After six years living in San Felipe, we have been broken into. They got a boom box, some jewelry, a BB gun, hope they flash it at a cop and they get
capped, some food items and generally trashed the place. There are some squatters living in the arroyo near the AM PM, anybody know how to get rid of
them. I think they are the guilty parties, they see when we com and go.gnukid - 8-28-2008 at 12:55 PM
You can offer to pay the cops to solve it for you. Of course you will only be paying into the problem. But if you pay and say we want our stuff back
and the perps run out they will do it, you will need to pay $100-300 or more to be paid after the stuff comes back and the guys leave.
You can go to the arroyo and talk to the people and say something strange, but that is awkward. You could say, we are suspicious of you but we don't
want to believe it, just so you know... we are here to look around. Then they will get all crazy and over-react, but it it will let them know that you
are not scared of them and you are looking into it. Problem is robbers are crazy druggies usually so its not a fun game to play.
Or you could just go to the police and sit there in the office and talk and talk and talk and keep visiting every day and finally they might do
something--to get you to leave.
100 percent correct
doradodan - 8-28-2008 at 01:19 PM
I was just ranting, you are right, I donīt want to confront them, I would probably go to jail. Thanks for the replySharksbaja - 8-28-2008 at 01:32 PM
That really sucks. You might not have to do anything because they took what they wanted. I suppose they could come back later but you might have
booby-traps or ?? waiting for them.
These little pathetic thieves are found everywhere but seems that lately they are much more brazen about it.
You might consider fake cameras and notas de pelegrosa on your door and windows. Funny how much of a deterent they can be. Of course you stand the
chance of having the (fake) camera stolen as well.palmeto99 - 8-28-2008 at 01:37 PM
I was robbed 3 times when I first built my house. Everytime I left town we would get hit.
It was not until I installed hurricane shutters on all my windows and over my door that the robberies stopped.These are the same as I have on my house
in the states. It takes about an hour to roll them up or down and they are electric and have a manual override.
When you close up the house with these,they keep bad weather and the burglers out.
Expensive but very effective.
Installing them was tough as my mexican contractor had never seen them before but he did get it done.JaraHurd - 8-28-2008 at 02:53 PM
Burglaries suck for sure. What about some surveillance cameras? Catch them on camera...then have the cops throw the guilty parties (probably
dopers...) in jail. Install a couple of dummy (non-operational, props) cameras along with one or two preferably hidden operational cameras. Will keep
them thinking and might even deter them.....just a thought... I do not know how local law enforcement down there works. good luck. J
"Locks are to keep honest people honest"
thebajarunner - 8-28-2008 at 04:37 PM
That was one of my father's favorite quotes.
Hard to keep out those that are committed to invading your space.
Especially if you are away for any period of time.
sad to say...bajalou - 8-28-2008 at 04:47 PM
not much work in SF right now and lots of people are hungry. So it's not just the dopers at this time.
Surveillance Systems
bajaguy - 8-28-2008 at 04:55 PM
Try this place. they have some great stuff at reasonable prices. I have used their products and recommend them.
I think my (and my Dad's) point was
"Locks don't keep bad people out"
And I agree- a busted finger or two would be a lot better reminder than a night or two in the slam and then out on probation.
Better yet, how about the Muslim solution...
Cut off the hand that steals...
not a badCaboRon - 8-28-2008 at 06:01 PM
The very BEST defence is to have people living in the home full time ..... not much else really works.
CaboRon greybaby - 8-28-2008 at 06:21 PM
Oh does this ever bring back memories. We were burglarized twice in five days when we rented a house in Ensenada. The first time we called the
police, went down and did the report, blah, blah, blah. The second time I was sputtering mad and called the police. Two of them arrived in minutes
and walked through the house with us and basically told us there was nothing they could do. We lost probably $5000 worth of stuff and I was hopping
mad. Little good that did. We ended up moving quickly to the house we were building in Cantu and even though it wasn't done we felt a little safer.
One of our friends in Ensenada who had been a former drug dealer told us not to take it personally - that is what he had done when he was into drugs
and he stole from wherever he could to support his habit. And he made it clear that the police would do nothing - they were probably being paid by
the ones who robbed us. Live and learn, I guess.CaboRon - 8-28-2008 at 06:45 PM
Don't you just hate people who say
"It wasn't personel" or
"Don't take it personally"
It is personel
CaboRongreybaby - 8-28-2008 at 08:22 PM
Absolutely made me feel not one bit better when I was told not to take it personally. They invaded my privacy, robbed me of any security I may have
felt and we felt violated and afraid for a long time. Yes, it is personal.JaraHurd - 8-28-2008 at 09:18 PM
If you are going to invest in a good lock...google lock "bumping" and educate yourself on it. Then don't install those kinds of locks. They are very
easy to compromise.JaraHurd - 8-28-2008 at 09:22 PM
..maybe it is me..but...I would not tolerate living in a place where the cops did nothing or were so corrupt they did not arrest someone in the face
of exceedingly strong evidence that a specific person did a crime such as burglary. Why would anyone live in such a place?motoged - 8-28-2008 at 09:33 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by JaraHurd
.. Why would anyone live in such a place?
