It is easy to keep out honest people.

You or I would not dream of forcing a door or window to gain entry to a place we had no right to be! Unfortunately not everybody is like us.

When your premises are locked up for the night just how secure are they?

Of course you have insurance and, as such, have complied with their minimum requirements. If you have a wooden door in a wooden frame you probably have the classic combination of a 'Yale' lock and a 'Chubb' lock. If a forcible entry is attempted will your door and frame keep them out? Frankly, it's doubtful! Assuming you have a mortice deadlock to BS 3621 this is likely to be much stronger than the door to which it is fitted. This means that the woodwork is likely to fail preventing the lock from doing the job intended. Every day we are called out to burglaries where the door has split around the lock, the lock has dropped onto the floor and the door is open! When the lock is examined it still works fine. But the door is open just the same!

The fitting of a mortice lock requires a substantial amount of timber to be removed from the thickness of the door. This weakens it at the very point where it needs to be strongest - where the lock is! This weakness can be reduced with the installation of purpose made steel reinforcement to the door and frame. This substantially reduces the likelihood of an entry being made by 'putting the boot in'. The majority of burglaries are carried out by opportunist thieves - not skilled professionals. These opportunists are looking for a quick and easy entry - they can't cope with anything else. If you make it difficult for them they will generally try elsewhere.

If your premises may attract the more professional thief then you need to consider rather more robust devices.

Steel doors and/or steel gates have proved to be an effective deterrent to the more determined intruder. To get past these devices takes time and requires the skillful use of tools. When used in conjunction with window grilles most intruders will look elsewhere for easier pickings.