Moving from Montgomery County to Prince Georges County, MD (Silver Spring: crime, townhouse)
Washington, DC suburbs in MarylandCalvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
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I've always wondered if this sign would be an effective deterrent to an intruder.
Ugh. Maybe I'll just get a big dog.
And I'm not saying I would just get up and leave because my house was broken into, but if I had been there less than a year, I would seriously consider it. There's a difference between being a long time resident and having something like this happen and being someone who is just giving a place with a less than stellar reputation a chance. The OP was already wary because of the schooling situation and now he has this to add his concerns. I'm saying this as someone who is moving into the area, you have to have your eyes open to the reality of a situation.
FWIW, signs like that are amusing, but I don't think they discourage intruders. If anything, I think they may actually attract intruders by indicating that there might be a nice gun collection inside. I'm a gun owner myself and very much a Second Amendment supporter, but in real life firearms are pretty far down the list of useful tools in preventing property crime. Most burglars don't want to run into an armed homeowner, but then they generally don't want to run into anybody inside a house, armed or not. They prefer unoccupied houses. Whatever the sign says, how hard is it for a burglar to notice that there's no car in the driveway or that mail and newspapers piling up to indicate that nobody's home? And they can always ring the doorbell to be sure.
A dog that barks (it doesn't necessarily have to be a big dog), good locks and alarms (which are consistently used) and good security practices will generally make a much bigger difference than firearms. And let's face it, the flip side to "nothing inside is worth dying for" is "nothing inside is worth killing for." Really, the only thing worth killing for in my house is the safety of my family. That's also the only thing the law will allow me to kill for. All posturing aside, I don't want to kill some dumb kid over a tv set that would have been covered by insurance anyway. If I do, I will very likely spend a lot of time at the police station or in court defending my action and might wind up in jail. Even if I were completely in the right, the lawyer's fees alone could easily add up to more than any property I might have lost.
And frankly, If somebody ever did have to shoot someone in self-defense, having a sign like that up in the yard would probably be an opposing lawyer's dream, allowing the lawyer to portray the shooter as some kind of nut who was actually hoping that some would give him an excuse to shoot.
FWIW, signs like that are amusing, but I don't think they discourage intruders. If anything, I think they may actually attract intruders by indicating that there might be a nice gun collection inside. I'm a gun owner myself and very much a Second Amendment supporter, but in real life firearms are pretty far down the list of useful tools in preventing property crime. Most burglars don't want to run into an armed homeowner, but then they generally don't want to run into anybody inside a house, armed or not. They prefer unoccupied houses. Whatever the sign says, how hard is it for a burglar to notice that there's no car in the driveway or that mail and newspapers piling up to indicate that nobody's home? And they can always ring the doorbell to be sure.
A dog that barks (it doesn't necessarily have to be a big dog), good locks and alarms (which are consistently used) and good security practices will generally make a much bigger difference than firearms. And let's face it, the flip side to "nothing inside is worth dying for" is "nothing inside is worth killing for." Really, the only thing worth killing for in my house is the safety of my family. That's also the only thing the law will allow me to kill for. All posturing aside, I don't want to kill some dumb kid over a tv set that would have been covered by insurance anyway. If I do, I will very likely spend a lot of time at the police station or in court defending my action and might wind up in jail. Even if I were completely in the right, the lawyer's fees alone could easily add up to more than any property I might have lost.
And frankly, If somebody ever did have to shoot someone in self-defense, having a sign like that up in the yard would probably be an opposing lawyer's dream, allowing the lawyer to portray the shooter as some kind of nut who was actually hoping that some would give him an excuse to shoot.
