To think they will come back?

[Scaredmama1]

Name changed for this as outing.
Early hours of this morning our house was broken into. We were asleep upstairs with our baby aged 2 months and toddler dd. Nothing was taken but all of our drawers had been turned out downstairs looking for, we presume, car keys. We had taken our keys to bed with us. Was up numerous times with baby so not sure if I may have disturbed them.
We live in a property approx 15yrs old. Doors were fairly old, no alarm. Police think it looks professional gang-type crime stealing vehicles to order as dh has expensive unusual car. We had planned to replace doors and install alarm etc but with moving in recently and having baby we just hadn't got around to it. We've managed to have alarm installed today and have now padlocked gates and driveway. We've also had the door fixed of course and have started to ball rolling with new doors and cctv.
Aibu to think that the burglars will come back because they didn't get what they came for? Perhaps with violence or multiple people? I'm petrified and don't know what we can do to ever get past this.
Thanks

I disagree with the advice of get a dog.
You have children so any dog you get should be a pet not a guard dog. Yes even a pet would protect but on the one time we've had someone at our door being aggressive I have kept my dogs well out the way (one is a shepherd) I love my dogs, they are part of the family and I wouldn't risk them getting hurt or hurting someone protecting me because people are dickheads and I wouldn't risk my pet being destroyed over an allegation of them being dangerous all because they were protecting me.
On a totally separate occasion when I was broken into I had a lovely support officer who provided window alarms, a rape alarm and advised on security measures. Please talk to the police and ask their advice

Sorry just thought of 2 other things.
You don't need a letter box in the front door. Solid door and external letter box for postie. No drafts, no chopping off postie's fingers and no fishing rods through the door.
Gravel driveway. I can't believe how many neighbors have block pave drives, I like nice crunchy gravel, topped up annually so we can always hear someone walking up the driveway

Wouldn't it invalidate your insurance if the car keys are somewhere the thieves could easily find them? This is my DH's argument whenever I suggest he stops hiding the keys and just leaves them downstairs in the key bowl.

Get rid of the car and you’ll be absolutely fine. Our house was targeted by professional criminals before we moved in because they wanted the former occupants, brothers Audi. He’d stored it on the driveway whilst he went away abd the house was broken into with the sole intention to steal the car, which they did.

We live a very very dull life with very standard cars and have had no problems whatsoever the six years we’ve lived here.

pirate of course it wouldn’t invalidate insurance if the house is adequately secured per your policy.

Leave your keys downstairs where they can be seen. No car is worth someone coming upstairs and threatening your family for.

I hate saying this because people should be able to have nice things but if your car is rare and they have an order for it they will come back for it. I would personally get rid. I was always worried when we had a certain car on the drive as I always thought someone would come into the house for it. It wasn't worth the worry. We still have nice cars - but they're not typical ones that are going from our village at the mo.

It must have been scary. I'm sure gates and CCTV would put people off though. Why can't they just leave other people's stuff alone.

Do you have space for a garage?

Out of sight, out of mind.

Sorry this has happened
Best advice would be a couple of very Bright floodlight sensor lights that and if you can a loud barking dog burglars tend to avoid houses with dogs

Also get the alarm box fitted inside and outside
An alarm going off outside a house is often ignored but the sound of one going off inside a house is deafening no make sure it’s put up high ideally in the stair hallway up high so It can’t be torn off the wall
Also one of those ring doorbell are brilliant and cheap
Social media don’t post or check in that you’re away or on holiday

@TheCatInTheHat That's what I thought! Good, I can tell him it's not just me saying that! 😁

I don't want scare you OP but similar happened to friends. They initially had keys downstairs and nice new car was stolen. Insurance sorted and security, car replaced. Person started taking keys upstairs. They came back and couldn't find keys. Went upstairs with a knife and threatened them and kids asleep. Obvs gave the keys up. Police advised them to leave keys downstairs or better yet get a less desirable car. The house wasnt a main road or popular cut through road so the people stealing must have been looking/been informed. He now has a less desirable/valued as wasnt worth the risk to his family.

For what it's worth I really don't think they'll be back and back with violence etc.

They had a good look and couldn't find them, they didn't go upstairs. I think they were trying probably a number of homes and didn't get 'lucky' with yours. Returning to the scene of the crime would be risky for them and you've taken extra measures to secure the house.

@TwoLobsters Cars are stolen to order now and exported, usually. It's not normally random, if it's luxury cars.

Get extra security for the car, steering lock, if they can see, it won't be as simple as grabbing the keys and going, they may not bother with it.

I don't think you ever get over the feeling of violation after being broken into. One of the local junkies broke into our house less than a week before Christmas 3 years ago and I still feel sick about it now. Thankfully there were no presents or anything under the tree so they didn't take those, but we had to have Christmas with a wooden board in the patio window because there was no one around to fix it til after Christmas

@Mayagoldchoc
A security letterbox too, it might take the posties fingers off but no-one can put a hand or fishing rod in and get it back out again.

Wow. What a nasty piece of work. The royal mail should bin all the post of people who do this.

Everyone has those letterboxes when they replace the doors round here. It is normal. Postie is used to them and we offered to buy him a spatula to poke the mail through with. I live in an area that must be full of nasty pieces of work, however they are actually the bastards that make us feel unsafe in our own homes and cause the need to protect ourselves.
You are lucky if you feel safe from thieving bastards, my elderly neighbour certainly doesn't after her entire house was ransacked and her memories of her late husband were stolen.

And why would an honest person want to put something other than mail through a letterbox anyway? I wouldn't have a letterbox at all if I didn't have to, and have made provision for the post to be left elsewhere, providing the local gardeners don't find out and steal it along with anything else they can get hold of. Everywhere seems to be full of scum these days.

You can connect some video doorbell to an alexa so that if someone is picked up on the proximity alarm, a sound of dogs barking is heard from the speaker. If you keep it connected to your phone, you are also alerted.

II know how the UK feels about guns but I am glad I own one. I'm in the US. If someone broke into my home they would be staring down the barrel of my shotgun

Bully for you.

I'll be the second person to mention Tony Martin (the murderer.)

I’d be more wary when it comes to selling it-if they want it and see it advertised you could find yourselves targeted in a different way.
Friends of ours had their car stolen violently by people posing as buyers. Be very careful!

And yes in the interim leave your keys somewhere easy to find-ours are in a key bowl. We don’t have a letterbox and the key bowl can’t be seen from outside but is very obvious once inside the house. DH used to sell high end LHD cars and whenever we had them at home we had to balance risk of car theft (and the disaster that’d be on business insurance) vs our own safety. I don’t miss those days-it was bloody scary.

Maybe I am just bad tempered but scared or not there is no way I'd think ' let them have the car' now,
At the time of the robbery yes if that was an option but not after they had gone . I don't think they will come back but I can why you are worrief'. I' d probably hire a garage somewhere for a few months and park the nice car there. Inconvenient but it would give me more peace of mind as they are even less likely to break in if they think you no longer have the car.

And after a few months I imagine they will have moved on and I would go back to parking it on the drive ( I'd leave the keys downstairs after that though) . That way I'd feel like I had tried to defend my property without putting myself or my family in danger.
I am sorry you went through it is is really scary I know.