I believe I hate thieves more than anything in this world. Whether it be a candy bar, small change or whether you cut the lock on my storage unit and stole some of my preps, I can't stand you. This is what happened to me. The thief, whom if I could find would not waste anymore oxygen, stole two Coleman camp stoves, a tackle box of tackle, 20 propane bottles for the stoves, a sleeping bag, two tents, a battery charger for the truck, a trolling motor and various video games. The lesson learned is to not trust anyone and not trust locks to keep your stuff safe. What can I do about it? Nothing. Relieve stress and go from a new point. Better locks, double locks and I guess patrolling my own unit. There is a difference in acquiring and stealing. I sit here and think of how I gained my stuff and just to have some thief take it from me. It's not healthy for my BP so I have to remind myself that one day the penalty for thievery will be more severe and mayhaps the police, the storage unit owner will do their jobs. If I think too heavily on it, it only makes me more upset. I see the quandary that is life. If someone wrongs you, the only way to assure they won't wrong you again is for their demise to be swift. Though to what degree does a wrong deserve a demise? Where should the line be drawn? An apology is only words and words do not turn back the hands of time to undo what has been done. So basically an apology is worthless. The christian thing is to forgive. The vigilante thing is to take care of the problem. It is just hard to accept there are some things that are out of your control when it is on such a personal level. All I can really do is to be more aware of suspicious characters, even if it means staying awake all night to guard my gear and to try harder next time to keep my stuff. Is it wrong of me to wish that the thief blows himself to hell when he attempts to light one of those stoves? Is it wrong of me to wish that he is shot to death when some other thief tries to steal the stuff that he stole from me? Then again I wouldn't know either way if it happens to him or her. This is the lost, confused, vulnerable feeling that is too prevalent in society today. If you don't catch the thief in the act, then you are left with missing memories and items and stuck with a feeling of frustration that you cannot get recompense. I just hate these morons more than I hate Sinead O'Connor music. So all of that to say this, Watch your preps. Be mindful of those that surround you and even those that do not. You cannot save yourself or your family if all your preps have gone the way of the dinosaurs.
Well that sucks, and yes thieves are pretty low on the food chain. You said that this was at a storage unit? Add a motion operated camera to catch still images, just in case they come back.
Same thoughts, best I can say is stay within the law of your state, remember all bullests are attached to at least one useless attorney or Tax paid Public Defender or Proscecutor . Had the homeowner below been in some US Nanny States he would be under the jail. The Homeowner It’s late, he’s tired the coffee is stale on his breath, his stomach growls and gurgles. Only 18 hours ago he had walked out to his vehicle to go to work only to find broken glass at the driver’s side. His window was busted and he found that cargo was missing. Damn he was a victim of some petty thief. The homeowner said a few seldom uttered cuss words and went back to the security of his home. Time to call the Police, call work and let them know he’d be in late. But that was a long time ago and sleep was now calling. The homeowner was so sure that the thief would be back to finish the job that he had rigged a look out to be able to have a clear view of his area. A sturdy chair was tied to a strong coffee table. The chair was well tied and access seemed easy earlier in the evening, but now the adrenalin was wearing off, muscles were stiff and a doubt was creeping into the homeowner’s thoughts. Then too he needed to go to work today for the police had come late to interview him and he had already missed one day’s pay. He lay down for just a moment on the couch, sure that he would recover to full alertness after a short cat nap. AWAKE! All of a sudden he was fully alert, did he hear something or did he just sense a problem? His mind raced as did his blood. He sensed “THEY” were on the way. He woke his wife and asks her to be prepared to “Call the Cops”. The homeowner checked his gear, a Winchester ’94 30-30, a Colt model 1910 32ACP, both inherited from his dad and a Kabar an issue item that followed him home after his military service days. The rifle had limited capacity and he had no idea what he would face, he knew the old Colt was good to 10 yards and the round nose full metal jacket bullet had always feed into the chamber. The rifle had some good Deer rounds, Silver tips they called them, also inheriated with the ’94 some years back. The pistol was tucked into his waist band near the small of his back, the Kabar was worn old fashioned Bowie style tucked in belt at his left side with the retainer unsnapped and out of his way. Both side arms could be easily concealed if need arose. The rifle was handy at the door for the homeowner’s intent/plan of action was to catch what he figured to be a neighborhood kid being stupid and returning to the scene of last night’s crime. Seemed easy enough, a good look out/FOP, communication net work in place and now only time till sunrise. A truck cruises slowly by, backs up, parks and two guys unass the passenger side. The driver kills the engine. Thoughts race, 3 of them, wonder