JH,
Because the L.A. cops scare the chit out of themJaraHurd - 8-28-2008 at 09:39 PM
I don't see much of a point living in a place where one would feel so unsafe..especially in one's own home. That I don't get. And in such a corrupt
system any action you take on your own would probably result in your own incarceration. I hope this sort of thing is not that common.Sallysouth - 8-28-2008 at 09:56 PM
Last year when I was staying with Mija and family in Cabo, all the homes everywhere around them had been broken into and robbed.Theirs was the only
one that had not been.As CaboRon posted, there was always someone in the home,mostly the nanny or housekeeper, during the day when they were at
work.Seems to be the only deterent.At that same time we had heard about a couple that were awoken late at nite to find a man inside the home.The
husband apparently had surprised the man and held him(somehow) until the cops could get there.Well...the cops said there was nothing they could do.No
evidence that he was robbing them, and they would need to let him go. And that was the end of that. I think self protection is what people need in
Baja.IMHO.Pepper spray for close encounters, lights and bells and whistles for home invasions,big dogs for large properties,and if you are gone, hire
a house sitter,full time, live in.(I know, not so easy).
[Jarahurd, have you ever been to Baja?)Edited on 8-29-2008 by Sallysouth]
[Edited on 8-29-2008 by Sallysouth]JaraHurd - 8-28-2008 at 10:45 PM
Sally...I have been to Baja many times and I get the draw. It is a beautiful place. But if trying to discredit me or my opinion by asking such a
ridiculous question makes you feel better or safer, that is fine. Criminals are unpredictable. Each is a different as any other kind of human.
Burglaries are particularly scary crimes because they occur in the most sacred of personal space...our homes. Although I agree with Cabo Ron.....is it
really a practical way of preventing burglaries or other violent crimes? Occasionally homicides occur during burglaries. Sometimes the suspects of
violent crimes have no criminal histories. How well do you know the criminal mind? It is a very scary thing. Security ranks #1 in my book. I am not
saying I would not visit or even live in Mexico. I am saying that I would absolutely not live in a community where law enforcement was so corrupt,
uncaring OR actually part of the problem. Would you?JaraHurd - 8-28-2008 at 10:49 PM
Sally..I see you reside in someplace called Capo. How does law enforcement there handle criminal invesigations? Do you feel sufficiently protected
there? Is Capo someplace in Baja? I have never been there but maybe next time I drive to Baja or Baja Sur I can drive through and see how I like it...
Light, bell or whistle?
JaraHurd - 8-28-2008 at 10:54 PM
I just reread your post Sally and I had to ask you another question...have you ever used pepper spray? How do you think it affects people? Do you
think it works good? How do you deploy it? do you threaten first, then squirt? Do you have any idea at all? If you don't, send me a u2u and I will
tell you. ...What is a light or a bell or a whistle going to do during a home invasion? U were kidding, right?gnukid - 8-28-2008 at 11:01 PM
No dejas flojo en tu casa
Many people use bolts into concrete with threaded inserts to put hurricane plywood or metal shutters up over windows.
Put huge bolted slider bolts to lock doors, allow up to three slider bolts on the inside. It's common to put one bolt in the floor and ceiling, one
for each side, it looks nice like ranch style and you can make the door secure so its not possible to break in.--The door can't warp and the doors and
windows don't rattle or make noise even in high wind.
Tips continued...
vivaloha - 8-28-2008 at 11:10 PM
Just check out the way the natives use bars / bolts / wood / steel
and locks to keep the honest people honest...
Dogs are a big deterrent if you on site...Baja-Brit - 8-29-2008 at 03:09 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by thebajarunner
Better yet, how about the Muslim solution...
Cut off the hand that steals...
not a bad
Yep, "finger guillotines" are the answer!
Remove a finger for each new offence.
By the time they can no longer wipe their bum, they may perhaps have got the message!
As you were.meme - 8-29-2008 at 08:14 AM
Many Many people out of work now in San Felipe. & it's gonna get worse.
Eldorado Ranch has laid off about 100 people now & will soon be laying off another 30 to 50 people we were told at HOA meeting last Tuesday.
