ROBBERY

April 26, 2012

I am back to blogging! I put off as long as possible doing my income taxes. I rushed them to the accountant the day before I left to visit family in New England. I got a call from the neighbor watching my house and feeding my cat telling me that the State Police had taken one of my tenants away in handcuffs the same day I left. When I arrived home a week later I saw that my home had been broken into. At first I did not notice as I was super tired and I thought the cat had gotten into things. I did notice a special ring was missing right away. The next day I found my jewelry in a mess. The linen closet had been raided. Someone was looking for drugs. The State Trooper came out and took pictures and assessed the situation. He told me to make a list of what jewelry was stolen. He came back and picked it up to send out to the pawn shops. There is a suspect. And yes it is someone I know. Today I am having Deadbolt locks put on all four doors. I was surprised to learn the insurance company will cover the cost. I found out that the few pieces of gold jewelry I had and was stolen were a lot more valuable than the $1,000 limit including the $250 deductable on my insurance company. I also had my mail box key taken as well. I had left it out for the pet sitter. So I had to pay to have the lock changed on my mailbox. There are more and more drugs in rural areas. Steeling gold jewelry is a fast way to get cash. I could recall all the pieces in detail because they were unusual plus I had some identification papers. Here are some suggestions to protect you.

• Pull out your insurance policy and look over your liability limits. Do you know the current cost per oz of gold? Might want to consider getting appraisals on your gold pieces. Than adjust your insurance liability limits. Check out what will be the increased cost to obtain the higher limit. Do you know your deductible?
  
• IF you do not have them - have deadbolts placed on your doors.
  
• Exterior motion detector lights are a good idea. I have them on the back side of the house but not on the front and sides.
  
• Make sure all your windows are locked when you leave. I believe the robber (s) gained access to the house via a credit card or picked the door lock in the garage door to the inside.
  
• You may think you have a good hiding place but the robber will know where it is. These people looked in every type of box in every room.
  
• Be careful of where you keep medications –including cold medications. The robbers made a mess of my linen closet looking for drugs as well. Basically they were after pain pills. Do as your pain management specialist says "buy a lockbox". I managed to pass basic robbery 101 and found a hiding place that worked. Depending on how observant they were they may or may not have figured out the kinds of meds I take. This has always been a worry.
  
• Purchase a handgun and get training to use it before you shoot yourself in the foot. This was my son's suggestion. I have to really think about this one.