Recent Knoxville Home Invasions

[M1_Garand]

A summary of some recent S. Knoxville home invasions:

Home invasions hit S. Knox » Knoxville News Sentinel

Seems that access to drugs (perceived or actual) is a running theme (big surprise).

[Sandman]

I live in South Knoxville area and I'm stunned at how many break-ins that have occurred recently. It worries me, but I'm prepared.

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

It isnt just Knox as I am sure you all know, this crap goes on everywhere and around these parts all the time. Firearms and prescription drugs have taken the lead over laptop computers and flat screen TV's as what the thugs want the most.

I make sure to peel labels off of all medicine bottles before they go into the trash no matter what the medication, these rats find your bottle at the dump and they have your address and if it is a narcotic they will assume that you get them all the time whether or not you do.

It is one screwed up world anymore when a simple NRA sticker on your vehicle is something the little thugs will notice only to follow you home. I am sitting here waiting for my safe to be delivered after a near six month search for the right one that I could afford. Nothing will stop a determined and well equipped thief but I am pretty certain adding the safe to the four legged critters will go a good way to stopping the average street rat that is most prevalent around here. Better exterior lighting is coming after Christmas also.

Keep your Guard Up folks and start to look at your house as if you were the crook and do what you can to deter them..... it is only going to get worse.

[Guest carbonarcher]

For me the Irony is, that up north it was heroin and still is! Down here it is the Meth.... Has it gone to the script drugs down here too????

WoW!

[Guest eyescream]

For me the Irony is, that up north it was heroin and still is! Down here it is the Meth.... Has it gone to the script drugs down here too????

WoW!

There's a large market for stolen and/or otherwise diverted prescription drugs here.

[shortround]

I make sure to peel labels off of all medicine bottles before they go into the trash no matter what the medication, these rats find your bottle at the dump and they have your address and if it is a narcotic they will assume that you get them all the time whether or not you do.

Whoa... I've never thought of that. Thanks for the heads up.

[mikegideon]

4 dead thugs, 2 dead victims. Needs to be 6-0

[Erik88]

It sucks that the 2 people who were killed were in a house that was somewhat prepared. They were killed through the door, that is terrifying IMO. Not much else they could have done differently. At least the homeowner was able to kill one of the bastards.

[M1_Garand]

Time for some grandstanding:

Councilman Nick Pavlis wants action on South Knoxville robberies » Knoxville News Sentinel

Aside from rounding up the usual suspects (known drug offenders and dealers), I'm not quite sure what more the police can do.

IMO, the solution seems to be: 1)Take steps to make sure the bad guys can't find out if you have legally prescribed drugs in your home; 2) Make sure you aren't an easy target (locked reinforced doors, outdoor lights, yappy dog, alarm, etc.); 3) Easy access to loaded firearms and a plan to deal with any intruder that does manage to break in.

[Guest Ggun]

4 dead thugs, 2 dead victims. Needs to be 6-0

Agreed, my condolences to the victims and their families.

[Guest mikedwood]

Is this right? 30% of the homes in Knox county broken into were occupied? I had no idea it happened that much.

KPD statistics point to break-ins as down, not up. The city saw 218 burglaries of occupied homes Jan. 1-Oct. 31 in 2009, DeBusk said. The same period this year saw 172 such offenses, a decrease of 21 percent.

The number of robberies overall Jan. 1-Nov. 28 totaled 564 this year, DeBusk said - down from 587 for the same period last year.

[Guest drv2fst]

Never in my life have I read such sensible and fair reporting. They connected high risk activities to crime. They connected homeowners with guns to self defense. Wow, just wow. I am so accustomed to BS reporting that it is refreshing to see honest reporting. The same goes for the police comments in the article. They point out that many of these people had participated in some activity that put them at a higher risk. They pointed out that this can happen anywhere and is nothing new. Where is all the "the world will never be the same" crap that goes into every news story lately?