Here is a summary of our Front Door Security advice. We can tell you a few stories about what we have seen over the last 30 years, with good and bad Front Door Security examples. If you want an insight into your own home security, we can tailor this advice on a site visit by calling us on the number above.
The first conundrum homeowner's face when evaluating home security is to determine where to start.
These questions are valid, but they are flawed in the concept achieving Front Door Security.
You do not want any unauthorised persons entering your home!
In particular, residential burglary has been a concern for the public (and rightly so) for many years, and most Police forces in England and Wales have reducing burglaries offences occurring as priory target.
To achieve this, the Police created in 1989 an accreditation Secure By Design.
Secure by Design is chaired by all the Chief Constables in England and Wales with “Secure by Design accredited”, meaning that a product or company is Police approved.
This is very important when assessing your home security or installing security products.
Other must-have security accreditations are “British Standard” and “Sold Secure” (Master Locksmith Association).
Products with those accreditations are tested rigorously under test conditions to establish how they perform when attacked, which in our opinion, is a fantastic tool in the ongoing fight against crime.
The Home Office for national statistics published in 2020 shows that over 75% of Burglaries occurred through the door - that's a huge percentage!
With that in mind, it makes sense to concentrate firstly on all of your external doors at your property.
Please bear in mind that we say “all external doors” as it is a mistake to leave any doors vulnerable to attack, e.g. the front door, due to the mindset of:
“The door is overlooked by neighbours.”
“It is too open for someone to attack.”
Criminals are proving now more than ever that they do not care about being seen as they cover their faces or place a hood over their head.
Ask yourself this:
Imagine you are stood outside your home that has three external doors.
All the doors are locked, and you have no access to keys.
Two of the doors are high security, having had police approved locks, handles & security glass installed.
One of the doors has none of the security products installed.
Which door would you attack to gain entry?
That is how easy and straightforward gaining entry via Burglary is.
This is a highly overlooked part of the home security puzzle that we see many people not even contemplate. To combat any crime, we must know how the crime is committed and understand why.
Through years of personal experience as Ex-Detective constables for South Yorkshire Police, many of which in the specialised Burglary unit, we know how burglars are gaining entry, and it's straight forward but highly effective.
Burglars use the following methods of entry more than any others:
Glass smashing is a lot louder than lock snapping but is still very popular amongst Burglars. Ensure you have installed BS EN 14449 laminated security glass panels to your doors where necessary especially french doors, patio doors or bifold doors.
Burglars use this method of entry at any time of the day, whether the property is occupied or not, due to entry being quiet and scarily quick.
If committed whilst people are asleep in bed, they awake to discover that they have been burgled and heard nothing.
We attend lock snapping burglary scenes daily as homeowners are unaware of the dangers of having non accredited locks installed.
When it comes to burglaries and destructive entry into homes, patio doors and french doors are by far the most targeted areas. This is why it is CRUCIAL to ensure your patio door locks are fully functional.
Singular UPVC doors are becoming a thing of the past now with few if any companies offering this type of door and for good reason when it comes to security issues.
Garage Door Security. There has been an increase in burglaries where garage doors are a point of entry. There are a few reasons as to why criminals are choosing garage doors as an alternative point of entry.
This is the final and most crucial aspect of home security and one that SheffLOCK specialise in.
The short and direct answer to the question is that you can 100% prevent a burglary from occurring - anyone who says “if they want to get in, they will!” is incorrect.
We have written and published specific articles regarding the prevention of the methods mentioned above of entry used by burglars, and below are the direct links to those articles.
These are must-read articles if you want to make your home safe from Burglary.
Remember Burglary can 100% be prevented with the correct products installed by SheffLOCK:
