Do you leave windows open when you aren't home?

[purplinsky]

We leave our windows open all the time when it's nice out. They're open when we're home, when we're gone, when we're sleeping, etc. and we have a single story home. I think the only time I would think to check is if we're going out of town for a few days. All that being said, we also tend to not lock the doors if we're only going to be gone a few hours and there have been numerous times I'll go to let the dogs out in the morning and realize we didn't close the backdoor or lock the front door at all. I think it has to do with where we live. Our neighborhood is tucked back and no one really knows it's here unless you know people there since it's not a planned development and the streets to get here are small and fairly non-descript (there's no neighborhood signage or anything that you'll find with the housing developments). Also, I know a bunch of my neighbors, folks are always outside here, and I feel like we're always looking out for each other.

[SwimDeep]

None of our windows have screens, so the only one we've ever opened is the kitchen window. And I don't leave it open if I leave the room. I definitely wouldn't leave windows open if I left the house.

Three curious cats combined with lots of small wildlife equals way too much anxiety to just open a window and walk away.

[preppy]

Nov 7, 2022 7:57:35 GMT -5 @sameoldstory said:

It never even crossed my mind to close the windows when I leave the house. Heck, I hardly ever even lock my front door. And if I'm being honest, I never lock my car when it's parked in my driveway, only when I go out somewhere. 

Same. 

[sdlaura]

I do think it's funny when people complain about their cars being "broken into" when they were unlocked.

I think personal past experiences and type of neighborhood matter so much for this. We're in a dense suburban area with houses pretty close together and people out and about all the time. Most of our neighbors WFH, including our across the street neighbor who looks directly at our house from his upstairs office window (he has alerted me many times about us leaving a car door open or something in the driveway). We're also on the same street as the elementary school so it feels like the whole neighborhood walks by twice a day. DH works from home in his office that is a fancy shed in our backyard. Our house/driveway is also directly under a really bright streetlight, so I think that's a nighttime crime deterrent.

It would be pretty easy for someone to walk into our unlocked house while DH is working in the backyard without him noticing. But it would be unlikely that a neighbor wouldn't notice during daylight hours. I am careful to keep the garage door locked because we have a nice electric bike in there that it would be easy for someone to cart off and resell. I used to accidentally leave the garage door open sometimes, so DH installed a device that you can set to automatically close it after a set period of time. We have it set to close if it's open more than 10 minutes (you can disable it if you want it open). Sometimes we still have the issue though of a kid leaving a bike or toy or something in the path of the garage door, and then it won't even close with the device.

[Nonny]

We do, but it's usually never for more than a few hours.

Having had our house broken into, I can say that having our doors and windows closed and locked didn't help. They came in through our backyard (fenced and gated, our gates aren't locked), and then forced open the lock on our downstairs sliding glass door (walkout basement). We didn't have a stick in the door at the time, but we kind of assume they would have just chucked one of our pavers through the glass if we did.

Since our house is split level we mostly don't live on our first floor and the windows downstairs are rarely open anyway, so I'd say we never/rarely leave those open when we are gone. All the ones that slide horizontally have a spot where you can open them a crack and still have them locked, so in theory no one can open them more, and we'll do that downstairs even when we are home.

Upstairs you'd have to have a very tall ladder to get into either of the front bedrooms or you'd have to be small enough to fit through the tiny windows in the living room. In the back you'd need a ladder to get to our deck, but there are two sliding glass doors, and we already know burglars have no trouble with those locks. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[jillybean222]

I leave my windows open and my doors unlocked when during the day. After dark everything is closed and locked.

[dochas]

I always find it interesting that people think stealing things from an unlocked car isn't really a crime or a break in. If you leave your door unlocked and your house is cleaned out - is that a break in? Or if they climb in your child's unlocked window at night, is that you asking for it?

People in my area loved blaming people for leaving their cars unlocked. Many don't even think insurance should pay if it's stolen and you left it unlocked. Now they're breaking into people's homes for the keys.

[sillygoosegirl]

Upstairs yes, downstairs generally no. (Not that breaking into our house would be hard either way.)

[sdlaura]

dochas I think to me it's the terminology that I don't think applies - I think things can be stolen from your car or house/a crime can definitely be committed when it is unlocked, but I wouldn't consider it "broken into" if there was no breaking of anything involved. That's probably just me being a nerd about terminology. Of course I would still feel violated and if something is stolen, insurance should apply.

[oregonpachey]

No because I have an asshole cat that is known to push out the screens to get out.

[tacokick]

Nov 7, 2022 13:45:39 GMT -5 dochas said:

I always find it interesting that people think stealing things from an unlocked car isn't really a crime or a break in. If you leave your door unlocked and your house is cleaned out - is that a break in? Or if they climb in your child's unlocked window at night, is that you asking for it?

People in my area loved blaming people for leaving their cars unlocked. Many don't even think insurance should pay if it's stolen and you left it unlocked. Now they're breaking into people's homes for the keys.

