Mom's got a prowler, Need help with cameras, and advice..

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AJ Dual

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My mother, who lives several states away, is potentially having problems with a prowler. Audible footsteps on the back porch, movment in the yard and bushes that could only be a person. She lives with my stepfather, however, he works long hours as a lawyer, and while he's got a level head, he's not the type to be of any distinct advantage beyond an "extra person at home" from a security standpoint.

Her first thought, as was mine, was to get some kind of cameras. I immediately thought of www.x10.com but wondered if any other brands or systems were better.

My mother is definitely not a "gun person", so there's no real point of bringing it up with her. However, she is sort a hard-nosed left-libertarian, so other than the gun issue, I've got as much confidence in her mindset and attitude as one possibly can. Living in a large urban area, I've seen her handle herself very, very, well with bums, panhandlers, and people acting thuggish. So she's got "it" when it comes to dealing with miscreants.

The most worrisome thing is that there's some evidence the prowler has her household patterns down. She thinks the prowler may have mimiced their cat scratching the door to be let in on one or more occasions. Both times the cat was visible inside the house when it happened, and the last time, the cat scratching happened in conjunction with footsteps on the back porch of the house. (again, the cat was seen inside when it happened.)

She's called the police, but with no description, and no evidence, there's not much they can do.

They've got good deadbolts, solid-core doors with small high glass already. So other than the cameras I was going to recommend motion lights and pepper spray, preferably Fox Labs.

Any other thoughts?
 
I'd hire a private dick to watch the place a few nights, get the prowlers description, maybe a plate off a car, some lowlight vids of this activity and turn it over to the police.

Brownie
 
You didn't mention what time this was occuring, but motion sensing lights might be useful. Also, a wideangle peephole should probably be installed.

I don't have any experience with this company, but they seem to offer a useful peephole that can be viewed even when you aren't right against the door.

http://www.peepholesecurity.com/products.htm
 
Fox labs and cameras help. Definately need a motion lights and make it VERY bright when someone walks up on that back porch. I like the camera, because it will rule out a non-prowler making that sound, like stray dogs, Racoons, or the next door nieghbors boyfriend trying to climb up to his teenage girlfiends bedroom window.
 
I'd hire a private dick to watch the place a few nights, get the prowlers description, maybe a plate off a car, some lowlight vids of this activity and turn it over to the police.
Click to expand...

You can't be serious.
 
Radio shack now has a line of very tiny security cameras you could hook up to a vcr (mine is hooked up to a computer). Swann Security Camera.

Another old trick is to put baby powder or flour on the steps so you can look for footprints in the morning. Be careful though as this makes things slippery.

Tape a piece of black thread across areas where a prowler might pass (up high enough that a cat won't break it). If the thread is broken or gone in the morning then someone has been there.

Avoid the wireless cameras as they EAT batteries (especially if they are infrared type)
 
ilbob;

Why would you think a private dick could not solve the problem of identifying the perp on the porch, getting that perp caught so the problem ends.

Lights, cameras, action problem solving does nothing for catching the perp, it only deters them from the back porch area or where the lights are. It can also produce more activity by the perp in other areas.

No one knows who or what or why this is happening. I want those questions answered myself. Why, you ask? Well, it's quite simple when you think about it------The OP stated the husband is a lawyer, they make all kinds of enemies in their line of work.

Could be a client who he didn't win the case for who went to jail and is out and unhappy with the way he was represented, could be a husband of a woman he represented in a divorce who got screwed for everything and wants to mess with or harm the atty.

Oh, ya, attys. use privare dicks all the time. If they don't, it is a matter of asking other attys who they use.

I was a PI for 28 years. I want questions answered with definative facts, not kneejerk simple solutions that do not give me the facts and may or may not lead to stopping the problem.

Hope thats good enough for you sir.

Brownie
 
Brownie, I agree that hiring a PI would work. Those guys are the modern day short cuts. They know the rules of evidence and are authorized to make arrests from time to time.

Hiring a PI would be great, but I still think the lady should get one of the dogs form the link I gave. They are well trained and intimidating.
 
You believe he's actually tried to trick her into letting him into the house, and you're talking about putting up cameras? :what:

Cameras will not stop him from raping/killing your mother. A gun will. Talk some sense into her. My mom used to be a hardcore anti, now she has a concealed weapons permit and carries a snub .38 everywhere.
 
Attack dog, bad idea. The person owning the animal has to have training to go with the dog and they have to be able to control the animal. An alert dog is a much safer bet.

Lights and computer camera, good idea. Drive the BG away and motivate them to go somewhere else while collecting pictures for identification purposes. The only problem is that the best you get is tresspassing charges.

PI on stakeout, excellent idea. You get everything from photographic evidence, plus you get to find out where the BG lives and hands out. You get to notify the BG you know who they are and where they live and that you've got all of it on vid plus a witness or you get to hand it all over to the police so they can charge them with tresspass.