Actually, that sign would not be an opposing lawyers dream. Nine times out of ten if a trespasser is presented with fair warning about trespassing, dogs, or anything unsafe on your property, they do so at their own risk or peril. The same goes for businesses. If there's a sign that says "WATCH YOUR STEP" in bright red or yellow around a spill, and you continue to walk through that sign, how much do you think you'll get for being injured? And nowadays, the signs are in like 3 different languages. If I have a sign that says "Gun owner. Will shoot if threatened." and an intruder comes unabated into my home while I'm there, the sign only helps my defense because the court will consider that the intruder had fair warning and decided to ignore it. Now of course if I'm not home, the sign is irrelevant. Which makes me think if I had a sign that read, "Warning! Lethal anti-intruder device inside." and set up tripwires all over the house with arrows like in Indiana Jones, would I still be in danger of prosecution?
FWIW, signs like that are amusing, but I don't think they discourage intruders. If anything, I think they may actually attract intruders by indicating that there might be a nice gun collection inside. I'm a gun owner myself and very much a Second Amendment supporter, but in real life firearms are pretty far down the list of useful tools in preventing property crime. Most burglars don't want to run into an armed homeowner, but then they generally don't want to run into anybody inside a house, armed or not. They prefer unoccupied houses. Whatever the sign says, how hard is it for a burglar to notice that there's no car in the driveway or that mail and newspapers piling up to indicate that nobody's home? And they can always ring the doorbell to be sure.
A dog that barks (it doesn't necessarily have to be a big dog), good locks and alarms (which are consistently used) and good security practices will generally make a much bigger difference than firearms. And let's face it, the flip side to "nothing inside is worth dying for" is "nothing inside is worth killing for." Really, the only thing worth killing for in my house is the safety of my family. That's also the only thing the law will allow me to kill for. All posturing aside, I don't want to kill some dumb kid over a tv set that would have been covered by insurance anyway. If I do, I will very likely spend a lot of time at the police station or in court defending my action and might wind up in jail. Even if I were completely in the right, the lawyer's fees alone could easily add up to more than any property I might have lost.
And frankly, If somebody ever did have to shoot someone in self-defense, having a sign like that up in the yard would probably be an opposing lawyer's dream, allowing the lawyer to portray the shooter as some kind of nut who was actually hoping that some would give him an excuse to shoot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adelphi_sky
Actually, that sign would not be an opposing lawyers dream. Nine times out of ten if a trespasser is presented with fair warning about trespassing, dogs, or anything unsafe on your property, they do so at their own risk or peril. The same goes for businesses. If there's a sign that says "WATCH YOUR STEP" in bright red or yellow around a spill, and you continue to walk through that sign, how much do you think you'll get for being injured? And nowadays, the signs are in like 3 different languages. If I have a sign that says "Gun owner. Will shoot if threatened." and an intruder comes unabated into my home while I'm there, the sign only helps my defense because the court will consider that the intruder had fair warning and decided to ignore it. Now of course if I'm not home, the sign is irrelevant. Which makes me think if I had a sign that read, "Warning! Lethal anti-intruder device inside." and set up tripwires all over the house with arrows like in Indiana Jones, would I still be in danger of prosecution?
Attracting people who may want to steal your guns is a very good point, especially considering that I don't even have any guns! The one person who we know who had people break into his house was a gun owner who had his collection stolen.
There was actually a case the first year of law school about a guy who set up his property with booby-traps and trip wires and stuff, then an intruder came in and got injured, then the intruder sued. I believe that the outcome was that the booby-traps were too mailicious or something and weren't just meant to protect the property but to injure somebody. In that case if the guy had put up a sign saying "I've got a bunch of crazy booby-traps in here if you try to come in" then I think he would have been ok. I think technically if someone trespasses on your property you have the right to kill them if they are threatening you. Like remember that case a few years ago in Baltimore where that college kid cut off an intruder's hand and killed him? That kid had no liability and wasn't prosecuted. If my recollection serves me correctly, if there are actual warning signs on your property that you intend to shoot, those are actually of benefit to you if someone sues you for being injured. Of course that doesn't save you from the risks of being sued to begin with, or of having a judge who thinks you went too far or something. This is all that I remember from the first year of law school and that was awhile ago so feel free to correct me anybody LOL.
dropping K, I'm so sorry your house was broken in to, what a horrible feeling.
