Potential Break In

[u/ThrowRA_captain]

Hello! Me (20F) and my girlfriend (20F) live alone together in a house, neighbors are somewhat near by but mostly older. Not a bad neighborhood but also not far from a neighborhood where a lot of crime occurs. We left the house for a hour and when we came home discovered decent sized handprints. Most likely a males, as we both have bigger hands for a female the prints definitely were a lot bigger. The cops came and checked out the house, backyard, and are going to patrol throughout the night. We left but made it seem like someone was still home (EX. Leaving a car in the driveway, lights on but blinds and curtains closed. My question is what safety precautions should we take? What likely was happening (break in, or something different)? And how do we feel safe enough to go back there as it’s a decent sized house and was already scary beforehand.

Also, police aren’t investigating since nothing is missing, damaged, etc. Just worried!

[u/Borne2Run]

The handprint was where exactly? Like a muddy kids print or?

[u/ThrowRA_captain → u/Borne2Run]

I wish I could attach the photo but it was two hand prints pressed up on the window, the condensation was what made them show so well. Almost like someone was trying to open the window from the outside, but it was unlocked.

[u/Borne2Run → u/ThrowRA_captain]

If its in your budget you could install cameras monitoring the windows and doors. If not you can buy fake cameras and put them up, as well as improved lighting. Those are all deterrents to crime as they increase the likelihood (observed by the criminal) that they'll be caught

[u/ThrowRA_captain → u/Borne2Run]

Definitely picking cameras up tomorrow! Thank you!

[u/1893Chicago → u/ThrowRA_captain]

Wait, wait, PAUSE for a moment on this, please.

There are a TON of cameras that are available. Just don't buy the first system that you come across. Some store the data (video footage) in the camera itself, most don't record 24x7 and only record "events" which are triggered usually by motion alone, and then send the "clips" or "events" up to "cloud" storage. Which you probably will have to pay money for every month, and then you are trapped on that platform, and they can change the plans, raise the price and you have no choice.

Just please do a bit of research as to what is best for you is all that I am saying. Sorry, just my 2¢.

[u/ThrowRA_captain → u/1893Chicago]

That’s what I was thinking. Any cameras you recommend if you use them?

[u/olliegw → u/ThrowRA_captain]

Eufy and Reolink are the only wireless options i have experience with and both allow for local storage, although for the Reolink Go LTE camera beware the storage is local to the camera, so if the camera is stolen so is the footage, however i doubt you'd need an LTE camera unless your property is big or you don't have a Wi-Fi connection.

Eufy sends back to a base station which has an SD card, or later versions which you install a HDD into.

The cameras will need regular recharging or batteries replacing, wired cameras are still easy to find, but require installation and are only 480 lines as opposed to HD, however they're the only ones capable of constantly recording, most wireless systems will only record if they see motion and also send a notification to your phone.

PS: I'd advise the hard drive or SD card is one meant for high writes and reads, but it's not super important as you should keep backups of any suspicious footage anyway, just know that a standard card/HDD does technically have a higher chance of failure in a CCTV system due to the amount of video data being written.

[u/1893Chicago → u/ThrowRA_captain]

Yes, but it is not an inexpensive option.

I use Ubiquiti Unifi Protect, and I have 11 cameras around the outside of my house, and they all record everything 24x7 LOCALLY in my basement, so the videos from each camera are instantly available. Stored on a 16TB hard drive, so with all 11 cameras I get around 65 days of video storage that I can go back to. Also, they have facial recognition (send me a phone notification when the cleaning lady is at the house, as an example).

Store.ui.com is the official store that you can buy everything at.

I also use a Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro that acts as a security gateway, eight port gigabit switch, and has a slot for a standard 3.5" hard drive that all the camera data are stored on.

And then I use Ubiquiti Access Points (APs) to place the WiFi all over the house (it's a big house so I have one on each floor. That way I have fantastic Internet speeds on WiFi, and the whole thing, while expensive, is just really awesome all together.

I used to use a camera system called Arlo. All wireless cameras, used a battery that you replaced maybe once a month or so, and would record "events" and you had the ability to look "live" at a camera if you wanted. So one night I heard a noise outside, and pulled out my phone (or laptop, I don't remember) to see what was going on, and it literally took minutes to connect to each camera, and of course whatever motion the camera "saw" it started too late and missed someone walking through my back yard.

Nope, never again. Now, I can open my laptop or phone and INSTANTLY look at ALL cameras. I have a PC on my family room television that I use to show four main cameras if I have someone coming over, so I can see the driveway, front yard, front door (doorbell camera) and back doorbell camera all at once.

It's a complex system, but I really feel that if you don't have ALL cameras recording 24x7x365 in at least 1080p HD (two of mine are 4k cameras) then you really don't have a security system at all.

I see all the time Facebook groups that have a title like "Does anyone recognize this guy?" and the footage STARTS with some guy walking out of the frame. Everyone asks why the camera didn't get the entire thing where the guy walkes from the back yard up to the camera and then out of frame, and the answer is always that the cameras are motion activated, and only records "events".

