The current economic climate is definately changing things as far as crime is concerned.Ive attended a stack of burglaries recently and other locksmiths i know are experiencing it too in all parts of the country.Common entries are via upvc doors only on the latch and not fully locked.Im just about to go out to my brothers neighbour who had a window put through a little earlier on a very respectable road.In and out grabbing small items and out the back over a fence.As my brother is on the neighbourhood watch he rang the local pso and discovered 3 happened this afternoon in that area.

Make sure you hide your car keys, most of the breakins are for the keys to nick the car as the anti theft systems are so good now.

Ipods and their docking stations,laptops and cameras etc are popular theft items.
Games consols and the games also figure high on the want lists.

I really believe it will get worse and more intense in certain areas as im seeing here in london.

Forget new tools for the moment spend your money on decent security, even im going to upgrade what i have at present and i do this for a living.

I shall try and post some good items to go for regardless of what type of doors you have and also other tips but got to shoot out now to board up this window and sort the neighbour out.

i seen it happening around here too Lockie.

the Police have been around local businesses warning them that there is an elite gang going round atm that are targeting all shops etc for the till float.

it's got me a couple of alarms to fit anyway

i don't do many as i really cba to do them but generally, the ones i fit i make dam sure i do it loud. if a burglar wants to break in with an alarm i've fitted, he will go out deaf

i use both external and internal sirens. i just looked into connecting a Master Blaster to an external siren to increase the volume, 127DB of pain

The breakin today involved smashing the leaded window to the side of the front door.no doubt they have done this before in the area as a lot of the buildings have these original windows and doors. Its not something i see much as the chances of leaving dna or other evidence like threads etc are high.
Only by fitting laminated glass,alarm or grille are they going to prevent it in the future but alarms on their own don't really work that well these days.

Seen quite a few burglaries now where they have only had a minute in the property but grabbed a laptop and other stuff before legging it.The loud alarm screamers are great as if its too loud to stay in the property then they have to get out quicker.

Top tips to help you stay safe.

If you have a upvc door look into getting;

antisnap cylinders or armoured/strengthened handles
Fit a pair of sash jammers on the inside
Use the locks properly,dont just leave it on the latch unless you are using the sash jammers.

For wooden doors fit a mortice lock and yale type lock ideally at shoulder and knee height ( i know current building regs mean its not always possible, dda etc)

Top quality locks to go for at the top of the door are

ingersoll londonline
yale xbs or the older pbs
chubb ava
era bs nightlatch but not the standard era deadlatch as they have serious quality/reliability issues.
for those with serious dosh get a Banham

For the bottom of the door go for a mortice lock that is to bs3621-2004
these have at least a 20mm bolt and are the latest standard at present.

chubb 114e
Ingersoll london line
banham
union bs
and many more will keep you safe

Also many locks are the same just rebadged like

chubb 114 upgrader /yale bs /union older bs are all the same but different prices and colours !

Legge and assec are the same again but different prices.

Personally i advise you stay away from the era fortress locks as not very good quality and lots of future problems will occur due to the make up of these locks.Btw wickes sell these rebadged as their own and B&Q sell the era range.
Had lots of call backs to the newer era stuff and probably due to the fact it is all made in china now.Its got the point i wont fit it as its too much hassle.


If your securing the door well also think about securing the frame too.Fit a london bar on the keeps side and a birmingham bar or hinge bolts on the hinge side.

Window locks can work but you have to double them up, they satisfy insurance companies more than do much good from what i see.Too many types to go into here really.

Hide those valuables away in obscure places that are also easy to use or you wont bother using them as as humans we get lazy by nature either that or get a good safe not a cheapie for £30

Well i think thats enough to provoke a bit of thought for you diyer's out there as im sure you dont want to lose al those nice tools you have scrimped for

Some great advice there Lockie, thanks for that

_________________
DIY | Donnas dream house

I've always fitted an additional lock on the kitchen door. that way if they get in the back door they still have a 2" fire door to get through.

_________________
If you feel you have benefited from the Free advice given on the Forum, Please consider making a donation to UHM's Nominated charity, read all about it and donate here :

donnas-dream-house-charity-t52110.html

I like the idea of an internal siren as well as an outside one - very good

_________________
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

alot of theft in our area too.... fuel being syphoned, gutters being knicked as well as the usual grabbing keys from houses and driving off with shiney new cars.

signs of bad times to come if fuel is being knicked!

lot of exhausts being nicked as well, I read, for the cats - and the dumb f*cks are too thick to know where the cat is so remove the wrong part, which still screws up the car of course

_________________
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

One of the key targets around here is heating oil, most people just leave their tank in the back garden un-protected, so easy to pinch a few drums.

_________________
If you feel you have benefited from the Free advice given on the Forum, Please consider making a donation to UHM's Nominated charity, read all about it and donate here :

donnas-dream-house-charity-t52110.html

tricky one to deal with, that one.

Do you just put a basic lock on it? or do you protect the inlet and/or outlets very well to stop it being siphoned

If you 'overprotect' it, then danger is jimmy scroteburger whacks a hole in the tank and fills his drum and sods off, and the rest just drains away so garden is covered in oil, tank is empty and you need to buy a whole new tank full and maybe even a new tank as well

string up the buggers

_________________
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

If you cannot secure it why not try and disguise the drums ? Is it possible to find something t oscreen them or make them look like something else, a compost heap perhaps ? The smeel should keep them away at least lol.

I nice little trick to scare the pants of people is to use those portable attack alarms you pull the pin out of to activate.Use the string as a trip wire so it activates the alarm. I recently rigged one up on a window for a guy i was getting a collapsible gate made up for.He was getting loads of hassle with people trying to force the window and was worried he may be a victim before the gate arrived.
It never got set off but i could just imagine a sneak thief jumping a mile if he activated it.

You can also get portable pir alarms you arm with a remote control, lots of fisherman use them due to tackle theft like this

Also good to leave in the back of your van too incase they bypass the alarm and locks.I know a builder who puts one in his work box when onsite to stop sticky fingers,quality stuff lol

Alarm mines are good for outside areas or garages, just don't forget where you put them

_________________
DIY | Donnas dream house

I think these are illegal,someone i know fitted them around his perimeter and after one was set off and an armed response unit sent to his premises the police told him to remove them or face prosecution. Im not sure what they would have charged him with but they were none too happy to say the least.

Maybe its to do with discharging a firearm in a public place ? It could be a simple law about storage of gunpowder etc they get you on.