The PI is expensive, but perhaps less expensive than the dog. The cameras and lights are the less expensive than either. A alert yap dog can be the least expensive route and serve as a companion fo your mom.

If they can aford the lights, camers, dog and the PI that would be great.
 
Attorney in the family and one suspects a prowler, my thoughts run to a client wanting attention. One never knows how serious these attention needs may be.

1. I'd ask Police to step up patrols and have them ask neighbors if they are having any suspicions of prowlers.

2. Light Timers with not only lights also a radio/TV in the rooms most often suspected of someone being outside of. Change these up ,to give off the idea there is NOT a routine to speak of, and one never knows when someone inside is going to enter a room.

Just make sure windows and doors are secure, heck stick a broom stick in a window to give off a more visible presence of being alert and on the ball.
 
My Stepfather has been an environmental lawyer his entire career, he does stuff like sue oil companies on behalf of Inuit tribes, fight airports for noise violations, mining pollution etc. (He votes for Nader, LOL…) My mother just retired from being the fundraising director of a cancer research foundation.

I don't think they've got too many enemies.

I suppose that "big evil business" could be mad at him, but while he's very important to these cases, some even before the SCOTUS, he's a research and paperwork guy. While he does go to court at times, he's not a very visible trial lawyer. It's all very business-like, bureaucratic, and boring. These cases take years, even decades. "The Pelican Brief" it most assuredly ain't….

If anything, if some corporate interest was angry at him, it wouldn't be this petty-ante "perv in the bushes" type of stuff. I'll mention this angle to my mother though, just in case.

I have mentioned a gun, and will continue to do so. She's not a flaming anti, but will be stubborn about that. However, she's several states away, so there's only so much I can do. I pretty much just hit a wall of polite non-committal unresponsiveness when it comes up. If something more serious happens, perhaps she'll reconsider it. That's just human nature.

Aside from the gun issue, as I've said, she handles herself very well with panhandlers, and weirdoes on the street. She is a "mental/verbal Judo master" when it comes to that. She can do anything from pull an instant Drill Sgt. Act, to "crazy lady screaming a tirade in a foreign language", and everything in-between. I know that's not so helpful with a prowler, but other than the gun issue, I at least have confidence in her mindset, she won't freeze up or be passive.

I will mention the PI. Although a competent/professional one probably co$ts a bit. Despite what people think about lawyers, they're not all rich, and the area they live in has an insanely high cost of living that eats up much of the rest...

I'll also mention the dog, the game camera, should that work better than mini security cams, and the powder idea on the steps to at least prove it's a human.

Keep 'em coming.
 
The flash game camera may get taken by the BG unless it's up high where he can't get it. If it is that high you may just get a picture of the top of his head.
 
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The game camera is just a secondary idea I passed to her in case there's any areas of the yard that are inaccessible from the house.

I'm not a hunter, but I know there's ones with IR LED's that don't "flash" per-se, so they don't alert the deer, and wouldn't alert a prowler either. The digital ones don't have a shutter to "click" either, so they're silent.

But again, cams by the doors to the house or any other opportune areas are much more flexible, especially with the ability to get video on PC's or a VCR.

BTW, she has called the police, but by the time she's calling, the steps and scratching are over, and there's not much for the local PD to go on. The area in which she lives is suburban enough that the PD truly "cares" and gets to every call eventually, you never get the big-city blow-off to just "come in and make a report", but her area is also urban enough that they can be somewhat busy at times too.

I'm working on the gun angle, but I have to come at it sideways. My mother is an intelligent professional woman in late middle-age herself, so she's got her own ideas etc. She's not a flaming anti, you just kind of get a polite brick wall on the subject. She really doesn't discuss it at all.

Possibly part of the problem is my deceased grandfather. He liked firearms, and while he was never abusive, he was on the angry, quirky, and "boss of the house/drill Sgt." end of the spectrum at times, so I think she's got a bit of that association in her head about firearms ownership.

I don't play into it, because even though I own 4-5 times the guns he ever did, I'm her "good son" and there's a mental disconnect.

One complete "DUH!" suggestion I got on another forum was a security system and a home security evaluation, either by the PD if they have the program, or by a security co. if there's a good one. (My Mom and Stepdad are pretty good consumer researchers.)

The security system is a good idea anyway, just because there's been plenty of minor crime in the area even before this prowler incident.
 
1. Establish a pattern. If the house is being cased the person doing the casing will have a schedule.

2. Determine what times the person is coming around. Or is most likely to be around.

3. The PI idea is a good one.

4. Talk to the people living on all sides of the house and have them keep an eye out of any unusual happenings or people and cars in the area during the peak times.

5. Notify authorities with the target times that this person is showing up. Demand more patrols during these times.

6. Have someone trim all the shubs in the trouble areas creating a clear line of sight from every window in the house. Eliminate any areas on the property that will conceal someones approach to the house.

7. Water the approach areas BEFORE the peak times heavily. If thier are track or shoe prints after the sounds the police will have enough evidence that someone is trepassing to justify additional attention to the house.

