Tonight was the first episode of a new reality series on Discovery Channel, in which two ex-burglars arrange to break into the home of three bachelors (to show them how easy it is), and then revamp the house's security to prevent future break-ins.
The first home targeted belongs to John, who inherited it from his parents. With a brother and sister (who live elsewhere), he also inherited lots of treasures, including an original Picasso and a sketch of John F. Kennedy that at one time hung in the White House. These treasures are stored in an unsecured crawl-space at the back of his bedroom closet.
His roommates, Anthony and Mark, have their own rooms in the house, and the three young men use the house as a commuter base (it is within commute distance of New York City) and a party pad. One former break-in artist, Matt, walks through the house with the three roommates and talks about their current security arrangements. He quickly finds they are non-existent. All three men are blasé about the prospects of being burglarized.
Once the burglar, John Ramey, breaks into their home (through an easily-jimmied door), they watch aghast as security cameras show the efficient trashing and gleaning process. John takes just over 10 minutes to remove everything of value from the house. At one point, he even calls out on John's cell phone for backup.
After the burglary is complete, the young men go back into the house for a short cool-down. Then the Discovery crew begins clean-up while John-the-burglar confronts his "victims" before returning the stolen goods. The value of what he stole is astounding. One item that was barely noticed as John watched the burglar go through his belongs was the security key to his safe-deposit box. Along with the passport and business cards he also stole, John-the-burglar might have cleaned out John's safe-deposit. Total take, possibly $450,000 to $500,000.
The amazing thing to me is, after some $3000 of security upgrades to the house, John-the-burglar returns with Matt to see if he can now break in. All of the upgraded door locks, window locks, etc. are good—but John has left the front door (and the access doors to his bedroom and closet treasure storage room) unlocked.
To my way of thinking, this kind of makeover program is a lot more valuable than most. It's worth the hour to catch it when it comes around again.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - MazeBorn
Did any of the security upgrades involve buying a watch dog?
2 - DrPat
Nope, just standard hardware, locks and a safe, a motion sensor for the Picasso and the JFK sketch (plus mounting locks), and some thorny bougainvillea planted along a slanting fireplace wall that allowed too-easy access to the second-story.
Why do you ask?
3 - bhw
My husband watched this show last night and gave me the synopsis before heading off to work this morning. The punch line for us was that when he opened our front door, he found my keys still in the lock, from when I last entered the house last night.
I'd say I leave my keys in the door about once a month. So my husband has now added "check the front door lock ... on the outside" to his list of door/window checks before he comes to bed.
4 - MazeBorn
Just that my computer was stolen about a month ago when our house was broken into, and now I can only get on the web from a neighbor's house. They have a big nasty dog, and they said the burglar might have wanted to break into their place instead, except their dog scared him off. So I just wondered.
5 - DrPat
bhw, that's why I think this program is not the usual reality-TV-waste-of-time. It has a lot to say about making our own homes safer, and addressing our own security habits.
Born, I'm sorry to hear about your computer. I guess that's why your blog has not been updated for a month, and you did not respond to my eMails. (I was worried...)
6 - DrPat
The second episode in this series actually added some information - although same format, same burglar. The difference was, Mom was a lot more focused than Dad on locking up the place before they were burgled; and after their encounter with a break-in, they both kept the house locked up tight.
It Takes a Thief will have to take on a different kind of dwelling to stay fresh. We've now had two upscale suburban houses broken into. Next maybe, a loft apartment in NYC?
If not, look for the program to vanish sooner rather than later...
7 - Matt Johnston
Thank you for your favorable comments on the show! I'm glad you liked it and hope you'll keep watching. And, FYI, we have an artist's studio, a playboy's mansion and a gritty, tough-side-of-the-tracks neighborhood coming up soon.
8 - Dan Perkins
I think that my company, Hidden Safes, Inc. would be a perfect match for the format of "It takes a thief". We specialize in residential custom "Hidden" safes and secret saferooms. Does anyone know how to contact the right person at Discovery to pitch this idea?
Thanks, Dan
9 - Serious Carr
I think one of the hosts, John Douglas Rainey, has dabbled in acting a little more than his bio on the Discovery site states. He's also appeared on an episode of TLC's "A Dating Story," and I think he made an appearance in a man-for-man telephone personals commercial. Crime doesn't pay, dude, and neither do commercials!
10 - DrPat
If that's true, it may be why I keep getting the sense that confronting his "victims" is some kind of atonement Rainey has set for himself. It's a very good job of acting he's doing!
BTW, the "meet the thieves" link on the Discovery program site states outright that Rainey "also dabbled in acting, appearing in Sex and the City and All My Children. It was while checking Web sites for acting work one day that he came across the call for It Takes a Thief; the rest is history."
11 - SFC SKI
I believe a later episode shows that not all watchdogs are reliable, though they will deter a certain class of criminal. Discovery and its sister channel give me a better brand of reality TV in my opinion.
12 - DrPat
It's very amusing to see the home-owners as they watch their dogs fawn on the burglar. This week's episode even showed an untrained police dog decoyed outside with a plate of left-overs from the fridge.