We live in Prince George's County and one of the things that keeps us here is our neighbors. Please, take time to get to know them. Go out of your way to spend time with them. It can make all the difference in the world.
This may sound funny, but I'd rather have daytime break-ins than night-time break-ins. Daytime break-ins are kids looking for an opportunity - night time break-ins are professional burglars.
Please don't leave yet - I know it's disheartening, but unfortunately, this type of thing happens everywhere.
I feel better and decided to still stay here despite of what happened. This is still a safe neighborhood. I here that there have been many more break-ins in Montgomery County (Silver Spring, Olney, Rockville, Bethesda, and Chevy Chase since I left) A few break-ins within a short time in my old neighborhood in Silver Spring too... so I guess it could happen anywhere. My house was the first house to be broken into in this area for many many months, (I think almost 2 years). Since then, there has been no other break-ins in this area either.
Also, since I moved here (over 1 year ago), I seen a more diversity in my area (Lanham, Greenbelt, Glendale). Many Asian and White young families have moved in taking advantage of buying more home for your money. The nice homes and lower prices are luring more people to this area like I it did for me 1 year ago. People have fixed up there homes too, new driveways, roofs, yard work, ext. Overall, I feel save here and am discovering really cool things about this area. Many more amenities like parks, better roads (yes! better than Montgomery county roads), community centers, shooting range, skating ring, more, and better transportation (more metro, MARC train, Highways).
Wow, @dropping_k, that is good to hear! We will be joining you in the Lanham area shortly (for the reasons you list), adding our own little bit of diversity!
Congratulations to dropping_k for hanging in there. I've lived in PG county since 1982 when Six flags used to be called "Wild World" and Central avenue was only two lanes. I can now say since moving here from Baltimore and raising three kids in the county school systems, moving to PG was the best move I could have ever done. The county was not "perfect" back then if you were an African-American, but boy, look at it now. the county has grown and will continue to grow...The Boulevard used to be US Air Arena, the current DMV in Largo used to be an old ESSO service station along with Bergans cleaners...Say what you may about PG, but I have seen growth and I encourage any one who anticipate relocating here, to do so. You will not be disappointed...
I spoke to several neighbors about this and they were all in shock about this too. They tell me that west Lanham is very safe and that they don’t have break-ins in or around that neighborhood. Since then, I would say that I feel closer to my neighbors than before and they always say hi to me since I spoke with them about this. I guess it must have been a break-in of opportunity. It occurred around 4:00 pm. They didn’t take much because my wife walked in on them. There were two young men possibly teenagers. They ran off to a getaway car and made it off with only 2 items. But nevertheless my front door was kicked in and living room and bedroom were turned upside-down. I am very lucky that this happened so late in the afternoon. If it was earlier, they could have wiped my house clean.
I have since installed new steel doors that can’t be kicked in, reinforced all my entry doors and added better and stronger strike-plates. I also installed a new security system, and surveillance cameras in and around my house. Fool my once shame on you… fool me twice… shame on me.
Still, I am not sure if I will stay more than a few years. I just wish Montgomery country was a little more affordable. I love owning a nice well maintained single family house within a good neighborhood. I just want to feel like I also live in a safe place too.
Whoever those two guys were just ruined it for me and everyone I know. I used to tell everyone how safe and nice PG County was and that those stereotypes and conceptions were all wrong, but since this incident, I feel embarrassed.
The thing people need to realize is that they need to be more proactive when it comes to their families safety. When I was about 6/7 and my family moved from Hyattsville to Riverdale, one of the first things my dad did was have those steel security doors installed at all three entrances and then he had those doors with those security screen doors with the bars installed in front of those so that even if the main doors were open it would still be basically impossible for an intruder to get in through the doors. And the area of Riverdale (now Riverdale Park) was never really a bad area at all, but its all about taking precautions when you have a family. When you have a family it is never wise to leave their safety to chance or to just take it for granted that nothing will happen, always take some kind of proactive precautions to protect them no matter where you live.
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