Security advice....
 

Hi all just been reading Roys thread again about his theft and have been to another such Break-in today which is very sad too see first hand..(people crying, police taking notes and fingerprints, phone calls to banks and insurance company's etc)

I see this day-in day-out as my job is a locksmith......

So many times it is VERY avoidable, So I thought why not offer my experience and advice to you lot out there.......... So if you have any questions just ask and i'll help if I can.... Pm me if you don't want the world to know your worry's...;)

If you live locally I don't mind a quick FREE home security check to make you aware of the GOOD , BAD , OK ...... And I mean FREE just advice as too what and how....

Don't leave it until it is too late................ Today the man of the house had done loads of security...... even chained his garden chairs to a wall :) But one very small plastic window was weak..:( And once there in they find your keys and then...... They filled his 4x4 with gear and drove off....while he and his wife and baby were asleep upstairs........

One Sashjammer lock on that window and they would be a lot happier tonight.... Dont want to be all DOOM and GLOOM but a little thought now can really help..:):)

Just ask ........

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That's a very kind offer Simon;I am sure you will get quite a response from the folks on here.

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That's a very kind thought Simon. My friend was recently burgled and had left her car keys on the sideboard (like you do) so of course the thieves just filled the car up with stuff and drove casually away with it. They were however caught and it turned out that they lived just round the corner. The one thing it has taught her is not to leave the car keys out. She now takes them to bed with her.:rolleyes:

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Yes Lettie it is very true that many crimes are commited by local SCUM that see you and your habits on a regular basis :(

The Unfortunate truth is that you need to be a little selfish in your approach to security, by that I mean that you have to try and make your house a little more time consuming to break-in to than next door. Hence forcing the SCUM to your neighbours who are an easier target:(

Never leave keys in any door.... ANY EVER... yes that means your back door too...

Do not leave your keys within reach of a telescopic fishing rod through your letterbox/window. You can get some huge roach poles :(. So go and take your keys out of the hallway ;) On the third tread of the stairs I bet ;)

Keep your doors locked all the time... Due to increased security in homes and cars.. SCUM need to get cheeky and getting your keys is the easy option... If that means walking into your house at dinnertime on a weekday that is no problem for SCUM if your door is unlocked.....

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get a dog. mine has a tendancy to bite.

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It is such a shame that you can't leave your possessions lying around the house where you want, for fear of some arsewipe stealing it

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i have just had some locks and chains put on in my house
FREE of charge

i think they are called HOMEWISE who did it

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Baldy..........Homewise carry out such improvements for the elderly usually???? You look so young????;)

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Simon where can i get sashjammers from and how much? i've seen them on a tv show called beat the burglar but haven't seen them in homebase or anywhere.

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My son and his partner were burgled, not too much gone, his wallet and laptop, her handbag etc, and they picked the keys off the hall table with a fishing rod. They now have a dog!

My old office has just had a burglary. We moved to new offices in October, but my boss still owns the previous building. What did they take? - two bloody great fireplaces!

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I am not sure what shops stock them if any...... But if you want some I can let you have some for £6 each

1 each window, 2 a door is a good guide..

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I am not too concerned about the windows it is the front and back door my burglars came through the front door when it was locked no keys in the door either and it's double glazed.


If it's not too much trouble can i get 4 off you please.

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Yeh NO problem..... Pm me and we will sort it out :)

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http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=...sashjammer.gifScrew it to the frame and it twists like shown to overhang and tighten up onto the window/door,made of solid metal but looks plastic and quite neat. Overhang is about 1inch. Key is positioning and good fit/hold.They do a key locking one as well bit fiddly though.
Will add lot of extra resisdence to forced entry.

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They are Designed for UPVC only......

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We have cctv on our house i know this wouldnt stop people but it is a deterent its on record 24/7 in colour. The security light lights up the whole street the people accross the road didnt like it so they put one up aswell.

Council are due to put double glazing in on monday cant wait!!

I have a wind chime on my front door as soon as the door moves i hear anyone comming in.

Lots of stuff on the window sills anyone trying to break in would find it a hard job to get in with all the stuff there oh and they would have to move the cat from the window sill and being the old man that he is he dont take to kindly to anyone trying to shift him from his spot lovely set of claws hes got and he dont mind using them.

All this along with the usual window locks door locks and the common sense mentioned earlier.

