Why Would Anyone NOT Lock Their Doors?

[Blondy876]

When I was very young we always kept the door unlocked. Then when I was around 9 we had a naked women run into our living room screaming about aliens. Since then, I always keep the door locked.

I don't know why anyone would take the chance of leaving a door unlocked.

 

[Missy1961]

I live with my widowed father. He locks up at night, but he doesn't always lock the doors during the day. But when I'm there, doors are locked. And when I'm alone, the storm door is locked, the front door is locked, the back door is locked, the slider is locked, the garage door is locked & the alarm is on (we have a 2 level system, one for when you're home, one for when you're not.) We've had push-in robberies in the area, I won't take any chances. Of course, if someone is determined to get in they can, but I'm making it as hard for them as I possibly can.

 

[DisneyPhD]

When I was very young we always kept the door unlocked. Then when I was around 9 we had a naked women run into our living room screaming about aliens. Since then, I always keep the door locked.

I don't know why anyone would take the chance of leaving a door unlocked.[/QUOTE]


I think it comes down to comfort levels and what people think are chances. I don't personally feel leaving my doors open is a big risk around here. Other areas, yes (inner city, right on a main street, high traffic areas). If I felt the need to lock my doors 24/7 then I wouldn't feel safe outside and if I didn't feel safe outside I would do everything in my power not to live there. I would live in a smaller and not as nice house if it was in an area I felt was safer.

Now, personally I can't wait until they have automatic keyless entry common for houses! I can't stand fumbling with keys, especially with full hands (like mine almost always are with 2 kids.) Looking forward to the day when we get those. I know you can get them, but they are so much $ right now. I bet 10 years from now............. I can't wait!

 

[Snowysmom]

We always keep our doors locked. I will open windows when I am home to get in the fresh air. DH has a meltdown whenever the kids to out and don't lock the door, even if they are just getting the mail. He will stand at the top of the stairs until they are back and the door is locked! We don't live in a high crime area but there are enough breakins around town to make us wary. We have had some violent crimes in the area in the past years and in many, the criminal got in through an unlocked door. Why risk it.

 

[MidgeD79]

I live in the "hood" of the biggest city in the county and I don't lock my doors or shut my windows. We do not have a/c and we would die from the heat if everything was closed up. Our house is a single level, close to the ground and it would be ridiculous to lock the doos and leave the windows open. There has not been a break-in in this neighborhood in years probably because it is so low-income that robbers don't feel there is anything of value in the houses. There have been a couple of murders that were drug-related, but we're not involved in that lifestyle. I do lock up the house if we're going to be gone overnight, but I have to hunt the keys down first.

 

[caitycaity]

If I felt the need to lock my doors 24/7 then I wouldn't feel safe outside and if I didn't feel safe outside I would do everything in my power not to live there.

i don't think this is true. once inside, no one can see what is going on whereas if you are standing out in your lawn right by the street i'm pretty sure someone would call the cops if they saw someone attacking you.

i don't lock my doors because i feel unsafe. to me it is just common sense; routine. much like the other poster who compared it to wearing seatbelts. i don't worry about getting into an accident, nor am i fearful everytime i get in my car. nonetheless i wear my seatbelt everytime i do.

it seems like this is just a different strokes kind of issue. the older i get the more i realize there are a lot of theings on this earth that i don't understand. for me, people not locking their doors is one of them.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I grew up in an inner city and my parents were fanatics about keeping everything locked---We had bars on every single window and back in those days they were not the safety bars that could be opened from the inside but rather huge pieces of metal bolted to the house----Every door had a dead bolt to include my parents bedroom which contained the newer tv and only vcr and the box with the important papers----The back door which led to the shed which led to the hall which had the doors to everyones apartment had a big 2x4 wedged between it and the wall so the door wouldn't open and every single night my dad would push his big toolbox in front of the front door which led to a small shed then to my bedroom

And I must say it didn't stop people from getting in. One night my parents were out shopping and I was home alone,in parents bedroom watching tv when I seen a shadow go across my parents wall,I looked in the kitchen thinking it was my parents only to see 2 guys pawing around on top of the fridge and table--I hit the deck then thinking I would get in trouble for not defending the house jumped up and started screaming at the top of my lungs,grabbed a knife from the kitchen table as I chased them out of the house and over the back fence--------------------Another time they managed to unbolt the safety bars from the bathroom window and came in that way but were trapped when we got home and my mom and dad beat the crap out of them.

