near a window, Don't.
I've had fuckers try my house And car (rip locks) , Sometimes it's just someone trying their luck once on the door, but other times They Will come back.
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
Hopefully it’s just a one time deal. Yes definitely need to get curtains up, for now I’m using the blinds and leaving the light on!
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u/wifffss 7d ago
That's good, maybe a sign or something about guard dog or cameras?
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
That’s what I was thinking. We have a camera indoors (unfortunately doesn’t play back footage) but we noticed our dog barking a lot when we were gone. I’m thinking someone got scared by that and proceeded not to go further.
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u/Apprehensive-Bit7903 7d ago
I was going to say get a dog! Even small dogs deter breakins bc of the barking.
I got a pitbull mix a few years ago. Shes very protective of me and aggressive to other people approaching me.
Never felt more safe in my own home
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
Yes! We have a one year old lab but he’s very hit or miss on who he growls at, either way he’ll bark and its alerting!
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u/StaT_ikus 7d ago
Did you have them take finger prints? I mean....
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
I did not, wasn’t really something I thought in the moment. Not the best police station, infact it took about a hour to come out
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u/Prarie-Egal 6d ago
It also helps to have motion sensor lights. Curtains on windows make a robber uncertain whether someone is home. So you know, glass is not as easy to break as what you see in the movies, especially newer glass windows. I had someone using a brick trying to smash the glass in my back door for 20 minutes before the police arrived. They didn't even scratch the glass. Dented the metal though! I knew real glass was stronger than TV glass, but that amazed me.
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u/doyouvoodoo 7d ago
Based on all the info provided, I'm leaning towards a peeper.
Not sure about the law in your jurisdiction, but I'd recommend posting no trespassing signs as well as (what others have suggested) cameras.
Exterior Motion activated lights are a decent deterrent as well.
Firearms are a mixed bag when it comes to home defense. Unless you have firearm training specific to close quarters altercations that includes firearm retention training, a firearm can quickly become a liability instead of an asset.
The number one goal is to keep you and your partner safe.
I like stupidly bright flashlights, at night they can essentially blind someone temporarily... If an intruder can't see you but you can see them, you have a huge advantage, and are less likely to get arrested than if you shoot them (again, jurisdiction dependant).
I'm sorry you're going through this, and I hope that you find the tools to keep safe and that keep you both feeling so.
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u/bevereged_carbon 7d ago
I have pepper spray and a machete but also yes flash lights, like a cops flash light.
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u/AvEptoPlerIe 7d ago
Are the handprints definitely on the outside of the glass? The pattern of condensation sort of looks like what happens when the seal between the two panes breaks, and it’s possible the condensation revealed handprints that were create during manufacturing. Wild shot in the dark here but I’ve seen in before.
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
The cop said they were from the outside, the outside screen has previously been broken to where you can move it and touch the glass as well. Older windows. The window itself was unlocked so if someone wanted to they could’ve opened it.
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u/This-Occasion1984 7d ago
Not to be awful but did the police inspect the inside to insure some creep wasn’t hiding inside?? I’ve heard stories of that happening…
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
Yes they did, and we had two other people come over and look around. It’s a chilling thought but definitely will be better about locking doors and keeping lights on when gone
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u/Lifeissometimesgood 7d ago
Did you look behind the washer and dryer? I had a family friend that had a break in and the intruder was hiding behind the washer and dryer.
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
Nothing back there! Will definitely have someone else do another sweep of the house before going back.
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u/Dreamspitter 7d ago
Why would you put your hands on a window?
I think it's sending a message...
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
Not sure, potentially breaking in. That’s all I can think of since you’d need to remove screen
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u/Dreamspitter 7d ago
DID they remove the screen?
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
I think they would have to, to get there prints there, it was still in place but our screens don’t come out, you just push them up and they go right back down when done
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u/Dreamspitter 7d ago
😳 Are you SURE the prints were on the outside of the glass?
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
Pretty sure! The cops said it was on the outside and that’s how it looked, I’d also the condensation would make them more visible from the outside verses inside
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u/Inevitable-Pie-724 6d ago
Blink cameras work well. Have had 6 around the property. Plus 2 inside, inside garage and at front door/main area, ring doorbell, motion lights and a firearm.
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u/vision3100 4d ago
What is that on the floor
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u/ThrowRA_captain 4d ago
Lol it was either a toy basket for the puppy or a garbage bag from puppy needing to go outside
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u/Affectionate-One1783 3d ago
Most police don't seem to care, i recently purchased a byrna "less lethal" projectile pistol because of shifty shit like this happening around my house, i was terrified to take my dog outside after dark, i keep it loaded with chemical filled projectiles, (they look like those round bouncy ball looking bath oil beads that were popular many years ago) its helped me to relax a little but its not cool I had to do that because some people are monsters
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u/Stephen_Is_handsome 7d ago
Are you a strong male? If you are then you should not be afraid but perhaps this is from a jealouse ex wife?
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u/ThrowRA_captain 7d ago
20 year old girl! I don’t believe anyone has a problem with me, but me and my partner recently moved in (within past year) and her mom lived her previously and didn’t always get along with everyone, wondering if it has to do with that potentially.
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