tough - can you trace location via ipad?

Sure doesn't sound like the best of days.
Hope you get back to normal asap and also that they didn't do too much damage getting in.

Bob.

Sorry to hear about it Laurence. The stuff is replaceable. Unfortunately, the feeling of being violated isn't so easily addressed. I hope you make healthy progress on both counts.

One of those very big German Shepards might have helped. My ex boss had one and you talk about a load. The dog's idea of playing around was frightening. And he had real big teeth too. He would stand on you with his paws on your shoulders to say "Hi".
JJK

That's awful. And if you haven't already done so, have a think about any passwords for email accounts etc that may need to be changed. Good luck.

Paul.

Very sorry to hear the bad news. I know exactly how you feel. I went out to a funeral for 4 hours and too had someone break in and stole 2 big screen TV's, video camera, stills camera, laptop and my son's shoes. I felt so violated and angry. I was grateful that my very expensive PC along with ALL my data (5 hard drives) was left behind.

A photographer friend of mine was mugged for his Canon 5dMK2 with lenses, flash unit and memory cards etc while climbing back into his car.

How does one deal with this mentally and emotionaly?

Sorry to hear about what happened. My studio is out of my house, but I have 4 dogs, one is part coyote and a ADT alarm system. I don't think to many are going to try breaking in my house...lol I hope your insurance will replace everything for you. Best Wishes!!!

Sorry to hear about the break-in. A friend of mine had his house broken into not too long ago in the middle of the day while is teenage daughter was home alone. Luckily, she hid in the upstairs bathroom and was undetected. Be thankful that you only lost things that insurance can replace... because some things are irreplaceable.

~jr

How does one deal with this mentally and emotionaly?

LightAds, a lot of police departments these days have something called Victim Services which is a group of (mostly) volunteers who have been specially trained to help people deal with issues such as this.
They are also in touch with local mental health agencies for services such as counseling if needed.

Mike

We feel your pain... We also have a lot of expensive gear at home and worry that it will make our home a bigger target... Therefore we installed a DIY Skylink alarm that calls our cell phones and allows us to decide who to call next vs. paying a monthly monitoring service. We also installed several IP cameras that send JPGs or video to our cell phones when they detect motion or certain sounds.

Two years ago some inner city youth decided to target our country neighborhood. We later learned that they approached our home but turned-away as soon as they saw my signs indicating that we have security cameras. IMO thieves are more concerned about being caught on video that instant vs. by the police who may show-up 20 minutes later...

I have tracking enabled on the iPad but it's a wifi only model. So far it hasn't been turned on near an unprotected wifi network. Not much protection really is it?

I had a break in once at an apartment the company put me up in. They only stole a few replaceable items for which I was promptly repaid by the apartment owner because it was an inside job. The real bother was the notion that some one invaded my space and privacy... the fact that some jack@ss is walking around with a heart monitor as a wrist watch (without the chest attachment) didn't really bother me at all.

"How does one deal with this mentally and emotionally?"

With anger, at first, then over time the bite fades away.

Getting a house alarm helps a lot. Stickers saying "Protected by Smith & Wesson" or "We Support Concealed Carry" would help some. So would a dog. Ours is a lovable Border Collie but sounds like the Hound of the Baskervilles when someone knocks on the door.

I had my FX1 camera, tripod, and a bunch of miscellaneous items stolen out of my car last year. I fortunately was able to use eBay to replace the exact models of everything for a good price, and considering the insurance settlement, it was almost a wash--a lucky break this time.

Sorry for the loss; try not to get cynical. Most folks are pretty decent.

Had a house alarm at $26.00 per month. When the cops didn't show up I ditched it. Found out the cops have you at the lowest priority, even lower than lunch or breakfast. And if you have 3 or more false alarms you are charged $300.00.
JJK

I really felt like I was wasting money the last time I had my alarm monitored. That, plus when I switched to Ooma, the phone call in circuitry wasn't compatible. I ordered a box that will let the phone call in through an ethernet connection so I can still keep Ooma VOIP. I found a much cheaper deal on alarm monitoring here. For an extra $4 a month, they have an extra service that will send you an email with whichever entrance point was triggered immediately. I think I'm going to sign up for that. We never go in the back door and yet that is the one that's been broken into twice. If I was to see the back door or a window tripped via email, I would know it was not a false alarm.

Ohhh, I could write at length about all this. It's a common topic on my neighborhood's Yahoo Group.

Neighbor across the street from us was robbed on Monday over the Memorial day weekend. Small crew of 4-5 people with cell phones, their typical M.O. is to go to houses and ask is person xyz is home. If no one answers then they assume the house is empty. The kid goes down the block and calls his friends to let them know the coast is clear. They kick in a door, grab stuff quick, and drive away.

Normally, a police car arrives within an hour or two to check out the alarm call, but in this case my partner was home and saw them enter the yard. He called the cops and 7 cars arrived in 20 minutes. A huge response but still 12 minutes too late.

I did a bit of research on cops and their response to alarms. Many departments in the US say that 95% of alarm trips are false, and the PD doesn't want to be the agency checking alarm company hardware for free. So they don't respond.

Many departments have some sort of "Verified Response" policy. If they get a verified trip they'll respond right away. A Verified Response can be many things, depending on the local policy. Usually a human witness needs to call in but some PDs accept multiple trips in an alarm system. For instance, if two motion detectors trip they might consider the alarm as verified. Cameras and photos could also qualify, as could an audio feed.

Even so, thieves can get in and out faster than cops can arrive. Other things that probably help are external cameras and an external bell box. (None of the neighbors could hear the inside siren during this weekend's robbery). Bars on windows and security doors are popular where I live, but the best deterrent has been vigilant neighbors who yell at kids when they go into people's yards.

Rob

We had an alarm on our house when we first moved in 20 years ago, but eventually canceled the service--but we kept the outside signs, which is probably almost as effective. After all, a burglar doesn't necessarily want to hit YOUR house, just A house, and he will naturally go after the easiest target.

As I recall we were given one false alarm a year. After that we were fined by the police, and beyond a certain number we were cut out entirely. But to be effective the police had to arrive within minutes, which they did during one false alarm years ago.

Neighbors looking out for neighbors is probably the best defense. Also, it probably doesn't hurt that Oregon, even though a very blue state, has a fairly libertarian attitude towards firearms and concealed carry. A wannabe burglar will probably think twice about what waits for him on the other side of a locked door.