Burglary

[Nemesis]

We got burgled day before yesterday ...

They (although I think it was 1 bloke), went round the back of the house and Jemmied a window with a screwdriver.

We had window locks on all the downstairs windows, and they just popped off .

They didn't get a lot, in fact I think we were rather lucky, but still it's not nice to think of someone being in your house uninvited.

We've had the Police round, and the Scenes of Crime Officers. This was the other thing that suprised me .... They can only get fingerprints from surfaces that are smooth and hard ... mirrors, wood, glass, etc ..

We had 2 Jewellry boxes stolen, we found one of them dumped, but no fingerprints because the surface is slightly mottled.

The house is returning back to normal now ... extra security has been added, but I was still shocked that the normal window locks are so woefully inadequate.

Anyone else got any useful advice for Home security.

[Neil]

Feck-that is truly awful.

Have you considered an alarm system?

Also-might be worth scouring EBay for anything that did go missing.....

Sorry to hear about it anyway, & I hope everyone is ok.

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by Neil

Feck-that is truly awful.

Have you considered an alarm system?

Also-might be worth scouring EBay for anything that did go missing.....

Sorry to hear about it anyway, & I hope everyone is ok.

We rent at the mo, so it's up to the landlord ...., we have informed him and made our views known.

Kids were fairly cut up about it all, but have calmed down a bit now. It's the sentimental stuff that really hurts.

Wanted to do this really as a warning about Home security ... it's obviously not as good as you might think.

My advice is that window locks are not worth the effort if your adding them to existing windows. They really ought to be built into the window when it was manufactured.

Alarms are a lot cheaper than people would think too and personally i think they give you a lot more security than window locks. Even a fake alarm box on the front of the house is a good deterent.

[iadom]

Also, if you are having windows replaced with aluminium frames, make sure you get them with internal beading. It is very easy to pop out the old style external beading, and I speak from experience. I am not the local tea leaf , I had to break in as the front door had jammed.

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by iadom

Also, if you are having windows replaced with aluminium frames, make sure you get them with internal beading. It is very easy to pop out the old style external beading, and I speak from experience. I am not the local tea leaf , I had to break in as the front door had jammed.

The same goes for upvc windows. When we had ours installed we chose a company that supplied internal beading and were very glad that we did. We had several companies quote for the work, most of these having external beading and saying that they were very secure. When our internally beaded windows were installed one of the units was cracked and had to be replaced. Took the installer around a minute to get the old unit out using nothing but a one inch wide paint scraper. He said that he could get a unit out in a quarter of that time if he wasn't bothered about damaging anything.

[zoombini]

Window locks go for as little as 20p in the markets.
They are often cheaply made & do very little against the attack of a screwdriver.

Decent, strong window locks, like the ones that Chubb make are different, they can usually withstand a lot more. Especially if they are fitted with decent size screws, not the short little ones that you get with the cheaper locks.

However, with one correctly fitted, they "can" prevent someone getting, just not in every window, in every house etc, as they are not all the same.

[MovedGoalPosts]

Modern security rated replacement windows can be very secure. Multipoint locking with night vent catches, anti jemmy hinges and dead bolts, internal glazing beads, etc. To get in basically the lowlife is gonna have to break the window.

Same applies to security doors.

Upgrading an older window, or door that does not have these features is much more difficult. Basically the window or door is being secured at only a specific point by a surface mounted lock, rather than something concealed in a secure by design unit, the scroat can see the lock and knows exactly where the force it.

Alarms can work, but not necessarily. They can say to the unscrupulous "I've got something to protect". So many alarms go off these days they have a tendency to be ignored. To be of any real value they need linking to a central monitoring station.

Some of the best protection can be by making your property harder to get to than a neighbours. Strong fencing and gates make access to the rear garden harder (don't put your wheelie bin somewhere that is can easily be seen and moved as a climbing aid!). Plant *****ly roses and other shrubs in front of front windows.

Even with a secure building the determined burglar will still get in, but they risk a higher chance of being disturbed as they will take longer. The opportunist will take one look and decide they'll go somewhere easier.

*edit seems I cant say p-r-i-c-k-l-y

[Ramrod]

Sorry to hear about your break in Nem

[Nikko]

Originally Posted by Ramrod

Sorry to hear about your break in Nem

Seconded - its a very nasty experience. Leaves a very bad taste indeed.

[SMHarman]

Its the things you can't go out and buy / replace that you hurt the most.

sorry to hear about this, Nem, I feel for you - we had a 'sneak in' theft last year & the feeling of having been violated still hasn't gone away.

Thing is, we do have an alarm, but as we were in the house at the time, it wasn't on - and stupidly we left the back door unlocked .....

So my advice is to make sure all doors are locked, even if you are in the house - the toe-rag was in and out with my wifes handbag/phone/cards/keys in literally seconds.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by homealone

sorry to hear about this, Nem, I feel for you - we had a 'sneak in' theft last year & the feeling of having been violated still hasn't gone away.

Thing is, we do have an alarm, but as we were in the house at the time, it wasn't on - and stupidly we left the back door unlocked .....

So my advice is to make sure all doors are locked, even if you are in the house - the toe-rag was in and out with my wifes handbag/phone/cards/keys in literally seconds.

How were your insurers about this - they can get really ****y about claims when doors are unlocked - even though on most policies, you are insured even if you do not lock the doors or windows!

Originally Posted by SMHarman

How were your insurers about this - they can get really ****y about claims when doors are unlocked - even though on most policies, you are insured even if you do not lock the doors or windows!

they were ok, due to 3 of us being in the house, at the time. The overall liability was fairly low - we subscribe to a policy for our cards which cancels them all with one phone call, which we managed to do before they were used. The phone was seperately insured & our cards policy also covered getting replacement locks fitted - luckily the car keys weren't taken, only the house keys.

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by Nemesis

We got burgled day before yesterday ...

They (although I think it was 1 bloke), went round the back of the house and Jemmied a window with a screwdriver.

We had window locks on all the downstairs windows, and they just popped off .

They didn't get a lot, in fact I think we were rather lucky, but still it's not nice to think of someone being in your house uninvited.

We've had the Police round, and the Scenes of Crime Officers. This was the other thing that suprised me .... They can only get fingerprints from surfaces that are smooth and hard ... mirrors, wood, glass, etc ..

We had 2 Jewellry boxes stolen, we found one of them dumped, but no fingerprints because the surface is slightly mottled.

The house is returning back to normal now ... extra security has been added, but I was still shocked that the normal window locks are so woefully inadequate.

Anyone else got any useful advice for Home security.

Nasty stuff, my house was burgled when I lived in England while I was at work, apart from making an awful mess nothing was taken, I didn't bother with any kind of improvements to home security as I moved house about 2 weeks after.