if they are armed wait and watch. The two thieves approach the homeowner’s vehicle. The homeowner can see they have previous knowledge of his vehicle for the go right for the broken window and reach inside. Call the Cops the homeowner says as he starts toward his front door. All along hoping that their prints will match what the PD lifted from the crime of yesterday. Outside things unravel, a quick sweep of the neighborhood shows no neighbors out, good or bad it is what it is. The two thieves are quickly herded into the confines of the homeowner’s entry way, he had locked the door as he left. The jabber starts from the thieves, the lies flow and the homeowner notes the truck leaving. The proof mounts that these saps have been left and this is good for he hopes the police will arrive soon. More things unravel at the insane moments as one thief decides to make a break. The homeowner, not inclined to shot a man in the back, tells the remaining thief, let’s follow him, they did and as the truck raced by the homeowner fired two disabling shots at his moving target. The truck turned a corner, still in sight but some 100 yards away the truck was hit three times. The truck stopped , the thief who ran away at the homeowners front door scrambled into the cab. As the homeowner was preparing for a sixth shot a car turned from a side street into the line of fire. Rifle came up, port arms, no reason to chance hitting an innocent. The last thief gets antsy, he is now mostly deaf for he was in front of the weapon when the 5 shots were fired. He reaches for something. GUN! The homeowner pulls the pistol from his waist band, not really sure what was left in the Winchester ’94, hard to keep track in a real world action, harder still to reload in front of the thief and give him an idea that the '94 might be empty. At ten feet the thief figures he doesn’t have a chance for in his eyes the homeowner now holds two loaded weapons to his hideout. The homeowner instructed the thief to march back to the house, the homeowner figured he’d be better chancing leaving the weapon on the thief than trying to disarm him at close quarters or having the weapon in the thief’s hand if he instructed him to drop it. So they marched, in the dark and the quiet back the way they came, at the next corner they were met by two PD Officers. The thief had his arms way above his head and the homeowner instantly identified himself. The homeowner was glad to hear that the PD was there in force, three cars had arrived quietly while the shooting was happening. The PD had been provided information on what the homeowner was wearing and what weapon he had. So as they meet they disarmed and cuffed the thief and “suggested” that the homeowner clean up his brass. Back at the home and the PD are photographing the scene, this includes the watch tower inside the home as well as the vehicle and the captured thief. Calls are made by the PD and a Sergeant is dispatched with the previous nights report on the burgled vehicle, all to tie things together. Looking around the homeowner now sees State, County and PD officers, all are friendly and wishing him a better tomorrow. OVER or so it seems, it is all a blur. Everyone leaves as the sun comes up, quiet, empty, alone. The homeowner goes inside to get ready for work. Work was a place of solitude, no one knew of that nights events and work was a pleasure. Arriving home the homeowner spots a business card stuck between the door and the door frame. Scribbled on the back was “Call me about last night’s events” on the front was “Detective Homicide Division etc”. And the homeowner wondered if someone was killed the night before. THE Call was made, the Homeowner was told that in any shooting a Homicide Detective was assigned in case the person shot died. The driver of the truck had been hit with the 5th shot during his attempted escape the night before. Well a bit of luck, all 3 had confessed to the Police that they had been the ones who broke into the truck the night before and stole tools and came back with a borrowed truck to clean out the rest of the gear on the second night. This was basically what they admitted to the homeowner as they whined and begged to be let go while being held in the entry way of the house in those first early hours of this adventure. Now two were in jail and one was n the hospital. The homeowner was clean and cleared, He had won this match but no trophy was forthcoming. The homeowner cleaned his weapons and went to sleep.
Yup! I know what you mean about thieves! Too many BAD ones out there and the hole you are left with, eats at you...For a minute there I actually thought you were in my neck of the woods up north, where lowlife's seem to prosper in their trade. When I had my items in storage, I made sure there was a camera aimed directly at the door, and that the system was recorded 24/7. Not a single incident took place. But it wasn't cheap, security rarely is....Right now I have 8 cameras watching 2 mobile homes, where 3/4 of my stuff is.... The rest is up north in a "semi-secured" location. One of these days there will be bounties placed on those dirtbags heads!
I will look into the camera thing. It will be my expense, though it's better to take care of myself. I was not the only one. The thief had cut seven different units open. Don't know their stories. I just know that I'm hoping that it catches up to them in a very punishing way. I liked the story, though it is what it is. Some get lucky and some don't. Some get their stuff back and some never do. So it's little comfort. I'm praying that the day comes quicker that they get theirs.
