Please note: The content of this article is only to advise you. Should to wish to implement any advice, you do so at your own risk. Please ensure you follow the law at all times.

ESCAPE ROUTE

The next thought is, if they can manage to get in to your propery, they need a quick escape route with your possessions. Take a look at your side gate and if it has a bolt that drops over a plate with a hole, this hole is in fact put there to take a padlock through it . Again, buy a nice big shiny, padlock maybe a stainless steel, or rubber cased one for long life. If it hasn’t got one, go to your local DIY shop and buy a heavy duty hasp & staple with matching padlock or maybe a multi-lever lock if you use it regularly . Even ‘Yale’ type, slam locks can be bought with locking levers (for front doors with glass panels). This leaves them trying to get back over the wall or fence with their stash. Oh, and burglars often stash things into piles in rooms to move it all quickly or sometimes small valuables outside under hedges etc. to come back for at another, more convenient time.

NOTE: There have been a few videos on the net on a technique for breaking normal style padlocks with a simple tool, so spend an extra few pounds on the disc (circular) type padlock as the throw arm is mainly concealed. Disc design, deadlocking, padlocks are stronger than many traditional design loop padlocks as they are hard to insert tools or cutters into and they ‘deadlock’ so they don’t spring open when broken. Wilko ( Wilkinsons at Cannon Park ) do a 70mm stainless steel unit for £10.99. We all know bigger is better with padlocks, so why not spend an extra tenner to buy a really butch, well designed one?

DOGS

If you have a dog, it’s nice to presume it’s a guard dog, but remember some dogs can be easily subdued or even drugged . A big dog is scary, but small dogs are usually far more yappy and may give advanced warning of danger. I had an old neighbour that lost his beloved Alsation and got burgled in the ‘mourning period’ whilst deciding whether to replace it. His wife thought she was dreaming the flashing lights in her bedroom! Sadly it was a burglar’s torch.

BUILDING SITE

Now we get to your actual building. Is there anything attractive like a broken or an open window?

After a meeting with the Police, it seems may thieves just walk in an open back door. The way a story of a lady burgled whilst putting out her wheelie bin at the end of her drive was conveyed in a “she was asking for it!” manner. This is not the attitude that I share, but an insurance company may just reject a claim if it was deemed to be negligence!

Patio doors seem to be attractive, as they are big, give lots of vision of property and locks can be drilled out or sometimes smashed off, so why not add an extra lock system like the Pat-Lock ( eBay approx £50) that fits from inside the doors preventing the handle (or handles) turning whilst fitted? Or maybe a couple of simple DIY , screw-on, push pin locks with their own separate keyed locks?

TIP: Plastic door and window frames will simply drill out like a hard wood, but use bigger than provided , coarse / (double threaded, self-tapping screws to fit any accessories.

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