Doors unlocked at night?!

[LockedOrUnlocked]

I’ve lived rurally in the countryside. I know people who live in farms. We all lock the doors at night. During the day probably less so much, but I don’t know anyone who leaves the doors unlocked at night. Just to clarify, I lived in a nice area with very little crime. But we still locked the doors. Because a crime can happen at any point, and to be honest rural means darkness and isolation and usually a delay in police presence whilst they travel there.

I’m not stupid, I know that if someone wants to commit a crime like robbery or burglary they will unlikely be stopped by a locked door and will probably smash a window. But there’s a chance the locked door will act as a deterrent.

So why would you not just lock it? Has anyone else noticed that it seems to be almost a boast on here if you leave the doors unlocked at night? Even if you have something against doing it for whatever reason, in the slim chance that it could help prevent a burglary or someone entering your house why would you not just do it? It takes 10 seconds to lock a door! Especially if you have children or pets, why would you not do absolutely everything you can do to keep them safe and lock the doors at night? Even if it’s just to stop them going on an adventure and ending up outside during the night, because we’ve all been kids once and we know how impulsive and daft they can be so it’s not unheard of! So why not do absolutely everything to protect them and everyone else inside?!

Does anyone else think there’s a trend on here that it’s boast worthy not to lock the doors at night?! Is it because it makes people feel better that they live in an area they deem nicer and less likely to have a crime?! Or is there a reason for it that I have no idea about?!

@BlueEyesWhiteDragon

We live rurally and don't lock the doors. Sometimes they aren't even bloody closed.

I can't say its been a particular decision more one that evolved over time due to various reasons at various points and neither me or my dad (or DBs when they lived here) made enough of an effort to lock them.

We do have CCTV though, and security lights which come on with movement and dogs. The perimeter gates to the place are also always locked and secure so I suppose its more that we treat the house doors as internal doors.

That’s interesting actually thanks for commenting! I hadn’t actually considered about people classing perimeter gates as being locked and the property itself being more like internal doors and even though I personally wouldn’t do it, it makes sense and I can understand why others would, especially with CCTV and security lights etc too!

It’s the same thing as not walking round at night if you don’t want to be raped/ mugged/ murdered. One it’s not the victims fault, they should be able to walk where they want.

Two definitely some bits of a big city it’s not advisable but you’re probably safer at night walking round in the country.

I often forget to lock the back door at night although i do have two huge German Shepherds who sleep inside directly behind it and wouldn't take too kindly to a stranger disturbing them.
That said when my kids were small and i didnt have dogs i would have always checked the security of the house particularly at night.

Odds are that you could never lock any of your doors ever and go through your life never being burgled. Just like you could never use a car seat for your child and not crash so they'll be fine. But I'd never risk that either.

Our neighbours have never been burgled despite often leaving the windows doors unlocked and even wide open at night. I got so concerned I used to go round and lock up in the evenings but they would frequently be open again if I looked over in the middle of the night or early hours. (The couple had dementia which I am sure was the cause because they didn’t do it when we first moved in).

We are very rural and sometimes I spooks me due to the lack of others around. I always lock up at night.

I say let them get on with it, I live in a rural area and never had any issues but then again I still have security and always keep my doors locked.

Don't lock your doors and you'll invalidate your insurance and don't go complaining when your get a burglary or worse. Just the same with people who refuse to get car or home insurance and then set up a go fund me or facebook pages with sob story's asking for clothes and cash ect. Then blame the council and government for not helping out. Take some responsibility.

I don't really get the insistence that living in the middle of nowhere means you're safe.
There have been lots of incidents where houses have been specifically targeted because of the lack of neighbours and there being less chance of being disturbed etc.
Not all burglars want to get in and out unhindered either. A friend of mine was seriously assaulted by nighttime intruders for his car keys, and his car wasn't all that fancy.
Burglars aren't all petty criminals that are happy to get a laptop they can shift for £100, there's a hell of a lot of seriously evil people involved in organised crime.

@SillySallySassySausage that's a very good point about rural burglary. I do wonder if rural burglaries are less likely to be carried out by urban opportunists looking for cash and electronics, because that's a lot of ground to cover for not much. Do you think they tend to be more "professional" burglars looking for bigger hauls and willing to go to greater lengths to get them?

I deliberately didn’t mention anything about another thread so that it wouldn’t be a TAAT!

Yeah, you didn't need to mention it, it's obvious 😂

My mum lives on her own, in a rural location, and is meticulous about locking the doors at night - frankly, I'd be furious with her if she didn't!

But to be fair, she didn't grow up in rural "low crime" areas. She was bought up in Wolverhampton, and spent all her adult life, until the last 10 years, living in towns/suburbs. All places in which locking the doors is the norm.

Her sister lives on an even more rural farm though, and they never lock their doors, even when they're away. The mindset in their area seems to be that an unlocked door implies SOMEONE is close by and could appear at any moment. Whereas a locked door implies no-one is on-site. I can see the logic there.

