AIBU to leave the house unlocked when my husband is out late?

[PurpleLovecats]

AIBU to go to bed and leave the house unlocked?

I always do this when DH is out late, figure the dog will bark if anyone enters but my friend is horrified!

Boredom

Plenty people walk into houses not to rob them, or attack the occupants. An awful lot of people keep their car keys by the front. The dog barking is of no use as your car keys are being taken, and someone's driving off in your car by the time you've reached your bedroom door.

I'm astounded by threads on which people hardly ever seem to lock their doors. They must live in paradise with no burglars. There have been 4 burglaries in our road just in the last year. Our doors and gates are always locked whether we are in or out (the front door has a yale type lock which locks automatically when closed though if we're all out we mortice lock it as well).

The day we moved in the movers put the front door on the latch and I caught some opportunistic ne'er do well wandering in and trying to pass down the hallway to see what he could nick. I caught him and he said oh I thought this was my friend's house. Told him to leave pronto before I called the police. I definitely wouldn't leave my front door able to be opened by passers by if I was alone in bed. Anything could happen you nutter.

So funny 🙄

If the dog were to bark but not attack, are you confident that you could fend off a burglar who is probably armed? They are not very scared by shouting and the police probably won’t come very fast. The next day when you’re smashing your own window so you can claim on insurance you will probably have some regrets. My boyfriend and his brother leave the door open or hide the key for each other. Getting a key cut costs a few pounds and can save hundreds if not thousands. Madness

Oh, it's great you'd be up to be stabbed by an intruder!

We have a holiday home we left unlocked for months before now (by accident). It’s incredibly unlikely someone is going to walk up to your front door and try to open it. I wouldn’t worry.

Will your dog also kill the intruder, or will he just bark so you know the intruder is there, and you can get up and say hello?

A friend of mine once woke up to see a man standing at the end of her bed. Luckily he was a police man neighbour of hers who’d seen her door was slightly open, and had gone to check she was OK.

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Robbers invading your home because you made it easy for them to do it quietly by not locking the door will hurt or kill your dog unless your dog is a trained guard dog, even then it will likely end up hurt or dead. So you're just putting your dog at risk so you're shitty pet owners because your husband is too lazy to carry a key or use the one in the key safe, which the home invaders can easily get to too.

WTF.

Watch the tv show “Criminal Minds” and then see how you feel about ever leaving the door unlocked.

All it takes is one sicko, especially if they realise you have a dog that barks but doesn’t bite, a husband that is out and the door left open for their convenience.

As others mentioned, it invalidates your insurance in the event of a break in too.

YABVVVU

My Uncle’s dog was not harmed when they were burgled but neither did he bark as he normally would. He was a large Alsatian.

You are being very naive here. Lock your doors.

No. Even if the dog wakes you, what do you do then? You still could encounter a stranger wishing you harm in your home. Why make it so easy for them?

Advice from the police (and probably insurers) is to keep your door locked. Being asleep with the door unlocked is just not worth it. I couldn't sleep at all.

If someone gets into your house and your dog barks that's not necessarily going to stop them, you running downstairs might not bother them either. You're asking for opinions about it but seem convinced it's a great idea so what's the point of the post? I've read burglars often prefer to burgle occupied houses as they're easier to get in. You're proving that theory correct.

That sounds weird af! Wouldn’t you ring the doorbell, knock loudly or call up from downstairs, rather than stand at the end of someone’s bed when they’re clearly asleep? I don’t think the fact that he was a policeman is particularly reassuring, either! Was he doing it to make a point and teach her a lesson never to leave your door ajar because weirdos are likely to wander in and watch you sleeping?

Yet there is ring doorbell or CCTV footage on our local facebook group 3 or 4 times a week showing people trying doors during the night.

It really is NOT incredibly unlikely people will be trying doors in Cities and towns.

As I recall he did call out, knock on the door etc, but she’d been out drinking, and was deeply asleep!

I never leave it unlocked apart from occasionally if my DD is playing with friends and coming in and out.
I have read too much true crime probably, but it’s just not worth the risk

Yes, this exact thing happened to an ex-colleague. Daytime, she and her husband were upstairs WFH. Their dog barked, but the car keys had gone from the hall table and the car was being driven out of the drive by the time she/her husband got downstairs — and they had the additional indignity of continuing to receive parking and speeding fines for a week or so before it was crashed!

I thought we lived in the safest area ever but we had a break in recently while we were asleep. They are organised and quick and likely already know you have a dog so would have a plan for that. I think it’s insane not to lock up if everyone is asleep. Doesn’t sound like you’re going to change anything though so good luck to you!

The lock isn’t about making it noisy to get in and so unnecessary because of a noisy dog. The lock is to prevent someone coming in. Much more useful!

And what would you do if two men, for example were in your house? Ask them politely to leave? You lock the doors to stop this happening. Utter stupidity.

Get him a key cut and put it on a string round his neck so he won’t lose it. Then he can let himself into the house while mummy is sleeping like a big boy.

Ours is in a town so I guess our experience is different to yours. 🤷‍♀️

I guess it depends where you live. It's not something I would do but I live in the arse end of London. Round here people get burgled with house cameras and everything locked.