# Will this devolve in to widespread looting/home invasions? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 23, 2020, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103 "2020-03-23T16:42:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/21 "2020-03-24T05:11:43Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Some goofball made a meme that said something like “Want to steal things? Break into a house with a Bernie Sanders bumper sticker on the car, because they won’t have a gun.” > > One of my FBFs posted that, as satire, and got a lot of replies along the lines of “Wanna bet? Let’s just say I don’t hunt deer and rabbits with a bow and arrow.” As a native and current Vermonter I can assure everyone that being a Bernie supporter and a gun owner are definitely not mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/22 "2020-03-24T05:25:42Z")
Yeah, some people reflexively accuse Dems of being gun grabbers. Bernie is pro 2nd, but try explaining that. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/23 "2020-03-24T09:51:24Z")
There are already a lot of news stories about people wearing masks for robberies and ATM break-ins. There’s a scam where people are knocking on doors (usually elderly) claiming to be from the health department, then robbing them. I don’t know if they are on the rise, or if it’s just the news covering it because it’s related to the events ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/24 "2020-03-24T13:13:20Z")
This epidemic might overwhelm the medical system, but it is a _lot_ less likely to shut down food supply lines. As long as we don’t get a “we have to stop this social distancing and get the economy going” from the governors, we won’t have so high a simultaneous infection percentage grocery stores and food transport can’t function pretty much like normal. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/25 "2020-03-24T13:41:43Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Yeah, some people reflexively accuse Dems of being gun grabbers. Bernie is pro 2nd, but try explaining that. He said that his constituents are not in favor of gun control. I admire him for that. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/26 "2020-03-24T14:13:51Z")
The UN thinks [crime will increase](https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2012/February/economic-crises-can-trigger-rise-in-crime.html) due to economic effects of the virus. Members of an LEO forum I lurk on are reporting noticeable increases in B&E of businesses, and of car break ins. But it’s not universal (some officers noticing no change at all). My local neighborhood groups aren’t reporting any increases. I wonder if the lockdowns and travel restrictions affect the flow of illegal drugs? If so, I would expect an uptick in crime as some more desperate addicts have to find ways to pay increased prices. Just a guess though, I have no real information on this. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/27 "2020-03-24T14:27:37Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The streets are so empty that it would be a lot harder for bad guys to merge in with traffic, and easier for cops to eye strange cars. Plus, the cops have a reason to pull anyone over now. What? We never needed a reason. Just kidding, of course, but figured I pre-empt the remark. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/28 "2020-03-24T14:42:37Z")
I’d think it would be more shuttered restaurants and bars being robbed. Even petty stuff like homeless people breaking in just to drink the liquor and sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/29 "2020-03-24T14:59:54Z")
We did not see widespread looting and home invasions during the great depression which lasted several years. We should be fine for a few months. Most crimes are crimes of passion and not planned out crimes to obtain resources. Crime goes down in the winter every year because more people are home during the winter and say out of trouble. I would predict a drop in crime because everyone is stuck at home. Our police systems and social safety nets are still running. People are collecting unemployment and aren’t starving. No reason for looting yet. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/30 "2020-03-24T15:35:36Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > We did not see widespread looting and home invasions during the great depression which lasted several years. We should be fine for a few months. > > Most crimes are crimes of passion and not planned out crimes to obtain resources. Crime goes down in the winter every year because more people are home during the winter and say out of trouble. I would predict a drop in crime because everyone is stuck at home. > > Our police systems and social safety nets are still running. People are collecting unemployment and aren’t starving. No reason for looting yet. It’s still a different situation with the immediate shut down of businesses rather than the business failing. Take my example above of a bar with a liquor inventory. In the Depression if Joe’s bar failed, they’d sell off the liquor to Al’s Bar as well as the radio and I’m sure they’d find someone to sell the tables and chairs to. Right now, there’s thousands of bars that were shuttered immediately and only the money in the cash register was taken out to be deposited. The same goes for all the closed restaurants and retail stores. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/31 "2020-03-24T15:49:30Z")
Another factor not mentioned yet is criminals themselves might be wary of catching the virus. Seriously. I’m not saying it’s the deciding factor on its own, certainly not for the kind of criminal that’s willing to risk getting shot, but it will have some effect on the risk/reward calculation, particularly for opportunistic crimes. > [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Yeah, some people reflexively accuse Dems of being gun grabbers. Bernie is pro 2nd, but try explaining that. Anyone that says that is **full of shit** ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/32 "2020-03-24T18:00:20Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’d think home invasions would go down since a lot more people than usual are at home in the middle of the day. > I think, if anything, you’re going to see an uptick in businesses getting robbed. I would think burglary is more likely since there aren’t that many open businesses, are there? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/33 "2020-03-24T18:35:40Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > The UN thinks [crime will increase](https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2012/February/economic-crises-can-trigger-rise-in-crime.html) due to economic effects of the virus. It says nothing about this virus. It was written in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/34 "2020-03-24T19:33:49Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I would think burglary is more likely since there aren’t that many open businesses, are there? I agree, and thieves may not be intelligent enough to realize that if I close up my store, I take the cash register money home with me. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/35 "2020-03-24T20:25:55Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I agree, and thieves may not be intelligent enough to realize that if I close up my store, I take the cash register money home with me. They may only be interested in your stock of Venus flytraps and vinyl gloves. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/36 "2020-03-24T20:57:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Anyone trying to break into occupied houses around here is a damn fool given how many people in those house have guns of their own. > > There will be a brief period of noise after which I anticipate there will be a significantly smaller pool of people who think home invasion a good idea. That is a fair point in much of this country. Anyway, yes, sustained economic depression would put upward pressure on illegal ways of getting what you need. But as mentioned it would likely be mostly common property crime, trying as best possible to avoid direct confrontation with someone who may be in a good defensive position. Targets of opportunity and all that. And yes, gritting the teeth and bearing a slightly longer economic slowdown so there is a flatter peak to the curve would be helpful. Yes there may be more car windows smashed in or purses snatched, but we’ve lived with that before. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/37 "2020-03-24T23:01:16Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > They may only be interested in your stock of Venus flytraps and vinyl gloves. Most Venus flytrap theft takes place in South Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/38 "2020-03-25T01:16:33Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > We did not see widespread looting and home invasions during the great depression which lasted several years. We should be fine for a few months. > > Most crimes are crimes of passion and not planned out crimes to obtain resources. Crime goes down in the winter every year because more people are home during the winter and say out of trouble. I would predict a drop in crime because everyone is stuck at home. > > Our police systems and social safety nets are still running. People are collecting unemployment and aren’t starving. No reason for looting yet. And most crime of all types goes on between people who know each other. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/39 "2020-03-25T01:39:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > And most crime of all types goes on between people who know each other. They don’t go on between 7-11s and crooks? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103/40 "2020-03-25T07:13:35Z")
I wonder what effect this will have on porch pirates (people who cruise neighborhoods to steal packages from their front steps). On the one hand, more people are home. On the other hand, people are not going outdoors, so unless the delivery person rings the doorbell you won’t know it’s been left. On the gripping hand, maybe the porch pirates are being good citizens and staying home too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-devolve-in-to-widespread-looting-home-invasions/850103.md?page=3)