ROBBER BEGONE

FORTIFYING AND DEFENDING THE HOME AGAINST

ROBBERS

Charles Daoust
5/5/2014





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I want you to picture this scenario with me. I want you to imagine that it is late at night
and that you are preparing to go to bed. Its a typical summer night, unexceptional in
every characteristic and dull in the fact it is so similar to every other night that has
preceded it. You have finished your days toils, whether it be a long day of studies and
homework, work at your day job, or a holiday filled with festivities and joy, and now it is
time for bed. You follow your typical bedtime routine, drink a hot drink, shower, read a
couple pages of that new novel, watch an episode of your favorite TV program, enjoy a
little snack, or perhaps a combination of all or some of the above. Your pre bedtime
routine is concluded and finally you are tucked under your sheets. Soon you are
completely relaxed, and you feel the blissful tug of sleep, enticing your body and mind to
fully accept its embrace. And step by step you give in until you are deep asleep, safe
and sound. Or so you believe.

Outside the walls of your home, three men walk towards your home, the pale moon
light causing their shadows to creep ever so steadily towards your front door. In the
dark, impenetrable holes of the ski masks they wear, the eyes of these men gleam with
malicious intent as their gloved hands grip the nefarious tools of the robbers trade, a
crowbar, knife, and a small caliber revolver. The men reach the front door, and with a
few whispers and gestures they prepare to unleash their plan upon your home. One of
the men kicks your door in with a resounding crash, and they rush into your home, and
make their way quickly and decisively towards your bedroom where you have just
startled awake, panicked and confused. In an instant they have captured you and your
house is no longer yours, it is forfeit, as you and the rest of your belongings are.
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The above scenario might cause you to scoff and declare with the audacity of
complacency that such a scenario might never happen to you that by sheer virtue that
such a misfortune has never occurred to
you before, therefore it shall never happen
to you in the fortune. And hopefully you
are right, and you never have the horror of
facing a home invasion in the dead of the
night alone, or worse, with loved ones in
dire need of your protection.

But before you comfort yourself with that
fallacious logic consider these latest crime
statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime
Report. According to the FBI there were a
reported 354, 520 robberies nationwide, 652 of which resulted in murder (FBI). 16.9% of
the total robberies occurred on a residence (FBI). This means that in the year 2012
approximately 59,914 robberies occurred in a residence and of that number 124 of
those involved murder, presumably the murder of the occupant. So clearly not only do
you have a chance of being robbed, but you also have the chance of winding up dead in
the process of being robbed, making a bad scenario worse. If you are not the type of
individual who likes to gamble with their life, it would behoove you to decide to take the
necessary steps to 1: Prevent a home invasion from happening, and 2: Prepare to
defend yourself from the home invader and take your fate in your own hands.
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Step 1: Preventing the home invasion
The key to preventing a home invasion is to make your home appear much more
difficult to break into than your neighbors home (Eckstine). Criminals are like animals of
prey, they prefer targets that offer the least amount of resistance as possible. So if your
home looks like too much trouble to break into, but your neighbors house looks like a
cakewalk, chances are the home invader will target your neighbors home and leave
yours unmolested. This might sound cruel, but it is better them than you.

The first step to preventing home invasions is to remove evidence that you have
anything worth stealing. Shred all your receipts and destroy packaging materials that
indicate you recently bought something of value such as a high definition TV set, a
laptop, or a gaming system. If possible keep items of value away from the windows.

The second step is to deny the home invaders
concealment outside your home. By denying them
concealment it allows you the ability to spot the criminals as
they approach the house. Hedges and bushes need to be
trimmed, especially if it is around the windows and
doorways (Buschena). And as the coup du gras the
ultimate means of concealment, darkness, needs to be
removed. Install motion sensor activated lights around the
home to simultaneously reveal intruders the minute they arrive (Buschena).