These are just a few thoughts. Exterior lighting is also a good thing in the darker areas.
 
get a surveillance/security system. if possible, maybe get one of those systems that has a panic button on a carry lanyard for when she's around the house.

if the firearms are an issue, go with whatever she's willing/legally able to handle. Pepper spray, bat/club, knife, taser. Whatever. Personally, i think the spray or taser is the best best bet.

Any other family members/friends close to her who can move in for a little while? If that's not an option, stepdad has to mix up his schedule and be home more, at least for the short term. Work from home, etc.

Mix up her schedule... keep the guy guessing. Don't be predictable. Justtexas- not sure why you want to establish a pattern. seems counterintuitive.

lastly, it sucks that you're so far away but reiterate to her and stepdad that they really can't take this too seriously. go big or go home.
 
Sorry, I should have been clearer. I did not mean that she should establish a pattern. I meant that she needs to determine the intruders pattern. If this has been going on repeatedly she should take notes of the times he is showing up.

When they do catch the guy it will coincide with his schedule and facilitate a conviction.
 
Are they in the city limits? If not and they have a big enough yard, maybe you could go for a visit. Do a little target practice in the yard. Maybe you could get your mother to do some with you. Maybe a couple of the better grouped targets could get left on the porch...

To be serious I wouldn't mess aroud with a prowler... especially when it seems as though he's (assumtion) recognizing patterns and showwing ingenuity.

You said she knows how to use the jedi mind trick on undesireables. Perhaps one inexpensive option would be to install an intercom on the porch. I'll bet mr. prowler wouldn't hang around if your mother announces she's gonna fill with lead the first mutha fonnker she sees.
 
Dogs while a very good idea take time to either form a bond with them or to be trained on how to handle them as has been pointed out , I would do this and do it NOW but it will not solve the current problem .

For that "no offense to the PI guys" I would go down to the local PD and ask to speak to a watch Sergent or Watch Commander . Then ask them if any of the officers in the department do private security work locally and if so is there one officer who sets all of this up or how it works .

Once you get all this worked out offer them $20 cash an hour to have an off duty officer spend a few nights or a few hours a night at home with your mother out of sight when she is normally alone and catch this freak . The officer could have an on duty copper drop him off at her home in a squad car and be picked up later in the shift so that there are no extra cars sitting in the neighborhood to make the prowler suspicious .

An off duty officer from the local PD can make an arrest right there and then and often has the ability to carry a PD radio when he is working within the confines of his employment cities jurisdiction so he can call for backup if he needs it . At least that's the way it works in Missouri .

One other thing if she doesn't have them on her home make sure she posts "NO TRESPASSING" signs clearly visible on the front of the home that way at the very least this guy will be charged with trespassing when he is caught , and should the problem continue after a couple of trespassing charges you mother could file for a restraining order against the person and with any luck get a charge of Stalking brought against him eventually .

If these measures aren't taken , the first time he gets caught all he has to say is that he is at the wrong house visiting and was about to knock on the door and chances are the police would have to let him go because they have Zero evidence of a crime being committed unless he were to actually attempt to break in .

At this time of year "xmas is around the corner" many officers can use extra money and $15-20 cash money will sound real good to them and they will jump on it especially if it is only say 4-6 hours a night .

One thing tell you mother to NOT open the door under suspicious circumstances on the National news a year or so back there were documented cases of prowlers doing this kind of thing of imitating pets at the door and even using tape recordings of a baby crying to get women home alone to open the door .

I would get her to buy some of the strongest Mace or pepper spray she can buy and keep it on her person when she is home 24/7 . Ask the police where the local police supply is and go there to buy it and buy more than one can and keep them put in places she can get to .

Understand if this is indeed what is going on "imitating the cat and all" this person is TARGETING your mother and I doubt it is to steal a TV or some jewelry he could have some very nasty intentions such as Raping and killing her . This guy ain't nothing to play with .
 
Dear AJ's Mom,
I believe that you should try two things.

First, put up cameras and a sign announcing their presence. The sign is to alert the possible Bad Guy or undisciplined little boy that they are going to be busted for trespassing. This alone will most likely make the intruder go elsewhere.

Second, if after doing this, you get a bad feeling, even if for no reason, even if it is just once, buy a training class and a 12 gauge pump shotgun. The reason is that a camera is going to put off a less dangerous man, and any man who is not put off by a camera is looking to hurt you and your family. Scratching at the door makes me fear that this may be the case. The chink-chonk of a shell being loaded is yet another warning you would give. If you cannot bring yourself to defend your family with the most effective tools, you are going to have to rely on a more deadly and less effective combination of tools: Pepper Spray and a Baseball Bat. These are more likely to fail and be taken away from you, and you are probably going to have to keep hitting the bad guy until he is grievously wounded. There can be no warning. I have seen people keep fighting when sprayed with pepper spray.

Good Luck
DW
 
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