Stealing from someone’s unlocked car is a crime, it’s a crime of opportunity.

That’s different than deliberately targeting a house or car and breaking in.

The people who steal from an unlocked car or garage are generally not the same people who are going to break into a vehicle or home that requires more effort like breaking window or disabling an alarm system.

People committing crimes of opportunity are doing it because it is easy, low risk and high reward. They aren’t trying your door and then if it is locked, busting in all your windows, prying open the trunk and stripping the car, they move on to the next car and see if that’s unlocked. They are people who want to make a quick buck off people who don’t lock their car or secure their belongings.

You can help avoid being a victim of a crime of opportunity by taking away the opportunity.

[Wallflower]

For those with cats, you might find reassurance using something like this child security guard. I use them because I am incredibly worried that my cats could go through the screen, something I didn't worry about until I found a couple of screens where they were close to pushing through because they dive at the birds. (This is my own fault - I have a couple of feeders that hang right by a window.)


Mine aren't screwed into place but I'm confident that the screen frame would keep the guard from just getting pushed through the screen. They've given me a lot of peace of mind!

[msmerymac]

Yes, although we close the ones overlooking our porch if we go out or when we go to bed for security.

[cville]

I mean, it's true that breaking a window doesn't take a massive amount of effort. But I'm not trying to make it any easier for the unsavory. Nor do I want my house to look like more of a target.

It takes very little time. It's incrementally safer. It keeps gross smells out and cats in. Walla.

[pinkdutchtulips]

Yes … I like fresh air. My window is only open maybe 2-3” inches, not enough for the dog to get out but enough so the fresh air can get in.

[starlily]

No, not even the 2nd floor. I've been a prosecutor for 20 years and have seen too many crazy things.

[bex1973]

Nov 7, 2022 13:45:39 GMT -5 dochas said:

I always find it interesting that people think stealing things from an unlocked car isn't really a crime or a break in. If you leave your door unlocked and your house is cleaned out - is that a break in? Or if they climb in your child's unlocked window at night, is that you asking for it?

People in my area loved blaming people for leaving their cars unlocked. Many don't even think insurance should pay if it's stolen and you left it unlocked. Now they're breaking into people's homes for the keys.

It was once explained to me by our police chief that if they "cross the plane" of some place they shouldn't be then it's breaking in.

[starlily]

Nov 7, 2022 13:45:39 GMT -5 dochas said:

I always find it interesting that people think stealing things from an unlocked car isn't really a crime or a break in. If you leave your door unlocked and your house is cleaned out - is that a break in? Or if they climb in your child's unlocked window at night, is that you asking for it?

People in my area loved blaming people for leaving their cars unlocked. Many don't even think insurance should pay if it's stolen and you left it unlocked. Now they're breaking into people's homes for the keys.

In CA, there's a requirement in the law that does require the doors to be locked in order to charge vehicle burglary. Oftentimes that can be worked around by filing a general theft charge instead, but that might mean the difference between being able to charge a felony v. a misdemeanor.

[gummybear]

Nov 7, 2022 16:01:59 GMT -5 starlily said:

No, not even the 2nd floor. I've been a prosecutor for 20 years and have seen too many crazy things.

In the neighborhood I grew up in a house was robbed when the thieves took a ladder that was visible/stored on their property and propped it up, entering through an unlocked second floor window.
That has stuck with me. I don't have ladders anywhere though  

[redheadbaker]

Yes, I do. Despite all evidence to the contrary so far, I'd like to think my dog would bark at a stranger. LOL

I do always lock my car, though, even if I'm just getting out for a few minutes. Just a habit.

[bex1973]

I'm amazed by the number of people I know that say they don't lock their car when it's in their driveway and when I ask if they have a garage door opener in thier car they're all "oh. ummm..." I think I'm especially mindful of this because if you get in our garage you have full access because we don't lock the door between the garage and the rest of the house - which of course is dumb on our part.

[kadams767]

Nov 7, 2022 8:47:35 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Leaving windows open and not worrying about crime interesting to me because it seems like so many people (in general not singling out anyone here) have surveillance cameras in and outside of their homes. I wonder people with those devices leaving their windows open? I know I’ve seen some people in my neighborhood group complaining that their car was “broken into” and caught on the camera and 9/10 times it turns out the car just wasn’t locked.


Honestly, I don’t think someone who really wants to break into your house will be deterred by an closed window or even a camera system but closing your windows does seem like a way to easily make your house seem “secure” and cut down on crimes of opportunity same as locking your car.

Just to cement my place as apparently worried the least (or perhaps more accurately, the laziest/flakiest), I don’t have any cameras or Ring/smart doorbells or devices either.  🤣  Sometimes my dog is home when I leave with the windows open, he might be a bit of a deterrent?  

[gretchenindisguise]

We lock sliding glass doors and windows downstairs.

