12-year-old girl shoots home invader

[Decoy of Fenris]

29. You made the claim that home defense installations will deter a crime in progress.

I cannot prove that false. Likewise, I cannot prove that something doesn't happen in any quantity. I was genuinely relying on you to supply the statistics and the data, because otherwise, the claim you offer cannot be proven.

Let's change the framing of the debate, at least for the moment, given the nature of the point in prior contention.

You say you "think" that a burglar would be hampered by home defense. Why? There are no statistics, there are no numbers, no facts, no -anything- to back up that thought process other than your personal inference. By the admission of some "home defense" agencies, the primary benefit to home defense installations is NOT to halt a burglary in process, but to deter potential burglaries in the future. The only study I could find, done from 2001 to 2005, indicated that only in dense concentrations among multiple groupings of homes did home defense systems have any impact on burglaries. That same study goes on to state that a house with home defenses, when isolated among groups of houses without similar devices, were equally as likely to suffer from burglary or larceny as the undefended homes.


To be short and sweet: One defense system offers no protection. An entire community of defense systems is a "Do Not Disturb" sign to burglars. Keep in mind, we're talking genuine security systems, not just added screws and a reinforced plate.

You're trying to put me in a position to disprove a sentiment that you have expressed, when it is impossible for me to do either. I am simply asking you to substantiate your view with any data whatsoever.