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The third step is to set up an early warning system that will alert you to the fact an
intruder is approaching the home. Tamper proof cameras are ideal
because they present the homeowner a second pair of eyes to see
a potential threat without actually exposing the homeowner to any
danger. Also cameras can record events providing proof to law
enforcement if need be. Alarms can be installed outdoors as well,
and if they are going to be installed outside, they should be installed on fence gates that
are ordinarily locked at night (alerting you to the fact someone just broke the lock on the
gate) (Eckstine).

Securing the house itself

Once the exterior of the home is taken care of it is time to concentrate on securing the
points of entry of your home. These include your doors, windows, garage door (if the
garage is attached to your home), and patio doors.
The most important step to preventing unauthorized entry to your home is incredibly
simple. Lock and close your doors and windows (Buschena)! While it is a simple step
unfortunately many people neglect to do so and suffer the consequences (Buschena).
So save yourself future pain and heartache and take that effort to close and lock those
doors (this includes garage doors).

The door is the first place that intruders prefer to enter a home,
therefore it should be the priority in securing the house. When evaluating
your door remember that just like a castle gate your door must be strong
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enough to repel attempts to break it down (luckily for you though most home invaders
dont bring battering rams with them!). A good strong door would be built of either solid
hardwood or metal plated, with windows at least 40 away from the door knob
(Buschena).

But what good is a door if there are no locks on it? As
mentioned before, locking your door is vital, but relying
on the door knob lock alone is also folly
(Buschena).Unfortunately door knob locks are easy to
break and disable (Buschena). Therefore it is
advisable to add a deadbolt to your door as these are
much more difficult to tamper with on the outside.

After getting the right door with a deadbolt, the next step is to make
sure the striker plate is up to task (Buschena). In case you are not
sure what that is the strike plate is the piece of metal on the door
frame that the deadbolt and door lock into (Buschena). It is also the
first thing to break when your door is kicked in as demonstrated by
this photo (Buschena). To avoid this happening to your door, get a
heavy duty strike plate with screws that are two and a half or 3 long (Buschena).

Right about now you might be wondering if a
door chain is a wise investment. The answer
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would be no, these chains are too flimsy to be useful
(Buschena). Instead invest in a wide view or electronic
peephole. In addition a door club would be a worthy
consideration (Buschena). This handy device is a type of door
stopper on steroids (it is able to resist up to two tons of force)
that prevents your door from being forced open any more than you wish it to be opened
(Buschena). The door stopper would come in handy if for example you want to crack
open the door to talk to a door to door salesman, but dont want him strong-arming his
way through the door in case hes not a salesman after all.

The next popular avenue of approach that intruders like to take is entering through the
windows (Buschena). Just as with the door, your windows should be able to be locked
securely from the inside. That being said the trouble with windows, unlike doors is that
they have to be made of glass, which has the unfortunate habit of breaking when hit
with a hard object, making your locks useless. One means of countering this occurrence
would be to install burglar bars. Be forewarned however, that these should be installed
on the inside of your home and easily removable to prevent yourself from being trapped
in your room in case there is a fire (Buschena). Also remember to check with your
building fire codes to make sure that these are allowed.

The general purpose of an alarm is to alert you that your
defensive perimeter has been breached and a world of hurt is
headed your way. For this purpose you have a variety of
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options at your disposal. There are professional alarm services such as ADT who can
rig up your home alarms for a fee or you can buy your own alarms and install them
yourself if you are a more do-it-yourself type of person. Or if you are distrustful of alarms
that depend on electricity and batteries, a small dog will do in a pinch. Small dogs are
noisy, annoying little creatures that are lighter sleepers than their larger counterparts
and therefore more likely to notice intruders (Eckstine).

In case you are planning to install alarms, these should be installed on doors and
windows. Furthermore if you are installing alarms, they should have the ability to alert
the police or a security team that you are in danger (Eckstine). That being said, do not
count on 911 to show up to save your bacon before it is too late (Eckstine). As the
saying goes when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

Do or die: Fending off the intruder.

