We have been talking about prisons, prisoners, rehabilitation, prosecution, etc.......in one of our other threads.

Now, let's put a new twist on the subject of crime. How many of you have been a victim of a crime?

In the last 15 years, we have had our house broken in to twice. Both times, we were hit very hard. It was almost to the point that we didn't want to replace the TV/VCR, microwave, etc....because we figured if we bought them, they would come back and steal them too. We took our time replacing items. After the second break in, we had a security system installed. No problems since.

About 8 years ago, we had our car stolen out of our driveway......they recovered it, and it was still intact...without a steering column. Guess what they stole out of our car? Our spare tire, baby car seat, floor mats, and my wife's Bible.

Since then, we have been very careful and very safety conscious.

We've been very lucky and never been broken into.

I did have a briefcase stolen once that I could have swore had my whole life in it (cell phone, PDA, digital camera and misc.).

I had my apt. broken into in college but I really didn't own anything worth too much.

I've been really fortunate as well.. thank God. I did have my windows broken out of my car in our driveway along with about 10 other cars on the same block by a bunch of thug teenagers in California. That sucked.

We have an alarm system here so I feel pretty secure but I imagine coming home sometimes to a break in. I know it must feel so horrible to have a stranger come in your home and help himself to things you worked so hard for.

Violated and scared that they would come back is how I imagine I would react.

I wouldn't live in a home without a good security system. I am of the opinion that most breakins are done by kids or amateurs. They tend to take a path of least resistance.

We also have an in-house dog that goes nuts if anyone comes around the house.

I'm afraid my in house dog would help the thieves if they gave him a treat.. big fat black lab - loving and sweet and absolutely gullible when it comes to strangers bearing food. lol

Aside from some minor vandalism on my car years ago, I've never been a victim. As for the security system, I had one in my house, but I have since cancelled the service. However, I did keep the signs and stickers in place. Like Bail Jumper said, just the indication of a security system will deter most thieves. That and the "armed household" sticker on the door should be enough to make most bad guys think twice about hitting our home.

I live on a dead-end street so that helps keep outside traffic down. I know most of my neighbors and they know me too so if something looks a little out of place, people will notice immediately. Another plus is that many of the families are one-worker households so someone is usually home keeping an eye on things during the day in a large percentage of the neighborhood homes. I feel pretty safe in our area.

As for a dog...well, our Pomeranians are great little yappy alarms by themselves but, a thief will only have to worry about a little ankle-knawing if they come up against them. :D

I was stabbed in my right side about half an inch away from my kidney when I was about 6 years old by a kid that lived down the street. I sound ghetto, lol. And, some guy rear ended my husband with no insurance and screwed us over when we first moved out together. Doesn't sound like a major crime but I think it is, if it happens to me I might kill the person. It's just so.....rude.

I've had one house broken into, years ago. Quite a few cars broken into at night for the stereos. A couple of years ago we went through a spell of constant break-ins on the boats at Hefner. Mine got hit three times. Nothing in the past few years, thank goodness.

When I first moved back to OKC in 2004, the door to my apartment was kicked in while I was out of town. The creep only took a few small items, but I had a really difficult time feeling safe for a while. One of my cats still hasn't quite recovered from the trauma...she's extremely skittish now.

I just got my security system up and running in my house, but I dare anyone foolish enough to enter my residence. My dog is quite territorial and would probably kill them.

The only things I'm concerned about is my life and the lives of my pets...if someone wants my stuff, they can have it.