lock on bedroom door? how to deal with theivery

[Sossity]

I have been looking at the setup thread, & they are all very nice, and it seems some are in a bedroom or dorm room. Do any of you with your great setups worry about theft? how do you deal with it?

This got me thinking, I live in a not so great neighborhood, there is a lot of theft, and recently, one of our gates had been opened in out front yard, and some graffiti fingered in on one of our cars.

I have my mac stuff in my bedroom, and realize a thief would have a field day in my room, all my electronics bought with my school monies would be gone.

Would putting some kind of lock on my bedroom door be a good idea? for when I am out for the day?

or would this have a reverse affect if a thief got into my home? they go into the hall, see the lock on my door, thus indicating valuables might be in the room, so they would try to pick the lock/break in

also, would lock on my bedroom door be any good, my bedroom window does not have a lock, it is a top opening bay window, and I also have a skylight that is left open in warmer weather.

I have an old wooden desk that has some locks, I could place my laptop in one its drawers and lock it, but the locks are old.

 

[ucfgrad93]

As my father used to say, "Locks only keep honest people honest." If someone gets into your house, I doubt a lock on your bedroom door will keep them out. I would make sure you have some sort of insurance (renters, homeowners, etc) to cover your belongings in case of theft. Or move to a better neighborhood.

 

[plinden]

Thieves want to get in and out as quickly as possible. No one's going to bother picking a lock, but they might try to break into a locked room if there's no easier pickings.

There are a couple of things you can do. Put a lock on your room, but if possible set up a decoy (e.g. cheap, broken laptop, or an old games console, or DVD player) in an unlocked room. They'll most likely grab that and run. Get an IP camera (or old broken one for next to nothing) and attach it to the hallway wall or ceiling, and put up a sign saying "Smile! We have your picture!" or "borrow" a security company (ADT or FrontPoint) sign and display it prominently. Attach security cables to any item that can take one - again, no one's going to go to the trouble of trying to cut a security cable since the thief wants to just grab and go.

 

[TWO2SEVEN]

Since most bedroom doors aren't very heavy duty, even a lock probably wouldn't stop some one from kicking the door in.

Like others have said, renters or home owners insurance is the way to go.

 

[question fear]

Homeowners insurance is your best bet. And you can always get a safe and mount it to the floor. Most thieves aren't going to take the time to crack a safe and they probably wont have the tools to unscrew a heavy safe from the bottom of your closet.

 

[CrashX]

If you have roomies, get a lock for your door - there's an old saying, something like

"It's far worse to think you've been deceived by a friend than to actually be deceived by one."

In roomie situations, I've always had locks on my doors - you never know who someone might bring home from a bar.

But for actual protection, keep photos and serial numbers of all your valuables and get insurance, as advised. And even though I'm past the days of roomies, I still keep a copy of all my original work on a thumbdrive on my keychain.

 

[Kissaragi]

Since most bedroom doors aren't very heavy duty, even a lock probably wouldn't stop some one from kicking the door in.

Like others have said, renters or home owners insurance is the way to go.

Just what i was thinking. unless its a house with fire doors a burglar will be in almost as fast as if you had no lock.

Exterior home security and proper insurance are the best bet

 

[east85]

It wouldn't hurt to get a security sign even if you have none (ADT, etc). But yeah as others have stated you'll be best off with some actual insurance.

 

[adam044]

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