There’s a knock at the door.
You look outside and see a stranger, probably selling something.
You choose not to answer the door.
The stranger assumes nobody is home.
The stranger leaves.
Or does he?
If a stranger comes to your house, don’t answer the door. That’s common sense. But don’t hide in your own house either — make sure the stranger knows that someone is home.
On cbs13.com I saw yet another story out of Rocklin tonight about someone who ignored a presumed solicitor, and yet again, the “solicitor” kicked the door in and ransacked the house, all while a terrified 13-year-old girl, home alone, hid inside her closet.
What the perpetrator assumed was a residential burglary turned out to be a home invasion.
Tips for handling a door-to-door solicitor:
- Do not open the door.
- Ask through the door (loudly): “May I help you?” (This keeps you safely inside while telling the solicitor, “Don’t even think about burglarizing this house.”)
- After the solicitor identifies himself, say: “No thanks — have a nice day.” Or, if you are female or a child, say “Just a moment — let me get my husband/father, ” and then after a minute, say “I’m sorry, my husband/father is on the phone and can’t come to the door right now, but he asked me to tell you ‘thanks, but no thanks’ – have a nice day.”
Most burglars are cowards and have no interest in breaking into a house where someone is home, particularly if they think a man is inside.
Unfortunately our world is made up of more than just “burglars [who] are cowards and have no interest in breaking into a house where someone is home.”
Personally, I would never tell my 13 yr old daughter to let a stranger know she was home if they knocked. Instead we have three neighbors on her cell phone dialing list and if someone comes through the front, she has instructions to start screaming and run out the back door… toting her pepper spray just in case he catches up. We also set our home alarm to “STAY” so if the door comes open…. all heck breaks loose.