Why Home Invasions Are So Dangerous?

Do you know what a home invasion is? Would you know how to protect yourself during a home invasion? In today’s article, we are looking at all aspects of home invasion so you can understand it better.

The term “home invasion” is a recent edition to our vocabulary, but one that we think you should know about.

What Is Home Invasion?

According to Chris E. McGoey, who is highly-acclaimed as a security expert witness and security consultant with 44 years of experience a Home Invasion “is when robbers force their way into an occupied home, apartment or hotel room to commit a robbery or other crimes. It is particularly frightening because it violates our private space and the one place that we think of as our sanctuary.”

Home invasion is like the residential form of an automobile carjacking and it’s on the rise. Like the crime of carjacking, most police agencies don’t track home invasions as a separate crime. They bundle it in with burglary so it’s difficult to track.

Police tell us that 90% of all burglaries can be prevented. In this informative article, there are Thirteen Facts About Home Burglary that you should really know.

One of those facts is that 34% of all burglaries happen right through the front door.

There are several things about home invasion that you need to know.

Home burglars, generally speaking, work alone and in 90% of the cases do their “work” in the daytime. They are very rarely armed with a weapon and again almost 90% of the cases are first-time offenders who worry about security devices such as window and door alarms, motion activated alarms and security systems which work to scare them away.

Home invaders, on the other hand, almost always do their work at night when they know the homeowners are there. They are usually armed and work in pairs or trios because intimidation is part of their game. They don’t have to worry about overcoming alarms or security systems since the homeowners are there and they generally turn them off.

Burglars when confronted by anyone will flee because they don’t want trouble. Home invaders on the other hand, since they are armed, are not afraid of confrontation. That is what makes them so dangerous.

Other differences include the fact that a home burglar will spend no more than 10 minutes inside a home for fear of getting caught, while home invaders will take as long as they need to get what they want.

Home invaders and burglars will enter your house through the front door. The difference is a burglar will force his way in if necessary while a home invader frequently uses subterfuge, posing as the repair vendor, installer or delivery person to get you to open the door for them.

Frequently, home invaders will load up the victim’s car with the stolen possessions and drive off with no one in the neighborhood being any the wiser.

Home invaders work on the premise that an occupant will simply open the door without checking who is there, a habit that homeowners across the country are guilty.

In one of the more infamous Home Invasion Tragedy stories in recent memory, Dr. William A. Petit Jr’s wife and two daughters were killed by two men who invaded their suburban home in Cheshire, a suburb of New Haven, Connecticut.

The two men gained entry into the home by unknown means. At some point either the mother or the 17-year-old daughter accompanied one of the two assailants in a family car to a local Bank of America branch where she withdrew an undisclosed amount of cash. Bank employees were suspicious enough that they contacted police.

The two men held the family hostage for hours then set fire to the house after killing Mrs. Pettit and the two daughters. The two home invaders then took the family sport-utility vehicle to escape but rammed three police cars in the process before they were subdued.

This is an excellent example of the desperation of home invaders. This is one of the more dangerous crimes in America because the perpetrators are armed.

Home Invasion Tips

1. Almost all home invaders are armed with a deadly weapon so give them what they want. Worldly possessions can be replaced, your life cannot.
2. Never let anybody into your home unless you know who they are. Don’t fall victim to a ruse.
3. Another helpful tip is to keep your car keys handy so you can hit the panic button for your car alarm in an emergency to potentially scare them away.
4. Have some self-defense products scattered around the house; one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen and maybe one in the family room. This 18% Guard Dog Pepper Spray has a 36 month shelf life and contains oleoresin capsicum, the main ingredient in all pepper sprays, CS military tear gas component and an invisible ultraviolet marking dye for assailant identification. It contains enough spray for as many as nine 1 second bursts up to 12 feet away all in a canister with a built-in key ring.
5. Don’t be a hero. Be smart about this. But perhaps the best tip is to keep your windows and doors locked.

In our article ‘The Ultimate Home Security Guide’ we detail how big the problem of burglary is, a profile of what a home burglar looks like, what they are looking for, how homes are targeted and some prevention steps you can take. It is definitely worth your taking a look.

Have you ever experienced a home invasion? Please share your experience with us. We want to hear your thoughts.