International Personal Self-Defense Blog by Robb Hamic

Home invasion in 2009

December 13, 20009- Home invasion is a concern for people across the United States.  I published some definitions and examples from different areas of the county.  Unfortunately, home invasions are becoming more common and we need to find ways to combat this problem.

Home invasion is the crime of entering a private and occupied dwelling, with the intent of committing a crime, often while threatening the resident of the dwelling.  It can also apply if someone is invited into a home and remains on the premises after being asked to leave by the resident.

Home invasion differs from burglary, which is usually defined as unlawful entry into any occupied or unoccupied building, with intent to commit one of a list of specified offenses. Home invasion covers an intent to commit any crime.

Home invasion may be accompanied by other crimes. Home invaders commit breaking and entering, and are sometimes intent on assault, robbery, rape, or murder.

It is commonly held belief that home invasion is a minimal threat to the average person and usually involves invaders who have a personal knowledge of the home and its owner, however the factual basis of this belief is uncertain.

Few statistics are available on home invasion as a crime, because it is not technically a crime in most states. Persons charged with "home invasion" are actually charged with robbery, kidnapping, andassault charges. But law enforcement has been seeing the increase in "home-invasion robberies" since at least June 1995, when "home-invasion robberies" were the topic of the cover story of The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. They state the crime is considered an alternative to bank or convenience store robberies, which are getting harder to pull off cleanly due to technological advances in security. In this same article, the FBI recommends educating the public about home invasion. Before the term "home invasion" came in use, the term "hot burglary" was often used in the literature. Early references also use "burglary of occupied homes" and "burglar striking an occupied residence"

AUSTIN, TX (myFOXaustin) - APD is investigating an early morning home invasion in North Austin, where 4 or 5 suspects attempted to rob a family living on Amesbury Lane, just off North Lamar Blvd.

Dallas/ Ft. Worth to top terrorism list..

Dallas-Fort Worth area moves to top tier of terrorism targets

By The Dallas Morning News 

WASHINGTON – Dallas is now officially one of the nation's top 10 terrorist targets – a designation that sounds alarming but which state and local officials have sought for years, because it means millions in federal funds to beef up security.

The Department of Homeland Security's precise reasons remain secret, but there were plenty of educated guesses Wednesday about the many factors that justify putting Dallas on a list with New York and Washington. They include population growth, huge sports venues, economic impact, and even the fact that an ex-president calls the city home.

"We thought they should be a top-tier city last time ... considering the number of critical infrastructures, key resources, the population, soft targets, the economic importance," said Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety and Gov. Rick Perry's chief homeland security adviser. "We're glad that the threat-based formula that Homeland Security is using finally recognizes that."

The Dallas-Fort Worth area stands to get $25 million next year under the Urban Area Security Initiative, part of a grant program that will provide $832.5 million to 64 high-threat urban areas. The top 10 cities get 63 percent of that.

The designation "may nudge people to be less complacent, but it's not something that means people in Dallas should be running for cover," said Stephen Flynn, who served on Bill Clinton's National Security Council staff and in the White House military office under George W.Bush. "In terms of receiving more assistance ... this puts Dallas in a better position. Of course, it's a competition you probably don't want to be ahead in."

Mayors sought label

On Sept. 30 – six days after the FBI arrested Jordanian Hosam Smadion charges he plotted to blow up a Dallas office tower – the mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington wrote to Homeland Security SecretaryJanet Napolitano, urging her to review the region's risk for terrorist attacks and consider elevating it to the top tier.

They cited the Smadi case; the fact that the region has become the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area, on track to have 8 million residents by 2020; the area's $300 billion economic output and presence of 25 Fortune 500 corporate headquarters; and the half-dozen major sporting events it will host in the next two years alone, including next year's NBA All-Star Game and the 2011 Super Bowl.

But no one can say which factors swayed federal officials to change Dallas' status.

"We cannot pinpoint any one specific reason why they did that," said Rocky Vaz, executive officer for the city of Dallas' Intergovernmental Services office.

In Washington, Homeland Security officials had little to say publicly about the rationale for moving Dallas – along with Boston and Philadelphia – into the top tier of cities facing potential threat.

The additions create a top 10 list for the first time. The Tier 1 list already included New York and Washington, which were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, plus Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Newark, N.J., and San Francisco.

A "further review" determined that the three newcomers "were more closely aligned to the other Tier 1 urban areas. DHS decided to expand the Tier 1 list to ensure a higher percentage of funding was going to the nation's highest risk urban areas," said Sara Kuban, a department spokeswoman.