People say that there was a time in history when prosperity and abundance was so fulfilling and complete and subjects had such high standards of morals and ethics that locks were completely out of fashion. The common citizen never used to lock their doors since there was hardly any fear of misappropriation and stealth and subjects were as carefree and happy as birds soaring high up in the sky. But time has a cruel habit of changing and changed it did. Nothing had been same like the days of yore. Now, leaving your house without locking and chaining it up properly will be akin to extending an invitation to all the operators of the dark out there. These are the modern daredevils who will leave no stone unturned rather no lock violated to do away with your hard earned tangible assets. If you are out of the house, fine, they will operate without any disturbance; if you are in there then it is just another small hurdle that they need to “take care off”. Sorry if I am sounding all negative and scared, but the fact that I want to bring home is that if any of us is not constantly watching over his back, chances are that he will be stabbed right there. “To each his own” is not merely a war cry but the reality of the modern world where it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Human beings with all their ingenuity and intelligence have always successfully faced the challenges thrown up by changing times. If it was climate that posed a problem, they went on to built homes; when animals were intruding they put up doors and in due course when they realized the need for privacy and security padlocks, latches and other such devices were invented that exponentially increased the peace of their minds. With each passing day they became more and more sophisticated and now we have an array of such peripherals available commercially that can be installed to act as protection against unauthorized intruders.
Let us now look at some of the hardware associated with doors and how their proper utilization can enhance security. Needless to say that latches is the first thing that comes into mind when we are talking about doors. But just installing a few latches randomly will not help in achieving any objective hence we have to consider other hardware as well. Deadbolts provide another option. These deadbolts can be single or double and you can have your pick depending upon the level of security you want to achieve. They basically require a key to be operated. Hence key is the parameter of authorization in this case. Now, talking about keys it becomes imperative that I mention a common mistake people do. It is nothing more than common sense but it is surprising how few people give it a thought. The advice is simple- Never put your keys with the documents carrying your identification and address. I have seen people using fancy key rings that have a plate attached to it carrying the identification of the owner. Now, people say it is a nice touch since in the event of losing the keys; the Good Samaritan will have no problem in returning them back to the owner. So far so good, but consider the other scenario. If the keys fall in the end of a miscreant along with your address, well he will not have any problem locating the lock to which the key belongs. Imagine! You yourself have handed over your house keys to a troublemaker. Don’t be surprised if he comes visiting soon, probably when you are not at home.
Then there are Mortise locks. These locks look like a plate on the door handles and a keyhole in it. The entire mechanism of lock is fitted well inside the door itself. Door handles having integrated locks nowadays are widely available in the market. As such it is often not possible to rip off the lock without taking down the entire door itself, a task which hopefully might act as a deterrent. These locks are available in all kind of design to meet the overall décor of the house. One can pick from the classical design or the artisan design or may go for a customized solution.
A cursory study of the break-ins reveals something very interesting. In most cases it was not the door or the lock that gave away, it was basically the jamb on which they were resting that turned out to be most vulnerable. No matter how many deadbolts you have installed, in the event of being pushed with enough force the bolts simply broke off the jambs on which they were resting in. the back side of the jamb gets splintered easily on being pushed with considerable force leaving the door wide open for the intruders. Now as common the problem may seem to be, the solution is also as simple and inexpensive. All you need to get installed is a security plate that will prevent this from happening. It will still be more wise to get installed a steel plate on the back side of the jamb when the door is being put up. This combined with the strike plate will prevent the splitting no matter how much force is applied.
At the end of the day, these are merely peripherals that ensure safety. But the biggest security feature one can have is having your brains around. Remember, an unlock door is as good as a door without any locks. Always remember you are as safe as you plan to be.
