College Home Security:
Careless Roommates
vs
Home Defense
Careless roommates and dormitory neighbors greatly endanger your home security. No group is any safer than its most careless member – and imposing sensible home security habits on careless people is well nigh impossible. Especially frustrating are the defiant, know-it-all teenagers and post-teenagers enthralled with newfound freedoms and striving desperately to prove their savoir-faire with wild abandon. After all, as a poet once said, “Each generation comes along living as fast and furiously as though it’s never been done before.”
Student Apartments = Criminal Magnets
Palm trees, swimming pools, and fountains at Jacksonville’s The District student lodging were irresistible for 20-year-old Timothy “T.J.” Pemberton. Soon he was murdered there in a robbery. College students are easy prey for criminals because they often have a Superman or Superwoman complex and are oblivious to danger. His father, Stanley Pemberton, said that if he had checked the crime rate at the complex, he wouldn’t have let T.J. sign the lease. Before choosing which school to attend, see www.SecurityOnCampus.org. Then, before choosing which off-campus property to rent, find a superb security checklist at Peace-Outside-Campus.org > Programs > When Looking for a Place to Live. Also call the local police department and ask for the community officer of that neighborhood to evaluate the crime rate. Then try to choose sensible roommates who always keep the doors and windows locked. And remember that colleges do not screen students for criminal records – or for common sense.
Always Locked = Common Sense (which is uncommon):
Many of Jalon Lassiter's victims were New Jersey college students whose apartments were left unlocked. He and three other men entered an unlocked home to commit a robbery. The eight occupants gathered for a birthday party were restrained while three women were raped. Parties are very vulnerable to intuders - the doors are usually unlocked. Or, if there's a knock at the door, someone usually opens it without first checking to see who's there. Knock, knock. Who's there? You'd better know... College students tend to share quarters as though it's an ongoing party with people coming and going at all hours. Home security is a foreign concept to the newly independent. Do you really know and trust whomever happens to be there? Read on... Ithaca’s Collegetown Creeper has invaded 18 women's bedrooms. A student heard someone walking around inside her apartment. Fortunately, her bedroom door was locked. His behavior has escalated to the point of cutting off clothing and rubbing lubricant onto a sleeping woman's vaginal area. It's vital to fortify your bedroom - see Security-Products - Safe Room - especially if you have careless roommates like these: A student’s voice trembled as called 911 to report her roommate’s rape. The victim had been sleeping when the intruder entered through an unlocked door. Nearby, a household of seven female students say they rarely lock their door so that their friends can walk into the house at all hours of the night. It’s a matter of convenience and assumed safety. They don’t think of violent crimes happening in Oxford Ohio. They say the rape won’t change their habits. Oxford police say a lot of students don’t take even the most basic safety precautions. Ah, the naïveté of the prey. None are so blind as those who refuse to see the risk of careless home security. Too many college students are too smart to gamble only in Vegas, not in their lives.
Minimal Safety Rules for Home Security in College
• Keep your doors, windows, and exterior doors locked at all times.
• Have the locks re-keyed by a locksmith when you first move in. Former tenants - and any of their friends - might have a copy of your key! See Vivian in the example at the top of Home Security - Cracks.
• If you lose a room key, change the lock as soon as possible. Any key lent out can be copied (whether or not it’s a “restricted” key).
• When alone, avoid isolated stairways, basements, or laundry rooms.
• Make sure you know who is trying to enter your building before you let them in.
• Report suspicious people or activity immediately to the police.
• See Security Products - Safe Room for home security insights.
~~~~~~~~~For the first time, Crime-Safety-Security.com handily classifies all home invasions into five types to help you truly understand home security. To add to the familiar police terms of Break-In, Walk-In, and Push-In, I’ve created two new categories: Scam-In and Mug-In – as shown below:
Home Defense:
burglary prevention and
the best home security products
• Home Security - Overview
• Break-In: most homes are easy to invade. Learn what burglars hunt for.
• Walk-In: making it oh-so-easy for an invader. Half of all home intrusions are through unlocked doors!
• Push-In: blindly opening the door if someone knocks. Better to use an intercom.
• Scam-In: believing a stranger's clever scam and opening your door, even an inch - see Push-In above.
• Mug-In: how to avoid being ambushed outside your home and forced in.
• Cracks in Security: subtle variations of Break-In, Walk-In, Push-In, Scam-In and Mug-In home invasions.
• Home Safety Tips: what to do when your doorbell rings.
• Peepholes - know who's knocking at your door before you open it.
• Home Intercom System - stay safe when strangers choose your home.
• College - Apartment & Dormitory Security: how to stay safe despite careless roommates. (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE)
• Apartment Security: how renters can keep safe FAQ.
• Good Neighbors: another layer of home protection.
• Burglary Prevention: what burglars hope you don't know.
• Security-Products - Home Intro
• Security-Products - Door Reinforcement
• Security-Products - Window Reinforcement
• Security-Products - Garage & Yard Reinforcement
• Security-Products - Simple Electronic
• Security-Products - Alarms
• Security-Products - Flaws in Electronics
• Security-Products - Apartment & Dormitory Security
• Security-Products - Safe Room
• Recap: a quick summary of this entire section.Safeguard your home security even if you live in Sleepy Valley - predators like to prowl where the prey least expect them. Prevent the vast majority of home intrusions - whether by burglar or invader by making sure all your family members use these home security strategies. Of course, predators will always find prey – but the most cautious targets will be spared.
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