13 - john irwin
Kill It. "It Takes a Thief" celebrates breaking and entering, a How To guide. The 'stars' are felons having fun at owner's expense. Cancel it please. The only thing that would make this interesting is if the stars ran into a booby trap or a rogue cop.
14 - DrPat
I would say, rather, it celebrates people taking responsibility for their own security, by adding alarm systems, and using the locks and other security they already have.
I know I addressed some security problems at my own house after seeing how easy it was for Jon Raimey to climb in a second-story window...
15 - Cat
I just have my eye on Jon Rainey. He can break into my house any time he wants.. hehe
16 - Shurbert Hunphries
Has anyone seen the new episodes? They are on at 5:00pm (East Coast) every weekday on Discovery Channel!
17 - Savy
I personally love this show. It could be a how to guide but hopefully most people would have enough common sense not to do it. I think it's great that they actually put a reality show on tv that is helpful and has an actual point to it.
18 - BebeBaby
Jon Rainey is super sexy! I just watched "It Takes a Theif" and I had to go on-line to read up on him.
JON, I'M 28, SINGLE (never been married/no kids) AND I'D LOVE TO MEET YA! What'd'ya say?
When You Dream Big, You Live Large! -BP
19 - Stacey
I swear - I think Jon Rainey has got to be the hottest guy out there! His skill at what he does is amazing and I love watching how much he enjoys it. He can break into my house anytime he wants.
20 - Tim
I TIVO every episode of this program and each one has a unique aspect or two which has kept them all interesting. Simple things like a locking file cabinet and a safe for spare keys and credit cards and checks is easy to do. I think this show does a service by showing how easy it is to prevent the break-ins and secure your stuff. No dog has ever notified the police and even the meanest dogs are easily distracted with a handful of tasty snacks. Jon and Matt give the viewer an "insider" perspective on the professional house breaker. Like driving past an accident, you can't help but watch!
21 - Bud
I think I saw the co-star Jon D. Rainey in a cool indie flick called Proteste or Protesters. He did that a few years ago. His acting is really good in that. I'm going to check out more of this TV show.
22 - DrPat
According to the IMDb, Jon Douglas Rainey has only one credit, for the Discovery Channel series.
23 - DC
First I want to say that I was on the audition for this Discovery Channels "It Takes a Thief" with the two guys that are on the show now. This is supposed to be a reality TV show. Well let me enlighten you all. These two guys are as phoney as 20.00 Rolex watches. I spoke with them at length during the taping. They both had no experience at burglary. Nor were they ever in prison. One was a private. directive that quit his job because he got beat up by a girl boyfriend. The other I don't remember, but what I do remember them saying is that they both didn't know how the hell they've gotten this far in the audition. I was hired by Discovery Channel and Lions and fired because I had an open case of a disorderly conduct and assault charge involving protecting my mom. They knew this, I proved it to them from transcripts. Discovery's answer to that was. Lets higher these to and deceive the public, the audience never knows. I have proof, contracts, e-mails and everything. They even took my ideas that I used during the taping of the treatment. Am I upset? Hell yea. Discovery was looking for someone with prior arrests for burglary. Well it's been over 15 yrs for me. Just so happens I had to protect my moms integrity. But what I'm saying is that Discovery Channel is making money from the public with their lies and deceptions in portraying these guys as something that they are really far from, BURGLARS. There's more reality in watching to turtles fighting. Shame on you Discovery Channel for deception just because of money. Your show is as phoney as they are.....
24 - Joseph Boy
Well one can assume they are actors cause well they are on TV. Most productions are not going to try to get People with criminal histories as employees. The way they advertise the show is to say they are home intruders and theifs. The media also tries to conveince us that Harrision Ford is a secert agent. Or Arnold is a real politician (Just joking) This is TV folks. In fact they are home intruders because they do in fact intrude on your home live in front of you. The show concept is good and could be used as a how to book for kids that want to break into homes. But it will also inform homeowners how to protect their home. The fact is that most people do not protect their homes enough. I have increasd my security and awareness because of the show. Just because the Hosts are paid to appear does not mean the homeowners are paid to react. The fact is we are getting real reactions to their home being broken into. True the introduction to the homeowners are staged, and the meet the intruder is well planned and reactions are staged but I watch the show to see the homeowners reactions while in the van. (NOT STAGED) And to see the ways to improve security in my home as well. Oh and they did get caught by the police once. The actor was trying to explain that it was a TV Show and he handled himself well. The fact is anyone could be a theif with the right information. So defending yourself against the average person with skills is important. If you have noticed this guy lets an alarm system stop him. If he really wanted in he could still get in but just have less time.
Joseph M. Boy,CPC
Executive Director
Your Computer Solutions Inc.
Solutions for people like you
www.yourcomputersolutions.net
25 - DrPat
Actually, the series makes a big deal over the fact that Jon Ramey and Matt are former burglars and break-in artists "gone straight." We've had people tell us here that Ramey is an actor (not under that name, he isn't), and that he's never been a thief for real.
I say it's possible that neither "host" was a burglar before the series, but they do a good job of faking it for the series. In many hints, we see the break-in-centric knowledge of Ramey or the scriptwriters.
And frankly, I don't care if Jon was a thief or if he's just following the lead of someone else who was -- either way, it's a useful reality series that hasn't gotten stale yet.