Front Door Locks
According to research in the Uk 67% of break-ins take place by means of the front door.
The security of a door is simply as good as the weakest element of the door. A professional crook understands the vulnerable points and definitely will always use this to his or her advantage. The difficulty is many of us do not definitely recognize what a fragile point in a door is. Most of us take it for granted that the lock we have stops criminals.
I thought it would be worthwhile listing the particular hardware which is usually on front doors so we can then pick the very best items for the job.
Door Locks
There tend to be generally 3 kinds of lock used on a front door.
1. A latch bolt. This is a lock which is fixed to the face of the inside of your door. It has a latch which goes in to a keep. The latch is shifted with a key from the outside the house or simply by twisting a knob on the inside.
2. A Mortise or Dead Bolt. This variety of lock is fixed inside of the door. A key is used in order to open it from the outside and inside. These are typically installed at the bottom of the door in addition to a latch bolt being installed in the center for additional security. These are more stronger compared to a latch bolt and can’t be opened up with a credit card etc.
3. Multipoint lock. These are the new standard for locks and will be found on most upvc doors and composite doors. They are fitted directly into a rebate on the side of the door so nothing is face mounted on the door offering them strength whenever pressure is applied to the door. They have a latch in the middle and then a number of dead bolts down the length of the door. It is usual to see 4, 5 and 7 locking points. These are the locks recommended by the police, insurance organizations.
Keys
The locks themselves are generally very susceptible to getting picked, broken or drilled.
It is a fact that 90% of locks fitted to doors in the United kingdom are extremely easily opened by professional locksmiths and well researched crooks. The Net has opened up the techniques to anyone who goes on the net. For only a couple of pounds I can buy skeleton or bump keys to open up the majority of locks on the market. You Tube features video’s showing how to break in via the door lock.
What is truly worrying is the equipment and training that was only available to locksmiths is currently available to everyone. With the help of the internet, these practices and equipment are now fast becoming common place amid the criminal underground and the opportunist crook.
The other issue we find is that big estates are usually fitted with the same make of lock. The master key to be able to unlock them all can be found on the world-wide-web and ordered. I live on a fairly new estate and most houses possess the original door. With extremely tiny effort I can easily obtain a key to open up all of my neighbour’s doors. I can enter their property without breaking an entry. This is quiet, very discreet and not apparent to other people.