Upstairs windows are open nearly year round. We don’t often get rain, but our roof overhangs enough no water comes inside.

If someone were to use a ladder to break in they’d be really disappointed they wasted the effort. We have literally nothing worth that much work.

[kaneen]

Nov 7, 2022 14:27:23 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Nov 7, 2022 13:45:39 GMT -5 dochas said:

I always find it interesting that people think stealing things from an unlocked car isn't really a crime or a break in. If you leave your door unlocked and your house is cleaned out - is that a break in? Or if they climb in your child's unlocked window at night, is that you asking for it?

People in my area loved blaming people for leaving their cars unlocked. Many don't even think insurance should pay if it's stolen and you left it unlocked. Now they're breaking into people's homes for the keys.

Stealing from someone’s unlocked car is a crime, it’s a crime of opportunity.

That’s different than deliberately targeting a house or car and breaking in.

The people who steal from an unlocked car or garage are generally not the same people who are going to break into a vehicle or home that requires more effort like breaking window or disabling an alarm system.

People committing crimes of opportunity are doing it because it is easy, low risk and high reward. They aren’t trying your door and then if it is locked, busting in all your windows, prying open the trunk and stripping the car, they move on to the next car and see if that’s unlocked. They are people who want to make a quick buck off people who don’t lock their car or secure their belongings.

You can help avoid being a victim of a crime of opportunity by taking away the opportunity.

“The people who steal from an unlocked car or garage are generally not the same people who are going to break into a vehicle or home that requires more effort like breaking window or disabling an alarm system.”

They are exactly the same people just at a different point of desperation.

[al dente]

My windows are always open. We have jalousie windows though, so I guess you'd still have to break it to get in? I also live in a townhouse, so no side windows, and the windows we do have are behind a tall fenced yard. Plus I have a big dog.

Car break ins are huge here, but like 9 times out of 10 it's someone that left their doors unlocked and a bag on the seat. It's stupid. I've had people tell me they were so surprised because they had left "a fake coach purse, obviously I wouldn't leave a real one so it wasn't worth stealing" like what who is putting that much thought into what they steal? Lol. A bag is a bag and if you just have to open the door and there it is...

[Poppy]

My H says this: "You don't have to outrun a bear, you just have to outrun another person."

His point is that you don't want to look like a sitting duck. Therefore, we typically make sure downstairs windows are locked at night or if we leave, although we have an evaporative cooler so in the summer we leave some cracked with those little tabs that limit the window to a couple inches.

But I have forgotten to close windows or the garage sometimes, and forgotten to lock my car a bunch, and never had a break in - it's a pretty safe neighborhood. I had a locked car stolen from outside an apartment in college, and we were much more vigilant when living there.

[sdlaura]

This story was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal Business & Finance section today - it made me think of this thread. This woman whose home he walked into had an unlocked front door overnight:

www.cnn.com/2022/11/07/business/tyson-foods-cfo-arrest/index.html

[thebreakfastclub]

I was more loose on door locking until a neighbor like 5 houses away came downstairs one early morning to find a random guy sitting at his kitchen table.
He was able to scare the guy out of his house, but I'm now on board with doors locked, outside lights on, and door from the garage to my house deadbolted at night.

[litebright]

Generally not. But we have a lot of windows that go to the floor-level and they slide upwards to open -- so when they're open, the screen is at my dog's level, if that makes sense. We don't crate her when we're gone and we can't shut her in a room because she can open all our interior door handles. So if one squirrel or rabbit comes into view, and I am 100% sure we would have a busted screen and a hurt or missing dog.

[wildrice]

Nov 7, 2022 22:48:58 GMT -5 kaneen said:

Nov 7, 2022 14:27:23 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Stealing from someone’s unlocked car is a crime, it’s a crime of opportunity.

That’s different than deliberately targeting a house or car and breaking in.

The people who steal from an unlocked car or garage are generally not the same people who are going to break into a vehicle or home that requires more effort like breaking window or disabling an alarm system.

People committing crimes of opportunity are doing it because it is easy, low risk and high reward. They aren’t trying your door and then if it is locked, busting in all your windows, prying open the trunk and stripping the car, they move on to the next car and see if that’s unlocked. They are people who want to make a quick buck off people who don’t lock their car or secure their belongings.

You can help avoid being a victim of a crime of opportunity by taking away the opportunity.

“The people who steal from an unlocked car or garage are generally not the same people who are going to break into a vehicle or home that requires more effort like breaking window or disabling an alarm system.”

They are exactly the same people just at a different point of desperation.

Theft isn't always because of desperation, though. Often it's mischief or because it's a thrill to get away with it. I would guess a lot of stuff that is stolen out of cars doesn't have a ton of value.

Signed, someone who was carjacked and the kids who did it took it to buy soda and chips and drive around and then wreck it. They got absolutely no financial benefit from doing it. They just wanted to cause trouble.