My neighbour was broken into yesterday. They smashed the glass of the balcony door.
Anybody else had a break-in experience?
Thereâs a lot of them happening at this time of year.
As soon as the clocks go back in October the police start issuing warnings about the increased risk of break ins and giving tips on how to avoid them.
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Yeah, itâs close to upcoming holiday season.
For the sake of curiosity, ave there been any clarification given in relation to âclocks going backwardsâ?
Itâs darker earlier in the evenings and opportunistic burglars take advantage of that to stage burglaries in the dark but before people get home from work.
Friend of mine had a shoe rack on the 2nd floor balcony with some stupidly expensive sneakers (insanity to me, but whatever)âŚ
Apparently someone stole several grand worth of shoes⌠(and yes, we didnât stop making fun of him)
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Did the insurance buy that?
In 40 years there have been two break-ins on my road both in both cases there was no one at home. And the last was about 10 years ago.
I had one just before Christmas 1988 when I lived in Greater London, French doors in my kitchen/diner at the back had a crowbar taken to them. The Metropolitan Police had stopped investigating burglaries by then as too many were taking place (the M25 was blamed, burglars were being easily connected with places they probably wouldnât have bothered going to previously). The local Met station just told you to get a crime reference number for your insurance from them.
We had a crime prevention officer come out who advised us on security, getting an alarm etc. He also said burglaries in our area tended to be done by petty criminals from the East End on an âawaydayâ.
However - after we were done about 5 other houses on the same side of the street were broken into and the police were a bit more attentive. Coincidentally,a neighbour who lived 2 doors down from me had a son who was an addict and heâd just come out of prison. As soon as the police started sniffing around he suddenly disappeared again so we all came to the conclusion it was him and he was burgling houses to fund his heroin habit (he died of multiple organ failure about 25 years ago).
Months before we moved there a young woman from our street was found raped and strangled at Hackney Wick after going out to meet her boyfriend from work (a guy followed her from the train). The police went door to door making enquiries which scared me a bit as I was only in my 20s at the time and it was all over Crimewatch on the BBC. They eventually got the murderer years later, he was a serial killer who was operating with a friend, the latter was at large until 1999. They were responsible for a number of women found murdered near railway stations or railway embankments in the London area (one was a Dutch teenager) and 17 women were raped by them. I like to think theyâll never be let out, but you never know with the parole system in Britain.
We had a lot of bad luck in that house and were glad when we managed to get the mens together to sell up and move on. Friends used to joke it was because the door number was 101. We sold it in 2004, itâs had 8 new owners since then so maybe it was jinxed!
By the way, if someone had a gun license, could it be legal to open fire in such circumstances (say, someone was at home when this was happening) or this would be a definite path to the jail?
If you dispose of the body, maybe nobody would be any the wiser.
Itâs complicated.
Switzerland does not have a stand-your ground law. You can DEFEND yourself if you are in immediate danger.. but you will be hard pressed to prove you were just defending yourself.
Meaning - your gun(s) need to be stored âsafeâ (preferably locked) from other people. So if you live alone, it would be ok to store your gun in your bedside drawer most likely.
Next, you guns needs to be stored unloaded, and you cannot have a round in a magazine - not even if the magazine is not in the gun. That means that once you hear the burglar, you will need to get your gun, box of ammo, load the magazine, and then be attacked by the burglar. Say you use a revolver, or something relatively fast to load; remember - you should not load it before you are attacked, as that would be premeditated/planning to attack someone.
In most of Europe, shooting someone in the back (as they run away) is a clear path to jailâŚ
All that being said, you can get pepper spray in CH legally. Most blank firing pistols would also be pretty decent deterrents⌠Also, I would assume that confronting an intruder with a gun, loaded or otherwise, would be a suitable deterrent for most people⌠and an easy way to get shot if the intruder is armed⌠My general advice (as someone who deals with guns a fair bit) is that de-escalation is always a better option unless you have an armed response team at your back⌠and itâs VERY hard to de-escalate once you draw a firearm.
P.S. No such thing as a gun license in CH. You have a buying permit, but then no need to ever have a license to âhaveâ a gun⌠after 10 years, the police remove the evidence of the buying too I believe.
You could get a concealed carry permit (CCP), which would let you carry a loaded gun⌠but these are MUCH harder to get*. You basically need to be working in a high-risk field and prove that there is a credible threat. Otherwise, you need to carry the gun unloaded.
** and by much, I mean MUCH. I spoke to the local firearms licensing officer, and asked if I could get it as a security guard - answer was no⌠and that is considering I have >20 handguns and rifles. Itâs MUCH easier to get a full automatic, with a supressor, than it is to get a ccp here. Compare it to Italy, where being a taxi-driver is a guaranteed way to get a CCPâŚ
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Thanks, very insightful. I donât have a gun, went to the shooting twice. I sometimes was wondering about this scenario.
I wish it was perfectly legal both to have a loaded gun and shot a bulglar. Protects you and permanently solves the problem for any other victims.
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Sounds like negligence. It all depends in the insurance covers negligence or not.
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facepalm are you american? all rosy until you shoot someone from your own household from too much caffeine one day (or insert whatever circumstance alters your calm dzen). Thank god it is not allowed to have loaded guns and difficult to get any kind of license, and burglars here also not some texas rangers with ammunition, pepper spray them and done.
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All you need is a *yappy terrier and the neighbours will be at your apartment door before the burglar has had chance to unplug your laptop.
*Tongue-in-cheek advice 
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License? Again, Switzerland does not have a gun ownership license.
For the âlower categoryâ of guns (e.g. break barrel shotguns and Swiss army assault rifles) - the process is : walk into the shop, show you are 18, sign the sales contract and pay. Walk out with the gun.
For the middle category (e.g. semi-automatic handguns), you need a buying permit (takes 48 hours in Aargau, but at larger events the police comes and sets up a stall where you can do it on the spot).
The upper category (full auto, amongst other things) - you need a reason. My âreasonâ is I have >10 guns, so am classified as a collector.
The only area itâs challenging to get a gun is if you want to carry a fully loaded gun around the streets⌠but if you want to carry your riles/pistol/etc to the shooting range, go right ahead⌠just donât carry it loaded.
Heck, until recently, Swiss citizens of age were forced to (mandatory) to keep a military rifle at homeâŚ
Take a look at the Swiss Weapons Act first. Daydreaming with shooting burglars disqualifies you from gun ownership in Switzerland. So, it may not be that smart to leave evidence online about it.
[quote=âSpinal, post:17, topic:142797â]
challenging to get a gun is if you want to carry a fully loaded gun around the streets
[/quote] well good at least that 
Something seems wrong here.
So are you telling me, that I can go into a shop and buy 12 shotguns/assault rifles.
Then, I am classified as a collector and go out and buy a full auto rifle? That seems way too lax/easy.
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