KOVR News reported that Stockton Police are worried about a possible increase in home invasion robberies as we approach the year 2000 because of people withdrawing money from their bank accounts. I was expecting that the story would evolve into a lecture to keep your money in the bank etc... Nope, it was suggested that if you plan to take out money to consider getting a safe deposit box or to use travelers or cashiers checks. The Stockton Police reportedly recommend that you hide your money in a safe hiding place. Notably the story made the assumption that people were planning to take money out of their banks and did not attempt to ridicule the idea. This seemed to be a big change in the pattern of coverage that I have seen up to now.

dcooper

-- Dan Cooper (nospam@this.address), August 13, 1999

Answers

has anyone said how the robbers will pick which house might have money? will they just keep coming back to the same area, over and over, checking different houses each time? if your house looks kind of run- down (not the show-house on the block), would that help? i already have a "beware of dog" sign and my rottweiler gets up in the bay window when someone is in the front yard (the border collie just barks unless the curtains open, then she gets up too). I don't want to be the test monkey. do you think NRA bumper-stickers on my car out front would help? or maybe a sign that trespassers will be shot?

-- sarah (qubr@aol.com), August 13, 1999.

Dan,

Did you used to go to IBT?

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), August 13, 1999.

Sara, that is the very same question I've wondered about...funny! I was of two minds about putting it on my DOOR, never mind my car. I thought it might deter the bandits, but alert the confiscators. Would like to see the replies from others to this question.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), August 13, 1999.

I surfed www.stocktongov.com and www.ci.stocton.ca.us but I did not find where if anywhere on the web that the advice about robbers and banking was replicated.

On NRA stickers on homes, in riot, looting, and similar situations, this might be as much a problem as a solution. It seems to me it might be like carrying an unloaded gun around: it only tempts the bad guys (and even good or "good" guys) to shoot first and ask questions later if ever. As it stands, with currently (in the US) something in between 33% and 50% of homes with guns, NRA stickers or not, a smart robber has to calculate the odds carefully and accordingly. (Of course, with further gun control, the more emboldened home robbers are likely to become.)

Ann

-- Ann Y Body (annybody@nowhere.dis.org), August 18, 1999.