No Forced Entry: How Did They Get In?

Those victimized by burglary are often deeply disturbed by the experience primarily because their home's sanctity has been violated. If you have not experienced this, imagine being out for the night, and upon your return home, you find that a thief or thieves ransacked your home. Your items are strewn about, the drawers pulled open with the contents rifled through, and then you find that personal property was taken. What if the items were irreplaceable, something like a treasured gift or a family heirloom? Imagine the empty feeling, the helplessness you would feel. How about your safety? Some people never feel safe again in their homes because their castle was sacked. Believe me when I say this is not a feeling you ever want to experience!

Naturally, you will call the police, and they will ask obvious questions when they arrive to investigate. Were all of the doors and windows closed and locked? Does anyone else have keys or access to your home? Do they have access codes to electronic locks or the alarm system? Are there any signs of forced entry? In most burglaries, there will be some form of forced entry, a kicked-in door, a smashed-out sliding glass door, or a pried-open window, but what if there are no signs of forced entry? Well, our would-be bad guys could have picked the lock or used a bump key, as we have discussed in other blogs. But barring this, how did they get in?

Suspect caught on camera breaking into Arizona home through doggy door…

Many people forget that after addressing the doors, windows, sliders, and french doors, there may still be another access point they have failed to cover or address in their safety plan to prevent crime. You would be correct if you are thinking of a doggy door. Doggy doors are a frequently overlooked penetration to many homes. It is also a pathway that criminals use to enter your home and not leave a trace that they have been inside. We know that not all dogs are created equal. Very few are genuinely protective of the home. Many of our pets get repeatedly reprimanded for barking, which is their natural territorial alert to warn intruders and notify their pack of dangers. When we discipline them for doing their job, they will likely develop a tolerance for strangers. This is not a good thing when it comes to crime prevention. Most criminals will test pets first to see their reactions to their presence. If the dog fails to warn or is overly friendly, your home becomes a target. The doggy door becomes an excellent access point to get to your valuables. Once inside, they can unlock a door to carry things out and lock it back up before leaving. If the place is not overly disturbed, and there is no alarm system, you may never know that you have been victimized!

Law enforcement classifies burglary as forcible, when any amount of force is used, or unlawful entry, when no force is present. Forcible entry applies when "a thief gains entry by using tools; breaking windows; forcing windows, doors, transoms, or ventilators; cutting screens, walls, or roofs; and where known, using master keys, picks, unauthorized keys, celluloid, a mechanical contrivance of any kind (e.g., a passkey or skeleton key), or other devices that leave no outward mark but are used to force a lock. Agencies must also include in this category burglary by concealment inside a building followed by exiting the structure (UCR, 2010). Burglary without force is an unlawful entry "by the use of an unlocked door or window. The element of trespass to the structure is essential in this category, which includes thefts from open garages, open warehouses, open or unlocked dwellings, and open or unlocked common basement areas in apartment houses where entry is achieved by other than the tenant who has lawful access (UCR, 2010)." Doggy door entries would fall into this category as long as the perpetrator did not need to force it open in any way. 

Security screen for dog door

Not many people realize that there are options for doggy doors. Boss Security Screens can design and build a fully customized screen that can be used to secure your doggy doors when you are away. These screens have the same safety features that our doors and windows have. So your pet can freely use the door when you are home.  But when you want to leave home for an extended period, you can now secure the pet door from inside the home. These doors use the same ultra-strong steel mesh and aluminum frame that we use in our security doors and windows. This means no one is going to get through it! Secure pet doors give your pets the freedom they need while allowing you to lock things up nice and tight when you want to. Our pet doors have the elegance that the outside screens possess. These screens are the smart choice to close off the last option for an unlawful entry point, short of boring through the wall or opening up the roof, which is not an option due to the noise it would cause. 

Closing off your doggy door at night and when you are not home also prevents other predators from entering your home. Here in the Las Vegas Valley, we see more and more coyotes in town. While wild, they are like dogs. They are smart, and they instinctively know how to hunt. Entering a doggy door is like entering a den, so don't assume they will not push open the little flaps just like your dogs do to enter. 

With a simple google search, you will find numerous stories of coyote entries into homes. According to 13 Action News, residents across the Las Vegas Valley have experienced close encounters with coyotes after they entered their homes. For example, one viewer sent 13 Action News a video of a coyote and a pup that came inside her home at 3 a.m. while asleep in bed with her Yorkie. Her dog began to bark, and the viewer jumped from her bed to encounter the wild animal that was intent on attacking her dog. The view said that she began to scream and bang against her purse until the coyote gave up and left back out the way it came in – via the doggy door! It was truly a heart-pounding event that she will never forget (Wade, 2018).

If you are a pet owner, Boss Security Screens has solutions that work. We can cover your entry doors, windows, sliders, French doors, and doggy doors. When you have every possible entry point covered with a Boss Security Screen, you can rest easier. So don't hesitate, call us now and get protected now. 

Until next time, be safe and remain vigilant!

Written by,

Michael Johnston

Chief Security Advisor at Boss Security Screens

*The author is a paid consultant and product representative for Boss Security Screens. The information provided in this blog does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials are the author's opinion and for general informational purposes only. It is recommended that you consult an attorney, certified trainers, or licensed providers before acting on any information provided. This website may link to other third-party websites. Such links are for the convenience of the reader and are not endorsed by the author. 

References

FBI. (2010, July 15). Additional publications. FBI. Retrieved January 7, 2023, from https://ucr.fbi.gov/additional-ucr-publications 

Wade, C. (2018, August 24). Henderson woman comes face-to-face with coyote that crawled through Doggy Door. KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas. Retrieved January 7, 2023, from https://www.ktnv.com/news/henderson-woman-comes-face-to-face-with-coyote-that-crawled-through-doggy-door 

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