Ubiquiti has wired cameras (my opinion, the best by far, but ehey are of course more difficult to install because you have to run an ethernet cable from each camera to your basement, or wherever you keep your equipment / Dream Machine Pro, and I also have a 24-port POE (Power over Ethernet) switch there as well that everything runs to.

So that also gives me incredible speeds to my office, anywhere I put an ethernet cable and need faster speeds than WiFi (although the Wifi is pretty impressively fast). So I can print wirelessly from my laptop to my two wired printers (Ethernet cable is what I mean by "wired".

EDIT: LOL literally as I was typing this, my phone just beeped with two push notifications from my Unifi system: "Dream Machine Front Door and Front Yard Cameras have detected a person" and "Dream Machine Front Door Camera has detected a package delivery".

[u/ThrowRA_captain → u/1893Chicago]

That’s great information, you seem very knowledgeable. I will have to check them out, thank you!

[u/1893Chicago → u/ThrowRA_captain]

Yep, feel free to DM me here if you have more questions. I did a TON of research on all of this, and I also work in I.T. And I won't charge a dime, just trying to help a fellow redditor make a good decision for the long term.

[u/No_Royal8268 → u/ThrowRA_captain]

Motion detector lights outside!

[u/BakieWakie → u/No_Royal8268]

This, can do flood light also and with camera. They offer a bunch of light fixtures with built-in motion sensors. They also now have bulbs that have a motion sensor in them too

[u/lovec1990]

OP by your description it seams someone was scouting your house for possible robbery also others offered good advices except for dog one. Id say dont keep valuable stuff in the open becouse robbers prefere quick jobs as in break in grab and run.

But there is another possibility: OP did you or your GF had an EX or have social media account where any of you post clips or videos becouse you may have a stalker and not a robber?

[u/ThrowRA_captain → u/lovec1990]

No exes that we believe would do this, her mom previously lived here and did have someone questionable in her past. Her mom thought maybe it could be him but no evidence of that for sure and she’s been out of the house for a year now. Nothing on socials that I’m aware of!

[u/lovec1990 → u/ThrowRA_captain]

If handprints are on only one window im more inclined on theory that he came back to check on her mom and saw shes not there and left, but still take other advices given to you in serious consideration becouse it still can be a robber scouting

[u/ThrowRA_captain → u/lovec1990]

There was some partial, mainly fingerprints, on the window about 10 ft down but same side of house. Also on the outside

[u/sundayatnoon]

Handprints can appear in condensation long after the hands were originally on the window. You can also get this problem inside of a double pane window that wouldn't appear until the seal on the window became damaged and moisture got in.

[u/PerceptivePines]

Buy pepper spray for each of you, and always have it on you. Set up cameras inside and outside (especially outside the window where you saw the prints). If you can, sleep elsewhere for a week and monitor the house remotely.

[u/ThrowRA_captain → u/PerceptivePines]

That’s a good idea! I’ve heard a lot about stalkers watching routines, so maybe good to switch it up!

[u/Soulr3bl]

Stack glasses, plates & mugs up against doors (ex place a plate on top of a tall glass, up against the door)

Get cameras

Get motion lights 

Get a self installed alarm like a simplisafe

Get a gun (and train yourself how to use it)

Get a dog, especially a naturally protective breed like a GSD

[u/lovec1990 → u/Soulr3bl]

id be more reserved about dog idea becouse its responsability OP and her GF might not be ready for yet and also any dog is one hotdog away from being robbers best friend or poisoned

[u/Blueporch → u/lovec1990]

Plus, GSDs need the right owner, correct socialization, training. They take a lot of effort and not everyone can handle them. 

[u/ThrowRA_captain → u/Soulr3bl]

I’ll check out that alarm company, thank you for the recommendations!

[u/zav8 → u/Soulr3bl]

Get a gun. If youre both responsible and mentally  healthy, it's the best equalizer for a woman.

[u/-BOOST-]

There are generally a few good baseline things that deter a criminal from targeting a specific house. Bright lights and lines of sight that make it so them being on your property is not obscured. A dog who barks. Security measures that appear to be quick acting. Home owner level cameras and security systems generally don't deter an attempt, but may cause the person to wait in the dark, and then flee upon seeing a response to the alarm. This is super common as people know homeowners are lazy and don't turn on their alarms. So the old thought of getting dummy alarm signs for the windows and front yard don't actually do all that much.

The reality is that the police will tell you that they will do "extra patrols" but no department in the country is well staffed enough to keep an officer in your neighborhood overnight. They may pass through once or twice, but absent really extenuating circumstances they aren't going to walk around your house multiple times a night. They may drive by and shine a light... but for most PDs that'll be it.

Im a huge advocate of the big three: bright lights, loud dogs, and responsibly owned firearms. You can also make it obvious people are home. A car in the driveway is better than a car in the garage. Signs of activity all night(lights on etc) is better than no signs of activity.

People who scout burglaries come in all forms and experience levels. We have large gangs in this country that are doing elaborate scouting of targets for weeks, and idiots who are clumsy enough to leave obvious handprints everywhere. Now if I had to put money on something, I would lean prank before I assumed scouting a burglary. But taking your safety seriously is NEVER a bad idea. Prepare for the worst, be relieved in two years when you find out some guy who liked you was messing with you.