All the safety precautions in the world will not keep out someone who truly wants to get in!

Now as an adult I have moved far from the ghetto and couldn't believe the lack of crime in my area--I mean the crime is so little that the cops bust people for a bounced check--Now I'm not talking a $2,000 check but some $10,$20,$30 check that someone wrote
I have become so accustomed to not locking anything--The garage door is unlocked,the door from the garage to the laundry room is unlocked,front door is unlocked and the back door is unlocked as is all the windows.
When we run out to the store we don't lock anything and the only reason my car doors get locked when driving is because they do it automatically
As soon as the weather is nice I throw open all the doors and windows to air out the house and cut back on the electric bill
The neighborhood kids run thru my house on a daily basis and if I locked the doors I would have to answer that door about 100 times a day

Am I worried about someone robbing my house? No, it is just stuff.
Am I worried someone may break in and accost us physically--Yes and No
Yes for my kids because they don't have the same knowledge and physical capabilities as I and my DH do---For myself and DH no

There were a few times in other places we lived where I thought I heard something and went to check without waking DH and he got mad because even though he knew I was capable of taking care of myself he felt it was his job to "be the man and protect his family"---Now if I had woken him up and we BOTH went to check he would have been ok with that

I honestly can't understand locking myself into my house because of the fear something may happen---Something may happen and I don't need to be at home for it

 

[vetrik]

All you people must have air conditioning! It's very uncomfortable to be home during the day in 90 degree heat and have all the windows and doors locked up tight without air conditioning.

At our house we do keep windows open and the back door (goes on to our deck/backyard) open so the storm door can let in air when we're home. I am paranoid though. The front door is always shut and locked since we don't use it. I always make double sure that all the doors and windows are shut and locked when we leave the house. Once it gets dark, I shut and lock the back door and then I shut and lock the 1st floor windows before I go to bed. I don't really like the windows and doors open, but it's necessary to keep our house liveable sometimes.

 

[caitycaity]

All the safety precautions in the world will not keep out someone who truly wants to get in!

that is true, but it may deter some people (especially the crazies) and it gives me time to call the police.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

If somebody is so determined to rob me that they are willing to break into my home and shoot my dog, do you really think they are going to be stopped by a locked door?

You mention that you have big windows. Why don't you have bars on them? As somebody pointed out, I think a thief would much rather break a window than deal with a dog.

We all take chances. Don't let a locked door give you a false sense of security.

I think you were talking about my post here so I'll address. I do understand your point about breaking a window to get in if they really want to. And about the bars, no thank you, don't want them, I'm not that paranoid! We live in a very nice, low crime area too, but that doesn't mean people from other areas are going to steer clear of our area. About keeping windows locked, especially in our walkout, which is two floors below where we sleep, I'm gonna make sure they are locked. I know if someone really wants to get in they will, but no way am i going to make it any easier on them. Breaking the glass, chances are, either one of us or our neighbors, or my dog, will hear it. Leave a window or door open, they can sneak in quietly.

Quick true story. A neighborhood in our city, not a bad area by any means, has had several break ins recently where a few women have been raped. This person has always entered through a unlocked window in the early morning hours. The police can't say enough on the news and in the papers about making sure your doors and windows are locked at night.

