Laura Freeland lives in the Swiss Avenue Historic District. She knew higher crime might be one price to pay for early 20th-century architecture, a racially and ideologically diverse neighborhood and a central location in the city.

But now, three weeks after her home was the target of an audacious intrusion, she has begun to question her safety.

Ms. Freeland's 6-month-old son, her mother-in-law and her nanny were inside when a man came into the back yard. He made eye contact with the nanny through a window, then kicked in the back door.

The nanny grabbed the baby, and the two women ran screaming. Neighbors tried to chase the intruder who fled with a pocketbook and laptop, but he escaped.

"We will get a security alarm; we've got a new metal door," Ms. Freeland said. "But this guy, if it didn't stop him that somebody was in the house, I don't think anything would've stopped him."

Ms. Freeland loves the neighborhood, but she questioned for a time whether they should stay.

"After that I told my husband, 'All right, I'm ready to move,' " she said. "But I think we'll take these precautions and stay where we are."

Burglars have also struck the more recently built homes of Highland on the Creek. This small neighborhood nestled near the spillway of White Rock Lake, where many of the homes are valued at $400,000 and higher, has had three doors kicked in this year.

"It's pretty scary," resident Judy Johnston said. "We really moved to this area because we thought it was so safe."

In adjacent Forest Hills, one woman had her back door busted open in August, then her front door kicked in just before Christmas. The burglars stole more than $10,000 worth of electronics and a wedding ring.

A few streets away, thieves cut the phone line to a 4,000-square-foot home this month. They kicked in the back door, ransacked the house and stole a high-definition TV and a laptop. Then they took the keys to a BMW and drove it away.