I was burgled. How did this happen? How can I feel safe again?

Question

My 18 month old son was sitting in the living room playing with his toy cars and I went into the other room to put some laundry away. I was literally only gone for about 90 seconds but when I came back into the living room my son was gone.

I ran through the house calling his name and I realised he was gone. If he was hiding from me I'd have heard him giggling but there was just silence.

Then I noticed that the door was open and I ran outside calling him and I found him crouched by a busy road, wearing just his nappy and vest and he thought it was all great fun!

The Police said that someone had forced my window and stretched their arm through to reach the key in my door and then opened the door and let themselves in. They must have literally been in the same room as my son as they stole our belongings and they were in and out in less than 2 minutes.

What really freaks me out is that the camera they stole had a video on it of my son jumping out of his bath & running around the house naked. It really makes me uncomfortable. The Police said that if they were 'interested' in children then they'd have taken my son (like that didn't cause a panic attack!) but how do I know that some paedophile didn't get hold of that video? You don't see him from the front, just his little bottom as I chase him with a bath towel but it really makes me uncomfortable.

Answer 1

Simple... if you feel unsafe... you either a) invest in a security system, or B) you move... It's a sad story, but if you live in a bad neighborhood... what do you expect... I see it every other day or so and I dont know what else to say to the people... If you dont have the money to move, go to your local Housing of Urban Development office and they can relocate you to one of the state owned homes...

Best of luck.

Answer 2

Like the cop said, if they were interested in your kid, they would have taken him.  They took the camera to sell it, not to watch your home videos.  They probably just deleted them or threw them out.

To prevent it from happening again, get an alarm system or get bars on the windows and better locks or move to a better neighbourhood.

Answer 3

I can't say how it happened, but I do have a two-pronged plan to stop it from happening again.

1. Buy a security system.

2. Get yourself a 12 gauge shotgun. Load it with buckshot or slugs. Keep it handy.

Without one the other isn't much good.  

Answer 4

no matter what you do the first few weeks you arent going to feel safe. best thing to do is get an alarm system keep all windows on the groundfloor locked unless they are facing an area where nobody can climb into it. keep all doors locked at all times. you could also invest in security cameras on the outside of your house. the other option is to move which can be harder these days. when my house got broken into i looked into moving and everything cost too much. this place is locked down better than fort knox anyway. you will feel safer in weeks but you will have dreams about it for years. i still have dreams about it and it happend over 5 years ago

Answer 5

.    I was asleep in my bed upstairs when i realized that someone was in the room with me.  I was in a deep sleep and wondered if it was a dream.  I know how you feel.  It will fade in your memory.