 

[salmoneous]

Ooops - sorry

 

[pperfectmom]

We never have our doors locked during the day if we are home. Sometimes I don't even lock them if I am going out for a while. I also always have the windows open if the weather is nice-a big electric bill for a/c is scarier to me! I do lock up the doors at night just for peace of mind while we are sleeping. Our driveway is the biggest deterent we have to thieves. Most of the time it is 4 wheel drive only and, in the winter, sometimes even that won't work. On really dry days when I can take my car to the store I usually lock the door when I leave. Our entire family(in-laws, parents..) is terrified of our steep driveway and the only reason they come up is because they have to. We have lived here 6 years and the only uninvited guest was a crazy Kirby vacuum salesman. I almost felt sorry enough to buy one-NOT!!! Now we do have a raccoon problem....

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Ooops - sorry

Oh man! I almost had you quoted on that one before you deleted it!

 

[lowie]

We don't lock our back door. It's inside our garage, so most of the time, our garage door is down and there's no other way of getting inside our garage (e.g. there's no side door to the garage).

yes, but how many people leave their garage door clicker in their car?

 

[Bob Slydell]

yes, but how many people leave their garage door clicker in their car?

Mine's in my car in the driveway, which is locked all the time. What's your point?

 

[missj1975]

Man, some folks are just over the top! Always having the AC on because you won't open a window? People need some therapy around here.

We lock the doors at night, and that's about it. Sometimes we realize we've left the sliding glass doors open all night, too!

I think you were referring to my post so I will respond/defend myself I don't need therapy just because I am overly cautious. Anyone who lives in a area who feels safe without locking the doors is very fortunate. Not everyone is in that fortunate. I don't have the "oh, it will never happen to me" mentality. I have the "let's not take a chance" mentality. That doesn't mean I need therapy. Just a difference of opinion

 

[SC Minnie]

Mine's in my car in the driveway, which is locked all the time. What's your point?

I read an article or something that said you should keep your garage door opened on you instead of leaving it in your car as well as never leave anything in your car with your address. Someone breaks into your car in parking lot or something and has your address as well as a way to get into your house.

Now saying all that I don't live by it. I have enough stuff in my purse to not carry the opener too.

 

[Divamomto3]

Man, some folks are just over the top! Always having the AC on because you won't open a window? People need some therapy around here.

We lock the doors at night, and that's about it. Sometimes we realize we've left the sliding glass doors open all night, too!

I'm sitting here (in my unlocked house) absolutely FLABBERGASTED that people sit inside their locked houses all day long. Tell me where you all live so I don't ever make the mistake of moving there. In New England, we don't need AC all the time so on a breezy 75 degree day, all the front doors and back doors and windows are open and the curtains are blowing in the breeze. When I saw this thread, I thought the OP meant people that go out and don't lock their doors. But to sit inside with the doors locked?? I'm looking outside right now and the 4 front doors I can see all have their wooden doors open and the screen door closed. Even if they locked the screen door, once slice of the screen with the knife the intruder is going to kill you with would be all it would take. So when I go out to skim the pool, I'm supposed to lock up like I was on my way to Disney World? What about my neighbors all sitting out on their decks right now? They could be murdered at any moment!!! I'd better warn them!

 

[caitycaity]

we don't have a garage, so no need to worry on that front, but dh got on me the other day for leaving house keys in my glove compartment. i didn't even think about it until he pointed it out, but he's right. especially since we've had our car broken into a few times over the years.

Tell me where you all live so I don't ever make the mistake of moving there.

dc metro area

What about my neighbors all sitting out on their decks right now? They could be murdered at any moment!!! I'd better warn them!

is te snarky attitude really necessary? different people have different comfort levels based on where they live and their personal experiences. so what? no one here has posted that they are afraid of being murdered at any moment.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

I read an article or something that said you should keep your garage door opened on you instead of leaving it in your car as well as never leave anything in your car with your address. Someone breaks into your car in parking lot or something and has your address as well as a way to get into your house.

Now saying all that I don't live by it. I have enough stuff in my purse to not carry the opener too.

Yes, I've read this as well. Also, when I recently got a new car and was at the dealer getting things set up, we were going over the navigation system. The dealer was explaining inputting certain info. into the system and told stories of people having their vehicles stolen, the thief using the navigaion system to get to their house and using the garage opener to get in. Needless to say, we didn't put our home address in.