Neighbourhood burglaries can often occur in waves, with one property being targeted one night, and the rest soon falling prey to criminals as the days pass. If there has been a spate of burglaries in your street or vicinity – or even if it’s usually a crime-free area – it might be time to ensure that your front door is burglar proof. While some intruders will enter through windows, many will get in through your front door, and without taking any preventative measures, your home could be extremely vulnerable.
It goes without saying that a high rated lock should be the first line of defense against burglars, but there are a few other ways that you can heighten your security, too:
- Start by replacing your door lock with the highest-grade deadbolt
An ANSI Grade 1 or Grade 2 deadbolt should do the trick.
- For a burglar who is intent on simply smashing your front door down, consider fortifying it by replacing the deadbolt strike plate
The metal piece named the strike plate is where the deadbolt latch secures into the door frame, and it’s usually only capable of keeping the door shut, rather than preventing it from being forcefully opened. By replacing the strike plate with a stronger one or having a strike plate installed if you don’t already have one, will significantly improve the chances of your door being able to withstand a forceful entry.
- Think about reinforcing the door and jamb
While a strike plate will undoubtedly make a forceful entry impossible or a lot less straightforward, a persistent and strong burglar may still get through. One additional way of preventing a forceful entry is to reinforce your door and the door jamb.
- You may need to get new solid wood or metal doors
While hollow doors are perfectly acceptable for interior use, they are not at all suited for outside entry purposes. Not as strong as pine or hardwood doors, hollow ones can be easily damaged, and a hurricane-rated steel door will give you the best protection against intruders.
- Are your door hinges secure enough?
Seasoned burglars may take note of outward swinging doors and resort to trying to break them at the hinges. Several ways of reinforcing such doors are to setscrew in the hinge, use fast-riveted pins or use safety studs. Each one greatly improves the security of the front door by ensuring that the hinge pin cannot be removed, and so preventing the door from being lifted and removed.
For a thorough assessment of your property and its entrance points, speak to your local lock fitting and repair service, and ask them for recommendations on how to make your home as burglar-proof as possible.