The economy is really suffering badly here so many people are hungry so it's not just the druggies.
We had a friends house broken into a couple weeks ago & they were at HOME even. The burgler was I think as surprised to see her as she was him!
Unfortunately they have not caught him as yet, but are at least being more vigilant.
We think we are going to see more & more of this as time goes by & until things get better here in San Felipe as to economy.
Our SAFE program here is on Alert & doing a good job of monitiring homes in Eldorado so we hope that helps our situation here as many of our homes
are in areas where they are REAL acessable.lingililingili - 8-29-2008 at 08:29 AM
doradodan: Just curious. How did they get in? Were bars and locks not enough? We don't even have a television or stereo so not sure what robbers
would take, but we (I) still can't help but worry.CaboRon - 8-29-2008 at 08:55 AM
Even if they take nothing:
It is the feeling of haveing been violated ...
Not a good feeling, and one that lingers on ...
CaboRon
finger guillotines
Baja&Back - 8-29-2008 at 09:32 AM
WHAT A GREAT IDEA!
The pain and anger of being invaded and violated is strong enough that thieves and burgulars deserve a little mangling from time to time!!!
Catch the bad guys
Lee - 8-29-2008 at 09:36 AM
Knukid has the best advice.
If the squatters did it, and they see comings and goings, two things will be happeing.
Every time you see them, you'll have negative thoughts and it'll fester.
IF it was them, you NEED to ''confront'' them and ''put them on notice."
Confront in a MX way, though. Unless you have proof they are the perps, accusing them ''falsely'' -- until you have proof -- means not letting
them lose face.
If they did do it and you can prove it (they're playing your radio), it's more ''nothing personal'' but you stole my stuff and that's not OK. If
they have it, they need to give it back.
If it's not them, you'll be asking them for help -- to keep a look out for you and help keep your place from being broken into again. Offer them a
regalo if they help you catch the guys.
The ''squatting'' issue is another subject. I'll let others address that.Woooosh - 8-29-2008 at 10:03 AM
We never leave our place empty- but know that isn't an option for everyone. Cameras do work. We have seen the police point up at our camera and then
take people out-of-sight around the corner to take their mordidas. Dogs work- but they might poison them first whcih for us would be worse than a
robbery. My best defense is having good watchful neighbors.
These property crimes will continue everywhere as the economy sours. Just be thankful they only took your property and didn't wait for you to come
back and hold you against your will for hard cash. When that is happening in your area it's time to get out of dodge.
I don't know if pepper spray is effective, but we keep a can hanging on a nail at the front door. If someone should manage to enter our property
while we are home our trained response (have a plan) is to taser them and use their own weapon against them- whatever they brought. If it's a group
of people invading our response is to open fire on the vehicle to disable it first (not with a taser), and then take out as many as we can and go out
shooting. No authorities in Mexico can legally knock down your down and enter without a warrant- so if that is what's happening it's a kidnapping in
progress and you can fight them on your turf or be a victim on theirs. The fact that peolpe around us know we are willing and able to defend
ourselves is the best deterent- a mexican stand-off.
For those who say why live in a place like this- I say we were already here when baja norte went from bliss to b-tch and we'll wait it out. It's not
in my nature to turn tail. If we had children it would be different though.
I was visiting my sister in Connecticut a few months back and someone had broken into her weekend beach house. The perps just smoked cigarettes and
watched cable TV for a few days. Nothing was broken, damaged or stolen. We were blown away and told them the house would be an empty shell if this
had happened in Mexico.Sallysouth - 8-29-2008 at 10:06 AM
Gee Jarahurd! I did not mean to offend you at all or discredit you.I am sorry if you took my reply as such. Yes I have used pepper spray, and it
worked.It was many years ago and I was traveling solo.It was an attempt to either mug or rape me as I was getting out of my car at night. As far as
lights, bells and whistles go,I was referring to security lights,alarms, and loud noises, to deter or frighten off the intruder.Dogs are another
plus.Mija always keeps radio and or TV on if she has to leave the house empty for any amount of time. And yes, I have lived in places where the
security (cops) left a LOT to be desired.There are places all over the world like that.gnukid - 8-29-2008 at 11:15 AM
There seems to be a common theme in response to robbery, there's nothing you can do, but this is totally false. You should do everything you can to
discourage robbery. Here are a few examples:
Signage: Add signs that say video grabando 24 horas, alta velocidad electrico, perro peligroso etc.
Theater: Create theatrical scenes which suggest danger to robbers... spread stories about the demise of robbers, create theater which communicates
demise of robbers.
