What locks should I use?
For a traditional front door to a house, Lloyd Morgan, a master locksmith at London Locks Limited, recommends the combination of a lever mortice deadlock with a high quality night latch. Night latches are fitted on the internal side of a door with a handle, and unlocked from the outside with a key. Models such as the Era BS night latch are “particularly hard to pick”, according to Morgan, because for every thousand locks made by the manufacturer, no two locks will work with the same key.
A five-lever mortice deadlock, where the lock has five parallel levers that must all be lined up to allow the bolt to move across, is the standard lock type required by most insurers, as it is resistant to drills, hacksaws and picking through steel plates.
Hardened steel protection inside the door frame will also prevent the lock from being drilled by burglars. Windows should have key-operated locks fitted, recommends Morgan, which can be as simple as an Allen key.
Protecting sheds and outbuildings
Many people fail to secure their sheds as carefully as their homes, according to the Metropolitan Police. Often, they will use an easy-to-break lock or padlock on the door, despite keeping high-value items such as bikes or lawnmowers inside.
“A common mistake is fitting cheap padlocks,” says Chris Nicholls, operations manager at Insight Security. “People [might buy] a £5,000 mountain bike but then spend £20 on a padlock – spending on the big ticket items but not on the security to protect them.”
A cheap lock is about as much good as putting a piece of string around your shed, he warns.
His firm advises people to spend about 10pc of the value of their items on their security set-up. “So if you spend £5,000 on a mountain bike, you’re looking at at least £500 for chains, padlocks, ground anchors or shed anchors to keep it safe from burglars.”
Leaving valuables on show is another typical blunder, says Nicholls.
“We call it showcasing,” he says. “If you’ve got a window on your shed, burglars can shine a torch, look through and see what you’ve got inside.”
He suggests using light and noise to deter them.
“Burglars hate any noise or light to stop them doing what they want to do,” says Nicholls. Security lights are therefore a must, so that if anyone is sniffing around, their presence will illuminate the area.
Putting gravel on your path means no one will be able to creep up silently.
If your garden backs on to a main road, a higher fence can deter prying eyes. Inside the shed, chaining unwieldy items like hoes and stepladders to your bike will make it harder for a burglar to whip it away.