Another bump in the night

[CommonKnowledge]

Currently I'm living in a one bedroom, ground floor studio apartment with a rear facing window that overlooks an alley. It's 2:00am and I've heard someone trying the windows for the second time this week. Both myself and other people in this block of apartments have reported hearing similar noises in the early hours of the morning and now I'm faced with another sleepless night. I've never worried about home defense before because up until now I haven't lived in a particularly crime ridden area, let alone a ground floor one, so my knowledge in this field is limited.

Bearing in mind I live in the UK where most of the cards are in the intruders hands I'm looking for advice in this area. Some thoughts I've had so far:

1. Bars on the window - this was my first and seemed like the most obvious solution but my landlord won't let me
2. Move - can't for another 4 months unless I want to kiss my £2,000 deposit goodbye which I can't afford, let alone pay for another
3. Get a dog - one bedroom studio, live alone, work full-time and expensive
4. An alarm system - again it boils down to a confined apartment and the fact that it doesn't go off until after a break in. The alarm company has to phone the police and, having phoned them before in the early morning, that takes about 40 minutes for them to show up - although that was a suspected break in.
5. Get out and run - this seems like the only possibility so far since I have no prospects of a safe room (the only other is a small bathroom) and that's definitely not defensible.

I'm not worried so much about my stuff getting nicked because I have contents insurance and there's really not much to steal. It's the constant knowledge that only a single pane of glass overlooking a quiet alley separates me from London's thieves. I won't be renewing my 6 month contract and at least I now know why this place was going for so cheap.

That only leaves weapons to think about. Guns are out since this is Britain, I've had training in Katanas and Tantos as part of Aikido but don't own either - only their wooden counterparts. I've always thought pepper sprays were for temporarily incapacitating an enemy so you can run, although I might be wrong, but it doesn't seem like a good home defense weapon. Baseball bats seem like a good choice but there's not much room to swing one. I've heard some people advocating a sjambok due to its reach but I've never used one myself.

Other than that I'm out of ideas and facing another sleepless night trying to deter intruders by keeping myself firmly awake whilst listening to Planet Rock a bit too loudly for this time.

Any thoughts on this area would be much appreciated.

 

[Save_Ferris]

 

[Cutlass]

Pepper spray or a stun gun will discourage all but the most drugged out burglar. Any form of a club will do for the rest. It's really unlikely that someone trying to jimmy open your window is going to have a gun in hand. Then call the police.

 

[Camikaze]

Pepper spray or a stun gun will discourage all but the most drugged out burglar.

But have the downside of most likely being illegal to possess.

I can't say I agree with the premise that weapons are the solution to this. I would push harder with the landlord, flagging their potential liability (whether existent or not) should any break-in actually occur.

 

[kramerfan86]

Id say, if legal, have a blunt weapon like a bat close to your bed, along with a phone. If you hear call the authorities. The bat is for if they actually get in and are blocking your exit path.

 

[CommonKnowledge]

But have the downside of most likely being illegal to possess.

Stun guns and pepper spray are both classed as firearms. It's crazy how you can own a crossbow that's intended to kill but something designed for self-defense is a firearm.

 

[bhsup]

WEll then the obvious answer is to get a crossbow. If that's the only option left open to you, take it.

 

[Skwink]

I'd got for a blunt object, I have a wooden club by my bed. I don't know about your laws, but a Telescopic Baton would stop just about anybody.

 

[Camikaze]

Also consider that a large part of an alarm system's effect is as a deterrent. A visible alarm system is likely to deter a burglar when there are other options nearby, whether or not it works as an early warning system.

 

[History_Buff]

Have you tried contacting the police? Surely they could offer you advice on this matter.

If you absolutely, positively need to feel safe, pour a bunch of glue on the windowsill and break glass into it. Then fashion some caltrops and scatter them on the floor.

 

[CommonKnowledge]

There's not much scope for a visible deterrent as the point of entry is an unlit alleyway at the back of the house. Unless the alarm glowed like a christmas tree it would never get seen. Also I've spoken to the police before when they got called out here last month after I reported a suspected break-in. They looked around my flat and suggested I put an extra lock on the door whilst ignoring the glaringly obvious window.

The idea of glass on the window sill is good but if anyone got injured I would probably end up getting sued.

edit:
Friction batons are classified along with flick knives as offensive weapons too.

 

[History_Buff]

The idea of glass on the window sill is good but if anyone got injured I would probably end up getting sued.

Put up a big sign on the window that says "Danger: Broken Glass glued to window frame".

 

[Skwink]

Friction batons are classified along with flick knives as offensive weapons too.

