We attended a Melbourne CBD break-in this week that provided a good example of why your home security is only as strong as its weakest link. The occupants were only 5 doors down at their local having a game of pool and a beer whilst they were burgled. No one heard or saw a thing. This is how the burglary probably went down.
- Burglar comes casing the area and finds a street with back lane access.
- Burglar comes around the front, presses our new clients doorbell. No answer – he assumes no one is home.
- The front door is solid and deadlocked, the front windows are barred. Our thief is undeterred, he is going in through the back anyway.
- Our thief jumps the back fence as the gate is chained shut. Once over the fence he cuts the chain with a pair of bolt cutters so he can exit quickly with heavy items if necessary.
- The back door is NOT deadlocked, in fact, for some reason it’s not even a solid door! An internal door has been used instead. Internal doors are hollow, the hinges are small and weak, a quick kick will quickly open or break one.
- He was inside in seconds, hit the jackpot with a new TV still in its box in the loungeroom, he picked it up and legged it.
What to learn from this?
- Whilst it’s human nature to strengthen your front of house security it’s invariably the back of the house where most thieves enter. Your home security strategy should be focused at the rear.
- If like many Melbourne properties you have a back lane, understand you are at greater risk of burglary than properties without a back lane. They provide cover and access to burglars.
- Even if your back door is deadlocked and solid a would be thief is still going to gain entry fairly easily if they are determined. A security door and screens make a huge difference.
- Get creative! With home surveillance systems now very affordable you can set up a motion detection activated system that :-
- Records all access to the back of your property.
- Turns the lights on when it detects anyone.
- If you wanted to get REALLY creative you could set up a motion detector to play a message when it detects someone at your back door. How about. “Hi THERE! My name’s Jack, and I’ll be your home security system for this evening. Welcome to the back door. Please smile for the security camera which is recording your current activities. I have alerted my owner of your presence and am currently live streaming this video to his Ipad. Please state your name clearly for the record for when he hands the video over to the police, or loads it to YouTube. Or perhaps just turn around now, and cut your losses”
Melbourne’s CBD Locksmith