Another thing to think of.....
Your sock/shirt/pants drawer... IS NOT a safe place.
Whether the occupants were home or not, thats the first place i'd check.(and I'd do day or night whenever raids, depending on how sober/desperate to get high I was)
ALWAYS found the jewels/cash/titles to vehicles/spare keys in there, the bedroom closet, between the mattress, and any other place someone thinks of "personal space"....
The bathroom is one of the rooms I rarely checked, along with the attic(unless I had entered through there)
Even with a security system(which i still got a few houses while it was going off) i could walk away with 10-5000 worth of stuff in 1-2 minutes.
the cops/security guys take normally 3-5 minutes to respond....
GET A SAFE as well.
Preferably BOLTED to something permanent, like the floor, or whatnot.
If the biggest beefcake you know could rip it out barely, then a thief with a 3 foot crowbar can bust it loose, and get it out of your house faster than the cops can respond... if they are sober and desperate at the moment.
Opening can be done in the privacy of their home so it doesn't matter how good the safe is, if it is small enough to carry and not bolted down(or kept unlocked) you may as well not have one.
90% of homes we invaded and walked away with something we needed no tools at all.
Surprisingly, daytime thefts were easier. But nighttime ones would net more loot.
You would be surprised how many people I knew that said they were light sleepers that i would steal from their bedroom while they slept.
You might sleep light, but a good thief is REALLY quiet.
I took 2-3 minuites to open dresser drawers at times.
And I never got caught.
I was questioned by the cops and held for 24 hours a few times, even had my apartment FULL of stolen loot, and searched by the cops a few times.
But since almost NO-ONE ever scribes their name on their possessions or registers anything but their vehicles with any authorities they couldn't prove anything.
Keeping a record of the serial #'s of things you own is a BIG bonus.
If people were to do that they could contact the police(after a home robbery) and let the police know the serial #'s on everything from your blender to your TV they will put those #'s on the pawn shop watch list and be able to nab the thief.
I pawned about 1/2 of the #$%* I stole, the other half I either used, or traded to the drug dealer i dealt with for dope.
The things that were to risque to pawn(anything with precious stones) at times have laser engravings that could be traced, personal engravings etc. that would allow that pawn shop transactions to be traced back to me. Those were the most common items traded straight for drugs.
If you think thieves are stupid.... ask me why i got away with it for years.
You don't have to be smart, just smarter than the systems in place to catch thieves.
And to those of you who now think i am a lowlife scum, Yes I regret what I did. And I have made lots of things in my life a priority now, such as the NA meetings, and other charity work, all aimed at those either with drug problems or the homeless getting the skills or opportunity to help themselves.
It will probably haunt me the rest of my life for what I have done, but i can try to return to society at least the damage I caused in the past.
And as a side note.
About 80-90% of all homes/buisnesses we had hit we would scope them out for 1-5 days either with a telescope, in person or otherwise beforehand and make a detailed plan of attack as well as retreat path(s).
The other 10-20% were out of desperation for drugs, and were literally random.
We chose houses based on the looks of not only the house, but the neighborhood.
l8r