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Simon, thats really good advice, could you list general thing that people should do to tighten up on their security, my own concern are the patio doors, any advice there?

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If they are sliding patio doors, especially aluminium and the sliding door is the outer one!!
Crooks no that they can be lifted off there rollers easily even while locked:eek: ( i many time attend a break-in with the sliding door just sat at the side undamaged, and the house emptied through the huge hole it leaves.)
Dont panic all you need to do is stop the door being lifted ... fit a patio pushbolt or 2 in the right place and hey presto they go somewhere else :)

If they are double opening french type doors either wood or platsic they too have there weaknesses which need attention..

I knew growing up in salford would come in handy one day :)

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Simon they are plastic double opening, any tips?

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This is the tricky one :(

You need to check the mechanism(metal strip on edge of door) which is on the edge of your first opening door. and slave door ( normally shut door ) They ideally would have metal bolts that shoot into upper and lower frame when in locked position.

If not fit Sashjammers x4 to top and bottom of each door. this is not a bad idea even if they have the bolts..

Depending how far you want/need to go you can upgrade the mechanism considerably but it costs a lot £100 upwards. You can have a mechanism that goes round all 4 edges of your door with locking points all the way round.

Are your hindges external???(open to attack) Can be upgraded again not cheap:(
Who made the doors??? (best have a metal frame internally(strong))
Do the frames have metal frames in??


Dont wanna scare you, but you asked :)

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Thanks for that Simon, they have internal hinges with the metal bolts going into the frame when locked, not sure if there's an internal metal frame though, they dont sound too bad though.

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grego.........they are a lot better than a lot out there :)

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Do you supply the ugly as well or will she be staying at home. ROFLMAO.

I best tripple lock the doors before she lets herself in and throttles me in my sleep.

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Always have your door keys very handy in case you need to get out of the house in a fire.

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Sorry don't work for ugly people.... :p Only the beautiful people...

:eek:I have just had a look and there are 2 sets of pick's missing...:eek:

Now where have they run too????

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Its best to use small flood lights. They are only 150w and give plenty of light as a deterrent. Less electricty so cost less to run. Point them downwards so as to light up your house without annoying neighbours or worse still dazzling car drivers.

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She can't be coming here - she knows the key is under the mat and the missus will be asleep by this time.

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I like those rack bolts on the interior doors. Lock before you go out or to bed.
Anybody getting in through the back door or down stairs windows can not get out of that room without breaking the door down.

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Just a quick note to everyone out there with plastic doors.

Plastic doors have a BIG weakness.... And it appears that local crooks have started to discover this weakness. I dont want to make people nervous, just like to keep people one step ahead of the crooks if I can.

This weakness applies to 99.99 % of all plastic doors even the £1200+ type,1yr old to 25 yr old, but it can be remedied without huge cost. I will not go into details so as not to teach the crooks who have not yet learnt.

I have attended 3 such break-ins in 2 days, this has been a problem in yorkshire for a while looks like its coming here :(

here is a link to one of our members that had this happen yesterday...

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/t...n-vehicle.html

If anyone wants to ask any detailed questions just send me a pm, and I will help if I can.

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Blimey & i was worried about normal wooden doors!! :eek: I must admit im very paranoid about security & fire. At my last house i got homewise up to put special locks on my plastic doors & i was also alarmed, now ive moved to council although ive had no probs touch wood praying not, i really miss my alarm, i have got one i dismantled from my old house with all the wires but would cost me a fortune to re-install & would be better getting a new one though i dont know of any local & also its the price up front!! - any ideas? Also i need my hedge removing cos its grows like no tommorow & thats a burgular haven apparently:(

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My back plastic door is a pain cos i cant fit those mini contact alarms cos of the recesses of the door being not flush in design only.

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I have plastic windows but WOODEN doors, they are far safer than plastic.....

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Ah same here ah well i feel better:D

Do you do alarms?

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Ah Neil those are the things i had installed on my old house doors that Homewise fitted for free as i was referred by crime prevention unit.

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No I dont do alarms sorry :(

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Aw thanks anyways Simon least i know a locksmith now :D

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I have been burgled twice through the back of the house. Funnily enough they couldn't get through the WOODEN back door, although you could tell they had a damn good try!! So they knackered the kitchen window instead and so had to have whole new frames installed. few months later they came and did the same thing with the other kitchen window!!! Have full burglar alarm now and all the essentials and had no problems since