Two home invasions in one week in my town, how do you protect your self ?

[wercal]

24. Because not alot of people use cash anymore

So step No. 2 of a home invasion robbery is taking bank cards, and extorting the pin numbers at the barrel of a gun. Step No. 3 is taking everyone's cell phone and Ipad at the barrel of a gun.

The really nice houses that might actually have jewelry and valuable stuff have alarms, gated communities, etc. protecting them. The 'sweet spot' in a modern robbery is middle class...you might get a game system or some other stuff that pawns for 20 bucks, but the really good stuff (bank cards and handheld electronics) are with the occupants.

So, the home invasion robbery is back in vogue. In my town (Topeka) there were several robberies by a group dubbed 'the gang of 8' (approximately 8 people participated). They killed a few dogs (so much for their protection) when they did their robberies (called 'licks') and had alot of people on edge. They finally got tired of the actual invasion, and decided to just lie in wait. They hid in the bushes and on the roof of a houise, waiting for a woman and her life partner to return from a birthday party...killed one and I believe shot the other. The trials are ongoing.

But the take-away: They didn't care one bit about what was inside the house. They waited to mug the occupants.