What would you do if you came home and the front door to your house or apartment was open? Would you go in?
I wouldn't. I'd call for help, and I don't even watch horror movies.
I have a camera at both entrances of my house. I'd check to see what it picked up. Next I'd grab a crowbar from my trunk and make my way to the house. I'd shout something like, "I got you on camera and the police are on their way. I suggest you leave now."
shareIf there was no sign of forced entry I'd just assume that my wife hadn't shut the door properly (again).
shareSince I live alone, I can't use that justification. 😉 Also, whenever I leave, I have to use a key to lock up (can't just close the door) and the same key to get into my detached garage. So it's impossible that I would not have shut the door properly. Heck, I'm always double-checking to make sure the outer door is closed tightly (too many windy days here), and I always lock the inner door when I'm home, anyway.
shareThis has happened to me a few times.
Once I went in. Turned out we were being robbed. Thieves heard me and bolted out the back door.
One time it was kind of humorous. It was a very windy day and apparently even though it was locked, we had left the door unlatched. Came home and saw the door wide open. Looked in front door and the dog and cat were sitting on the couch looking at the wide open door. That's when we knew everything was ok.
Bewildered dog and mildly annoyed cat, I'm thinking.
shareI guess I would rush in and close the door behind. Waiting is not an option for a family man like me.
shareThis actually did happen to me.
In December 1981, I was living in an apartment in Long Beach, N.Y. (it's on Long Island) when I made my yearly trip to Miami to visit my parents as well as some friends.
In January '82 I flew to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show.
When I returned to Long Beach after three weeks away, I saw that the door to my apartment was open.
"Oh shit," I thought. "I've been gone three weeks and I've been robbed."
Such was not the case.
Apparently, the temperature had dropped down to 3 degrees the day before I returned, thus the water pipes froze and burst.
Water was pouring out from multiple places in the walls, so the maintenance men were in my apartment trying to repair the mess.
I called some friends and stayed with them for a week while I waited for my niece to be born.
After she arrived I packed up all my stuff and moved to Miami, where I never again had to worry about frozen pipes, only hurricanes.
I'd go back inside my car, lock the doors, call the police, and wait for them.
share
It's happened at our places in the city and out in the country. It's usually the wind blowing the door open. We had a few situations where a drunk walked into the house. They usually leave as soon as we confront them (packing with the revolver visible). When we dealt with it, we listened to see if someone was there, called out "if someone is in there we're calling the police," and in every case, the place was empty with nothing missing (our stuff is old and without value).
I don't worry about violence because you don't know until it's there.