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Keith B wrote:Here's my new sign

[ Image ]

You might need to add:

We don't read magazines and we already have a pest control company.

RPB wrote:20 minutes ago;
Unfamiliar knock at my door
I peek out the little window in the door, no one on the porch
I have a window to the right of my door/around the corner
off to the right of the door I see a guy standing with a clip board;
not a typical looking fellow for the city in which I live; he's in a dress shirt instead of a work shirt, holding a clip board
I ask through the door what he wants
He wants to come in the house and clean my carpets

I think, how nice, I have this expensive Dyson vacuum and he doesn't seem to have one with him ...

I ask "Do you have a door to door soliciting permit from the city?"
He says he thinks his boss does when he comes around in the car he can ask ...

I said today isn't a good day, I have papers all on the carpet in stacks sorting them ...
He says ok ... trots on down the street to see who else might answer the door

"Hello Police ... Northbound on ____ Street a ____description of fellow in blue dress shirt with clipboard .... he wants to come in my house to clean carpets but has no cleaning machine and doesn't seem to be able to find a city permit to do door to door soliciting so I dunno if he's casing houses or what ...
there, zooooommmmmmm. there's the police car driving by the front window... thanks

Well done!

agarcia82 wrote:I have a chl and i have lots of tattoos..does that make me a bad guy?? I think what you did was just racial profiling..you didnt care what the man had to say..you just seen tattoos and automatically thought he was a bad guy.. and when you told him to buz off thats exactly what the man did he left you alone..you on the other hand did not my good sir you pursued it by calling the cops.. heaven forbid someone with a tatoo ask you for help if they are being robbed youl just shut the door on them..

While the point that the presence of tattoos does not make one an automatic bad guy (leaving aside the discussion of what some types reveal in terms of gang membership, prison associations, etc.), it's worthwhile to remember that they don't make one an automatic good guy either.

In the case under discussion here, a great deal more than just the presence of tattoos was involved in triggering the OP's spidey sense, and it was the totality of the circumstances that led to his decision to call the police. They were dressed in a manner not appropriate for visiting strangers, asked inappropriate questions, and exhibited behavior that was inconsistent with what they said they were there for. The OP stated his concern was that they were checking out homes for future burglaries or home invasions. Whether that was their intent or not, their actions and manner matched what one would expect to see in that circumstance. His concerns about their character and intent were validated when one of the subjects was found to be in possession of unlawful drugs and was arrested and the other was cited for soliciting without a permit.

Ignoring fact patterns like this and trying to convince oneself that it's probably nothing is one of the most common elements in how victims attain that status.

This was a case of prudence, not prejudice.

speedsix wrote:...that's a common burglar's trick...no response...no barking dog...he's got his job for the morning...if you open the door, he just asks for Herschel or Gertrude...apologizes, and leaves...

Another favorite "backaway" line is asking if you've seen his lost dog / cat / snake / gerbil / guinea pig, etc......

Ameer wrote:

VeeTee wrote:Quote:
"HA!! You didn't call the police because he had pot in his pocket. You called the police because you didn't like the way these two fellows looked. One of the guys having pot is just a coincidence.

And it is absolutely wrong to think legit people don't have neck tats and sleeves. I can specifically think of one guy in my church who works with our teen ministry. "

er... Could it be that your "legit" guy is not so "legit?" Remember the BTK guy? He was a boy scout leader and "paragon of his church".

To the OP:

My hat is off to you. If your "reptilian brain" is heaving that alone is good enough - regardless of whether they had tats. With all due respect to anybody who is trying to hang guilt on the OP for having done what he believed was right all I can say to you (respectfully) is "tsk tsk".

V

If you choose to do things that are outside society's norms then you shouldn't complain if society doesn't think you're normal.

Here's a handy Field Guide to Tattoo Placement if you care what people think. WARNING: Blunt adult comments.

The tattoo location chart was just too funny!

drjoker wrote:Sheesh, guys, times are tough. Be a good "X" (insert your religion here, yes even atheism is a "religion") and buy some stuff from door to door salespersons. A lot of them are unemployed and just trying to make ends meet. Some are helping out a church or youth group. My fave are girl scout cookies. Second are the chocolate bars sold by inner city high school kids. I hate peanut brittle. If I see peanut brittle, I'll just give 'em a couple of bucks but ask them to please not give me any peanut brittle.

If you don't like opening your door to strangers, that's fine. get a motion detector so you get advance notice of strangers at your door. Then, exit out the back/side door and flank 'em outside the house.

Or just get a door chain so you could answer the door without the risk of them forcing their way inside.

As always, keep your gun on you in your pocket. A little .380 or smaller caliber gun will fit nicely in your boxer shorts pckets so when you throw on that robe to answer the door, you're armed.

P.S. When I was a idiot teen, I went from door to door selling... knives. Not the brightest thing to do! What's even more amazing is, after showing my briefcase full of knives, a few ladies actually let me in and bought some knives from me (never had a male customer). I couldn't find a summer job, so I had the bright idea that I could sell knives door to door.

A door chain and a mouse gun??!!

(Sigh)

In New York folks quit using the door chains a few decades ago because they found they kept ripping them out themselves when they forgot the chain was on when they opened the door. Needless to say, nobody on the outside had any trouble getting past them out either.

There's a hint about their effectiveness in the fact that you don't see them on hotel or motel doors anymore except occasionally in establishments where room rentals are by the hour.

Preparing for a less than arms length encounter with a potential home invader by sticking a mousegun in one's pocket as the Plan B for the ripped out chain and voluntarily opened door isn't my idea of prepared.

YMMV - but history says it won't.

thenick_ttu wrote:Seems a little overboard to call the police in that situation. Assume these two really were just out soliciting and trying to raise money for a trip, how are they supposed to know they need a permit?

I've done some door-to-door soliciting for my church and I didn't know needing a permit was even a possibility so if that had been me at your door today, you would have gotten me a ticket... thanks alot.

It's not overboard at all.

More places than not require a permit for door to door solicitation to reduce the issues with people casing houses, taking money for things they don't deliver, defrauding people on driveway and roof repairs .... the list goes on and on. Legitimate solicitors know this and comply. Illegitimate ones don't. Asking to see the permit is an easy first screening question when one shows up at your door.

The dress and presentation of the two individuals in this story don't add up to their far out excuse for being there. That's more than enough reason to suspect that they're up to no good. I would have called the police too under those circumstances - after I had told them I wasn't interested through my intercom without opening the door.