Whether it is your back door to your beautiful home or your two door clunker in the mall parking lot, keep your doors locked! I feel like it goes without saying, but then again there are thousands of home break-ins and car burglaries every year. Thieves lurking, looking for valuable items so they can cash in. These valuable items can be anything from change to electronics and even more concerning, weapons. As the world becomes inherently more dangerous, citizens are arming themselves with handguns. Unfortunately, some of these gun owners are just being flat out lazy; not locking your doors and not securing your weapons.

“Hey man, just letting you know my truck got hit last night and my medic kit and two Glocks were stolen.” This was the text I received this morning from a friend and co-worker. Now, the perps busted the windows and got the goods, but they ran off with a haul. Not one, but two pistols were in his truck. It’s called complacency. Guilty as charged. You get lazy, leave your valuables in your car and sometimes even in the open and then bam! Gone, your stuff is stolen.

When I was young, my dad’s police vehicle was ransacked. Driver’s side window was busted and they got a handgun and a shotgun. A truck driver in the neighborhood returned home about 3 am and jotted down a tag of a suspicious car. After my dad took the old school approach of ‘boots on the ground’ to question neighbors, he struck gold. The tag came back to the owner of a pawn shop. I was with my dad when he confronted the felon at his south Nashville home. Dad wasn’t playing and as he held his pistol on the man, telling him he wanted his guns back. His tone had the man shaking in his boots. Turns out, two other criminals were paid by this pawn shop owner to steal items. Dad told him that if he had his guns back in 48 hours he wouldn’t prosecute. Well, that did the trick. Dad got all of his stuff back.

Others are not so fortunate; things are stolen and they may never get those precious items back. Point is, lock your doors. Take your purse, your guns…anything of value inside your home and secure them. Safe’s are great, but in my law enforcement days I have seen safes stolen and if they are too heavy, they were drilled and everything was still gone.

If you find yourself a victim of a break-in, call the police. Report the crime and provide them with all serial numbers. Those numbers can be entered into NCIC so your weapon can be tracked if recovered and returned to you in the future. Scour the neighborhood to see if anyone saw anything, because the police won’t; they don’t have time. Post on social media…ask for help. Heck, call a private investigator to help.

Covert Results, LLC is a fully licensed and insured investigations, security, and training company, providing honest services to law firms, businesses, corporations, and individuals. If you need help, give us a call. For a complimentary consultation please contact Covert Results at 615-861-1680, contact@covertresults.com, or visit our website at CovertResults.com.