Not the ones that serve beer.
The ones on your windows. I know, a lot less fun.
As far as security systems go, if they are already on the windows and doors when you move in they are fairly cheap and require no monthly maintenance fee. However they might lead to your death if there is a fire and there is no way to open them up. And in some cases they are just plain ugly.
Bars on the windows are not just a Shaw thing. I’ve noticed some in Georgetown and Dupont. Those bars sometimes only go halfway up the window or are on all the basement windows and doors. And they are not on every house and some seem more like decoration than an anti-theft device.
Yet once you have them it seems like a tough idea to get rid of them. I’ve only noticed two people to undo their bars. One was when a neighbor got a new window and just didn’t put the bars back up. Another got a new storm door, replacing the bars with a glass door. At some point, in the future, when I replace all these cheap section 8 windows on my house, I’ll have to consider putting back the bars. I want to be able to escape should a fire break out, but I don’t want to be one of the few houses without bars.