I’m not stupid, I know that if someone wants to commit a crime like robbery or burglary they will unlikely be stopped by a locked door and will probably smash a window. But there’s a chance the locked door will act as a deterrent.

I had a burglary several years ago. Officer told me that most burglaries were opportunistic. If they come across a locked door, an alarm or a barking dog, chances are they will move away to an easier options. I keep the downstairs doors locked during the day, would never leave the windows in the back open unless I was in that part of the house. I'm not paranoid about security but see little benefit in making myself an easier target

Remember that little girl who was kidnapped and murdered on that Scottish island.
They didn’t lock their doors. Crime can happen anywhere.

@Escarpahell

I live rurally and never lock doors (haven't for over 7 years now). Several dogs who kick off when a butterfly farts means I've never seen the need.

Well I'm assuming the need is because your insurance would be invalid and when you leave the house, you can't hear your dogs barking?

My ex lived in a street of bungalows mainly populated by older people. He never locked his door, day or night, or if he did lock the front door, he’d leave the patio doors open and a window open for the cats to get in and out. He always said nobody would bother trying to rob his house as they’d presume there was nothing good in there, even though it was full to the brim with top of the range Apple goods, PlayStations, Dyson hair stuff (£300+ each) and all the modern tech you can imagine.

It’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to live with him tbh, as several times he would walk into or out of my house and leave the door wide open, or would close a door over without locking it, so I’d assume it was locked because it was shut only to find out days later that it hadn’t been locked.

There were loads of burglaries and car break ins in my area - I noticed someone had been in my garden a couple of times (handle lifted on - luckily locked - door etc) and we both had our cars broken into a couple of time when he was here, but it didn’t make him any more security conscious.

I guess maybe some men don’t fear a break in as much as women do? I don’t know. It just seems stupid not to lock a door to me.

@SoupDragon

I deliberately didn’t mention anything about another thread so that it wouldn’t be a TAAT!

Yeah, you didn't need to mention it, it's obvious 😂

What is TAAT?

Used to live very rurally. Never locked my house door or car - in 11 years

Used to live very rurally. Never locked my house door or car - in 11 years

Good for you, do you want a medal? It's like a pp pointed out I've never been in a car accident but I still strap my kids in every time.
It only needs to be that one time … maybe you would change your tune if someone took a baseball bat to your kneecaps simply to get your car keys, as has happened in my friends group.

LaurenKelsey - it means thread about a thread

Always lock the door. Your insurance likes you to at least try to keep the twats out.

OP, he couldn't be bothered and chose to lie about it.

He's very comfortable telling a lie.

Unfortunately I doubt this is the first or last time you will experience this.

You should check the doors yourself, I would in your place.

I suspect you will grow tired of being married to him.

Men like him are tedious to be married to.

Beware!

I grew up in a house where doors were never locked - in fact I don't think they even had keys that could lock them. However this was down a very rural dead end road, house not visible from the road (neighbours on both sides though). Accessed through a rundown looking farmyard with a gate (not locked). Big family so almost always someone at home. Many, many barky dogs - some loose in the yard. I don't think an opportunist would take those chances, and if it was someone determined a locked door would unlikely deter them.

However I live less rurally now and always lock doors.

But to be fair, she didn't grow up in rural "low crime" areas. She was bought up in Wolverhampton, and spent all her adult life, until the last 10 years, living in towns/suburbs. All places in which locking the doors is the norm.

Wolverhampton isn’t, or wasn’t, that bad. I lived there for a period. My dizzy housemate managed to leave the front door wide open to the street, not just unlocked, for four days with the house unoccupied. Nothing happened.

I never used to lock my car either because it was a convertible. Nobody pinched it.

Every fucker on here apparently lives so rural that they go days without seeing another person, has to travel 15 miles to their kids school and cannot possibly ever just ‘pop out’ for something like calpol or a bag of crisps if they fancy them, or, as I saw on a thread a few weeks ago, have an ambulance come to their house so off the grid are they. They also always have massive cold houses…. AND DON’T DRIVE AND HAVE A DH WHO WORKS AWAY.. aaarghh

bahaha sorry but there have been so many threads like this over the years I’ve been on here ! And now to add to the insanity it’s some sort of life goal to not have to lock your doors ?!

I live in a really dodgy area (actually statistically it isn’t but it gives the shudders to many MNers), and sometimes I forget to lock the back door into the garden. I am mid terrace so fence climbing would need to happen, but still.

It happens because I have to remember, as a matter of common sense. My sense of fear and anxiety doesn’t drive me to check.

You go on about boasting in quite a goady way.

Personally I find a high level of anxiety, worry and frankly neurotic behaviour on MN, higher than amongst my RL friends, but I don’t start threads with great long rants about about people being obsessively anxious etc.

You've replied to the wrong thread. Not quite sure how welcome your rather over-dramatic post will be on the correct one though!