Protection: Add hurricane shutters over doors and windows, bolts, locks.
Security: Add electrical shock wiring to various access points. Add lights and alarms which discourage robbers.
Traps: Add traps which catch robbers.
Defense: Have defensive tools, hand-held zappers, mace pepper spray, a long bar and weapons.
You can say that you don't want to have to protect yourself, or you can accept that its part of the changing game in many regions of the world. The
more you let it be known that you make an effort to protect yourself the less likely that anyone will rob you. If you let it be known that you wont
respond than you are making yourself a target.
You can be effective, polite, correct, theatrical, and you can defend your property. I think devices and methods that cause people who break in to be
affected by their own actions are excellent and make sense to everyone in Baja California.
Of course the best defense is to have nothing to steal but that is difficult.woody with a view - 8-29-2008 at 11:20 AM
Quote:
Of course the best defense is to have nothing to steal but that is difficult.
of course, but the tweekers don't know that until they break in and trash the place!gnukid - 8-29-2008 at 11:23 AM
The most powerful tools are cameras or the perception that video and photos are being transmitted. You don't actually have to cameras, just the idea
that you might...Woooosh - 8-29-2008 at 12:17 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by gnukid
The most powerful tools are cameras or the perception that video and photos are being transmitted. You don't actually have to cameras, just the idea
that you might...
I've helped several people recover property because of my perimeter cameras. We solved two car break-ins, a boat theft and the grafitti problem. Yes
they work- real or not. We also have two posted signs in spanish that warn that all activites a recorded 24/7. Some ciminals wrongly believed they
were fakes- they looked right up at the cameras as they walked by (thanks for the closeup).
Sadly, it's usually the neighborhood opportunists- not people from far away. The man whose boat was stolen recognized three of his neighbors
stripping it. They weren't the ones who took it- but they sure took advantage once the crime was done. I guess picking over crime scene remains isn't
taboo here and they made no effort to report the crime to the police or tell the owner.
While the security got bad in Rosarito this year we've made a house rule to only interact with neighbors we know and who own their own homes. They
have a vested interest in neighborhood security- renters and transient tourists don't.
I do agree strongly with the previous poster that said the more people think you are tough and willing to defend yourself and property- they more they
will leave you alone here. Acting a little crazy once in a while never hurts either. They are looking for quick cash- not a trip to the hospital.JaraHurd - 8-29-2008 at 12:25 PM
Sally S. I still can't figure out what me having been to Baja has to do with anything. I was not indicting Baja or Mexico. I simply won't allow
thieves to steal from me and would never live in a place where it was tolerated or where law enforcement was complicit in it all.
I think educating one's self in how to deter or even prevent crime is a good thing. Like when you change locks, change to locks that are "bumping"
proof. Stuff like that.
All comminities have their pros and cons. Once again, I was not specifically making any reference to Baja or Mexico.... Jon
A ''safe room'' for most valuable stuff -- otherwise....
Lee - 8-29-2008 at 12:34 PM
I like the idea of a video cam. Security for $120. Meaningless if you're not willing to pursue the perps.
It is not unusual to never leave a home empty. Neighborhoods between DF and Costa Rica where it's common. Neighbors see you leave, know no
one is home, they WILL break in and help themselves to your appliances. Nothing personal.
Most of these posts are great ideas. Just be careful and ensure that you KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. A property crime can very easily be converted into a
crime against your person if you do not know what you are doing. Do you know how to use a machete? Do you have the stomach for it? Did your pepper
spray expire? Is it fresh? Do you know how to take advantage of the element of surprise..etc etc etc.Sallysouth - 8-29-2008 at 07:07 PM
Ok Jon, all good ideas.I totally agree with you on all points you have made and never said I did not. JaraHurd - 8-29-2008 at 07:47 PM
Ok. I did not mean to be a jerk. Just gotta hit the mellow button more often I guess. As long as we all learn and give constructive advice,,we should
be moving in the right direction. Hearing about law enforcement officials that do not do their job really irks me because that is a brutal form of
betrayal to me.dtbushpilot - 8-29-2008 at 09:49 PM
We travel and camp the back roads often and have been more concerned the last few years about our safety in remote places. One item that I carry and
keep close by at night is a 12ga flare gun. No one has ever said anything about it at military check points, although I don't think anybody has seen
it but I guess I'd rather beg forgiveness than ask permission in case it isn't legal. I do have a boat in Buena Vista and I could say that I was
taking it down there....I don't know what it would do but I can't imagine that it would be any fun to be shot with it. I also keep a short aluminum
baseball bat near the door of the camper. I thought about a machette but don't know if I have the stomach for a "machette fight" with someone....dt