Well if you don't want a crossbow, you could always keep a putter or a long, narrow piece of wood in your room.

Something like this would really hurt:

Spoiler :

 

[Maimonides]

Don't let the area be dark at night. Put a bright light in the window & leave it on at night. A burglar will look for a dark alley, not one that's lit up. They do not want to be seen. Put some alarm sticker on the window so it looks like you have an alarm system. Keep valuables out of view of the window so a burglar can't see them while casing for a place to hit.

This is all about deterrence. If you awake to find an intruder inside with you, no options are good options. A burglar could get to your weapon before you do if you have one... Make it as unlikely as possible that it will happen.

Request in writing that the landlord put a light in the alley & keep a copy. If you do get burglarized at night through that window & the landlord has neglected to put up a light, sue his ass off.

Good luck.

 

[Samez]

Illumination seems to be the best way to deter burglars. Perhaps combine it with a fake security camera. You could also plant some window boxes with thorny flowers which can probably not be forbidden by the landlord. Most burglar will go for the easy prey with good accessibility and low probability for detection. Light and the (fake) camera will increase the detection chance while the flowers will reduce the accessibility.

 

[dutchfire]

You could also consider a light with a motion sensor, that switches on whenever someone comes close to your window.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Considering that moving is by the far best option, I'd investigate whether you have any rights in regards to the 2000 pounds. Even if they are tenuous, you would be surprised how far an idle threat and a letter from a lawyer can get you.

 

[Flying Pig]

Have you tried contacting the police? Surely they could offer you advice on this matter.

If you absolutely, positively need to feel safe, pour a bunch of glue on the windowsill and break glass into it. Then fashion some caltrops and scatter them on the floor.

Unfortunately, you have duty of care towards trespassers, which I imagine would still count in that situation. It's definitely illegal to put pugil sticks on the near side of your fence.

I would get a burglar alarm and possibly a motion-sensor light, and then forget it. Odds on, funny noises at night are simply indicative of dodgy building or local pets, and even if they're not, we're talking about somebody who fancies your TV, not Freddy Kreuger.

If you do get burglarized at night through that window & the landlord has neglected to put up a light, sue his ass off.

Sue for what, exactly? You haven't incurred any loss from his actions (only his lack of actions, and if that's a cause for suit then any burglary would reflect litigation onto the landlord) and I'm sure he'll say that he doesn't have the duty to take care of the property, because you accepted the lower security in exchange for lower rent by taking the flat. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm fairly sure that one would fall flat.

 

[Benefactor]

Well then the obvious answer is to get a crossbow. If that's the only option left open to you, take it.

Or a Compound Bow, those things look awesome and you can leave it next to the bed set up with an arrow nocked. Just pick it up, pull the string back and ruin a burglars day.

Disclaimer: Don't actually do that .

 

[Camikaze]

Unfortunately, you have duty of care towards trespassers, which I imagine would still count in that situation. It's definitely illegal to put pugil sticks on the near side of your fence.

This would seem about right. However, an amply clear warning (which would act as the deterrent) would probably work to discharge the duty to trespassers. There might be issues with creating an environment unfit for habitation, however, which I'm guessing the landlord wouldn't be too happy about.

Similarly, I'm not entirely show how evident pre-meditation would go down when making an argument of self-defence, so it probably wouldn't be too wise to be too vocal in finding something to hit people with.

Sue for what, exactly? You haven't incurred any loss from his actions (only his lack of actions, and if that's a cause for suit then any burglary would reflect litigation onto the landlord) and I'm sure he'll say that he doesn't have the duty to take care of the property, because you accepted the lower security in exchange for lower rent by taking the flat. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm fairly sure that one would fall flat.

I'm fairly sure the English law is close to that of Australia in this respect, and if that is so, a duty to prevent damage via the criminal conduct of third parties is not owed unless there is some special relationship of vulnerability. If a tenant is not allowed to take reasonable measures to prevent burglary without the landlord's consent, and the landlord then does not consent to the tenant taking such measures, the landlord is in control, and the tenant in a position of vulnerability. The landlord is aware of a reasonably foreseeable risk and is the only person who can take measures to guard against it. In that situation, a duty in all likelihood would arise. If the landlord allowed the tenant to take such reasonable measures, that's a different story, because they are no longer placing themselves in a position of complete control. So in this situation, if the landlord isn't allowing bars to be put on the windows, or any other reasonable steps to be taken against what is clearly a reasonably foreseeable risk, a letter reminding them of their potential liability in this regard would not go amiss, particularly accompanied by an expression of willingness to pay for the bars yourself.