Hopefully after all the effort you have put in to securing your home, most home invaders
have decided that your home is too much trouble and instead are planning on ruining
your neighbors slumber rather than yours. But what to do when they decide to go
ahead and breaking anyway, difficulty be damned? In that case you will be forced to
defend your home, belongings, your family, and yourself by whatever means lethal or
non-lethal.

Non-lethal

Most individuals would rather not kill anybody or cause any long lasting damage on any
individual, even if he (or she) is trying to kill or rob them. Therefore non-lethal force
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holds a definitive attraction of defending yourself without the intruder winding up dead
and keeping a clean conscience. The problem unfortunately with non-lethal is that, well,
the home invader is not dead meaning he is still a threat until law enforcement arrives to
remove him.
Effective means of non-lethal force are as follows:
Martial Arts
In all likelihood, you have seen action movies where the hero declares that he doesnt
use guns and spends the next hour or so beating up a large number of villains. While
this makes for good TV, the reality is very different. Even if you have the fists of
Muhammad Ali, the feet of Bruce Lee, and the fighting spirit of Chuck Norris, chances
are that you will not win a fist fight with two or more intruders, especially if they are
armed with knives, crowbars, or a gun. Also, you have no idea how skilled the intruder
is at hand to hand combat so engaging your enemy mano a mano is a risky move at
best and foolhardy on average. Avoid getting in a physical struggle at all if possible.

The Taser

Tasers are a non-lethal weapon that uses electricity to
incapacitate opponents. Police versions can shot barbed darts
with wires attached, allowing one to Taser an enemy from a safe
distance. Civilian versions however do not have that capacity,
forcing the user to get up close and personal with the opponent.
For that reason, the use of a Taser is discouraged, but it is better
than going at the home invader with just your bare fists.
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Pepper Spray

Pepper spray is a liquid that irritates human tissue such as skin and eyes when it comes
into contact with it. This irritation causes the victim extreme pain and discomfort and
distracts them from their nefarious goals. Pepper spray comes in various spray and fog
canisters of a variety of sizes. It is useful to discourage your opponent from coming any
further in the home or disabling them allowing you time to retreat, phone 911, or get a
gun.

Intimidation

One of the most effective means of non-lethal is intimidation. The threat of using lethal
force, such as displaying a gun to the intruder with a stern warning has been proven to
effectively prevent actual violence from happening. In fact most cases of effective self-
defense are resolved in this manner, with no one present being injured and no guns
being discharged.

Lethal Force

The taking of another life is a serious matter and should never be taken lightly, but
sometimes it is necessary to take that drastic step in the case of a home invasion. If you
do have to take someone elses life be prepared to face questions from law
enforcement about justifying defending yourself. Before squeezing the trigger try to
meet the following criteria (I say try because the situation will dictate what actually
happens):
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1. Identify your target: This means you need to see who you are shooting and ascertain
whether or not he is a threat. Always have your home defense gun equipped with a
flashlight to make it easier to see who and what you are shooting at. A flashlight can
also blind targets, making it a deterrence weapon.

2. Verbalize a warning. If possible order the intruder to drop their weapons and put
their hands up. If they obey hold those at gunpoint until the police arrive. If they run from
you let them go. If they attack however, you have no choice but to shoot them.

As far as lethal weapons go, the ideal weapon would be a firearm. Unfortunately some
people may not have a firearm available, limiting their options to clubs such as baseball
bats and crowbars or edged weapons such as knives and machetes. The problem with
these melee weapons is that they force you to engage your target up close and
personal which puts you at the risk of being overpowered by a group of three home
invaders.