There are "few" storage places here that do not have live onsite managers, and even then, they have camera surveillance...I know there were a "rash" of burglaries going on, so they took measures to insure the units security. most are only open 6 am to 9 pm and have automatic gates and coils of razor wire atop of 8 foot walls...lights are automated too. It's like where I now live, in the outskirts of phoenix, I have 2 dogs, 8 cameras, and still, things do happen! It only took being away from the house once for 15 minutes, and we got "hit". Since then, I have implemented bars on the windows and rear door... Now "WE" live inside a prison cell, just to protect what we have from those that would steal it all....But even dogs and cameras can be defeated....1 man I know of had 9 dogs, but let anyone and everyone pet and befriend them...People walked in his front door after parking in front of his house, and opening the gate ( an 8 ft. chainlink fence) and just walked right in....He got a bit of a shock as he was in the bathroom amd his significant other was in bed! If you decide to have ANY type of security system, you always have to be aware that some peole can defeat it. So, with that in mind, just remember: 1 is none, 2 is better, 3 is 'almost' secure! I use a compliment of dogs, technology and myself....It's the best I have come up with so far... Sorry about your losses... That really bites! Look for a better place or something a lot more secure. I have been burglarized at least 5 times...The local PD are inept and ineffective, and any homeowners insurance refuses to pay off as the police reports are NON-existant! I demanded 1 and managed to FORCE one out of the so called "investigator" that had no idea what had happened, never spoke to me or the officer that came out...A wall that was completely destroyed, ripped away ,leaving an 8 ft x 4 ft hole, was described as " No signs of forced entry observed". So, do whatever you have to (within the local laws of course) and protect you and yours! I went to the local animal shelter and adopted a dog that was scheduled to be euthanized as it was known to be "vicious"...Yeah, he'll lick you to death! My youngest was barely 2 when I got him and he never once bit anyone BUT me! It was inevitable as I trained him as an attack dog to protect the family while I was at work! He was one great dog, (21 years ago) never had one problem with anyone trying to get in or around the home....(Golden Retriever breed) I will end up with a couple outside dogs, which I have now, and get another 2 for inside... It's all a person can do....( within the LAW of course) but then, I am well known to be a NON-Conformist!
Yes indeed, thieves are total scum. I also recently had my home burglarized, and have since tightened security a great deal. I normally have good security, but this old house needed repairs and now it has them. Things will only continue to get worse. Be prepared to defend your own.
In order to maintain my sanity or what is loosely called my sanity, I have let it blow away. I am just chalking it up as a lesson hard learned. I am going to implement security measures and one is those cameras, even if it's a fake one. It might give them pause. I will just have to have two locations of backup goods in case this happens again. I will not receive help from the storage manager or the police about it so it is up to me and what little I can do about it. I wonder if the castle doctrine extends to storage units as well? Will have to research that in the case that me and a thief ever cross paths at the same time where they aren't supposed to be. Gotta guard my six in case I give them lead.
We had the gas siphoned out of the tractor so far. I moved the tractor closer to the dogs. That solved that problem. I am also getting into motion sensors triggering alarms . KF
Theft control has a lot to do with location and the use of both natural and man made funnels. This is one reason going rural early, before TSHTF, is so important. Fencing, barb wire and other items may be in short supply. A ridge or a lake can be used to funnel others into or away from your zone. Fences should be designed to hold domestic animals in and control the access of thieves. The subject is extensive and only limited by your mind and money. HK
In the 16+ years I have lived here, very very remote, I have only had one instance where I heard a truck pull up at my neighbors house. He hasn't lived there in over 10 years and the solar on the roof is like a dust magnet. But, the working of a nice clean action, makes a lot of noise late at night, so they didnn't come back. My full sized White Artic Wolf, was also a heck of a deterent. Had to put him down after he finally turned on my wife. But just got a new dog to keep my malmute company. He is half dobe and half aust. border colie. Sure hears everything and barks at any noise. Makes a great deterent around your house
A good dog is a great asset. Not only as a weapon but, as a companion and an alerting system. Improvise, Adapt, Modify, and Overcome. FTM/PTB
I have a 145 pound female Great Dane that goes on patroll at the lightest noise and when she actually verifies something is there she barks like a mad woman!! My back up is the male Great Dane at about 18o pounds and he is just a bit slower to the draw, waits for her to tell him to get up and make some noise. They have a very impressive mouth full of teath and impress everyone that they don't know. I could not imagine trying to secure an AO without dogs in the equation. As for securing a storage unit from theft, forget about it. I was hit 20 years ago and vowed to never use one again!!! There is just not a way to secure a location you do not have physical possesion of for a majority of the time. Theives only need a bit of time to scout and make their move, without vigilance, theft can happen anywhere with the right tools and motivation.
We stored some stuff here for a few months last year. http://guardian-self-storage.com/security.html You had to key in and out for the only gate onto the property. That would unlock the magnetic locks on the doors to your units. Then the unit locks were cylinder keys for door internal locks. It was the most secure storage property I've ever seen. Not impenetrable, but the best.
If I had the funds, I would start a storage company and offer that protection to my clients. Peace of mind is a valuable thing. Not everyone is a deadbeat that doesn't pay their bills and lose their stuff. A lot of people truly have things that are not replaceable and wish them to stay safe. I see so many companies doing the bare minimum these days. The option is out of their hand now. I am in charge of my own security and will guard my stuff more religiously now. Too bad booby traps are not allowed in a civil society. Haha. Oxymoron of the day: Civil Society.
