Find Out How to Protect Your Home From an Invasion
FBI statistics show about six homes are robbed every hour of every day.
July 25, 2007 — -- FBI statistics reveal that about six robberies take place in U.S. homes every hour of every day. The crimes can be frightening, terrorizing residents where they feel the safest — in their own homes.
Perhaps the most recent and disturbing example was in Connecticut, where a family was murdered Monday at 3 a.m. in its Cheshire home.
Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, died during the invasion. William A. Petit Jr. was beaten badly but survived. He escaped after being held for hours as the home was consumed by fire. Two suspects face charges tied to the killings.
The state medical examiner's office said Tuesday evening that Hawke-Petit was strangled and that her daughters died of smoke inhalation. All three deaths were ruled homicides.
It is a scary reminder that home break-ins can be dangerous, but there are smart ways to fight back.
One Boulder County, Colo., woman decided to do so. Though her family keeps no weapons in its house, Becci Starr fought off a knife-wielding intruder with a baseball bat. Her incident was captured in an emergency call to 911:
Operator: So the knife was his, the bad guy's?
Starr: Oh, yeah.
Operator: OK.
Starr: I mean, we don't have weapons, except I have this baseball bat. Thank God I have a metal baseball bat.
"Good Morning America" safety contributor Bob Stuber said there are easy steps people can take to protect their homes. He said the bushes and trees around the house should be cut low. High shrubbery and grass may give criminals a hiding place, Stuber said.
"They're constantly looking for us to give them opportunities to come into the house," Stuber said. "When you give them the opportunity, they're coming in."
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