Since I began locksmithing in 1993, I've heard a lot of similar sayings when it comes to home security. Here's just a few:
"If they wanna get in, they're gonna get in, right?!"
"Who cares about the doors when they can always just break a window?"
"I'm not too concerned, because we have an alarm and cameras."
"We don't usually lock the doors when we're home during the day, but we do at night."
"We live in a safe neighborhood. We've never had any problems here."
I have seen too much over the years to have a false sense of security in any neighborhood. And I've seen far too many homeonwers who paid too little attention to their home security until it was too late.
There is a big difference between being paranoid and being prepared. While it's true that even bank vaults can be breached given enough time (and nobody wants to live in a bank vault); the operative word is time. Time is a criminal's worst enemy.
Research has consistently shown that:
"If they wanna get in, they're gonna get in, right?!"
"Who cares about the doors when they can always just break a window?"
"I'm not too concerned, because we have an alarm and cameras."
"We don't usually lock the doors when we're home during the day, but we do at night."
"We live in a safe neighborhood. We've never had any problems here."
I have seen too much over the years to have a false sense of security in any neighborhood. And I've seen far too many homeonwers who paid too little attention to their home security until it was too late.
There is a big difference between being paranoid and being prepared. While it's true that even bank vaults can be breached given enough time (and nobody wants to live in a bank vault); the operative word is time. Time is a criminal's worst enemy.
Research has consistently shown that:
- Burglars are looking for easy targets that they can get in and out of within 10 minutes or less.
- The most popular method of forced entry is the front door (unlocked first floor windows are second, followed closely by the back door and the garage door)
- Most break-ins happen during daylight hours (between 6am-6pm)
- Alarms and cameras are everywhere nowadays, but aren't much of a deterrent--masks are normal, 90% of burglars are never caught, and even if they are, prosecutions are declining in many jurisdictions.
- Make sure all of your exterior doors--including the door between an attached garage and the house--have high quality deadbolts that are installed properly. The bolt should extend at least 1" and the strike should have 3" screws that anchor into the stud. A lot of homeowners and builders skip that step and only use small screws that only go into the trim which breaks easily if kicked.
- Consider rekeying your house. Most homeowners only rekey their house when they first buy the house--if at all--and have no idea who has a copy of their keys.
- Use your locks! Yes, even when you're home during the day.
- Call on us to help. We can rekey your existing locks, install deadbolts, and offer some sensible solutons to make your home a hard target!