There are several legitimate concerns to using a firearm for self-defense. The first and
most obvious is that you may not know how to use one in the first place. The obvious
remedy for that problem is to take a class on how to use that weapon
from a certified instructor. And after you take that class you should
practice with your weapon of choice at least once a month to
maintain and improve your efficiency with that weapon. The second
concern would be that you have young children who might shoot
themselves with it by accident. In that case your firearms should be
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stored in a biometric safe. A biometric safe has the distinct advantage over normal
safes in that it can be opened by a merely pressing your finger against a pad, granting
quick and hassle free entry, unlike a knob or keypad safe.

For firearms there are a large and impressive amount to choose from in order to
defend yourself with. Which such a large number to choose from, those unfamiliar to
firearms may be uncertain what to select. The following list will help you better
understand the categories of firearms to help you choose your ideal home defense gun.

Revolvers: The revolvers is a handgun that generally holds up to six rounds in a
cylindrical chamber. The revolver can chamber very
large and powerful rounds and is extremely reliable
and accurate. The fact that after nearly two centuries
the revolver is still selling is a testament to the
genius behind its design. But the revolver has some shortcomings though, its bulky and
does not usually hold more than six rounds and reloading is complex and finicky.

Pistols: Pistols are handguns that are magazine fed, giving the pistol the ability to shot
10 to 100 rounds. The ability to shoot several rounds without
having to reload is critical in a firefight and gives the pistol and
edge over the revolver. The pistol is also lighter and slimmer
than a revolver but is not as reliable.
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Shotguns: These are firearms that fire shells rather than regular metal cased bullets.
What makes a shell different from a bullet is the
sheer diversity of projectiles that can be
launched from the shell. From birdshot, which is
a shotgun shell that holds several small pellets
for hunting birds, to slugs which is a single large
piece of lead that is used for large game, to dragons breath which is used for setting
stuff on fire, the different loads for a shotgun are practically endless. For general home
defense though, the experts recommend using buckshot (Yeager).The shotgun is
divided into three categories, double barrel, pump, and semi-auto. The shotgun can also
be equipped with a pistol grip or butt stock depending on the users preference.

Rifles: The rifle is a shoulder fired firearm that is divided into three categories, lever
action, bolt action, and semi-automatic and each comes in a variety of calibers. The
main difference between the three rifle categories is basically how a new bullet is
chambered after the first bullet has been shot, and how the rifle is reloaded. Bolt and
lever action rifles do not chamber a new round after being shot, meaning this has to be
done by either pulling or cranking the bolt back, discharging the round, and pushing it
forward again, chambering a fresh round. A semiautomatic rifle chambers a new round
every time the trigger is pulled. Lever action
rifles are fed via a tubular magazine while bolt
and semi autos are fed by box and spring magazines.
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Perhaps the ideal rifle for self-defense is the AR-15. The AR-15 is a weapon that is very
easy to use and can the customization options for the AR are almost endless. The .223
caliber of the AR-15 only helps further the
appeal of the rifle, not only is the recoil from
the round easy on the shoulders, but the
bullet is designed to fragment upon impact which is ideal if youre worried about over
penetration (Yeager).

Conclusion
Having concluded accomplished all the preventions listed in this paper, are you
finally safe? While you definitely are safer than you were before you began fortifying
your house, it would be unwise to adopt an attitude of complacency and assume that
you are safe. Remain vigilant, maintain your cameras, locks, and alarms (especially if
its a little dog!), and practice using your guns. In this manner you will keep your home
and yourself ready for a possible home invasion and allow yourself to sleep in peace,
knowing that if your door gets kicked in, you will be ready to rise to the occasion and
prevail.

Bibliography
Buschena, Mark. "Kick Ass" Home Security! PowerHouse Publishing, 2012.
Eckstine, Roger. Shooter's Bible Guide To Home Defense: A Comprehensive Handbook On How to Protect
Your Property from Intrusion and Invasion. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2013.
FBI. Uniform Crime Report 2012. n.d. 124 04 2014.
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Yeager, James. Youtube. n.d. 24 04 2014.