Skip to main content Looking for something else? Homes with no security measures in place are five times more likely to be burgled than those with simple security measures. Good window locks and strong deadlocks can make a big difference. Taking just a few steps can make a big difference in keeping your home safe from burglary. Here are a few tips: Lock your doors and windows every time you leave the house, even when you're just out in the garden, remembering to double-lock UPVC doors (lift handle and turn key) Hide all keys, including car keys, out of sight and away from the letterbox (remember a device could be used to hook keys through the letterbox) Install a visual burglar alarm Install good outside lighting Get a trusted neighbour to keep an eye on your property Leave radios or lights in your house on a timer to make the property appear occupied Make sure the fences around your garden are in good condition Secure bikes at home by locking them to an immoveable object inside a locked shed or garage
Keep ladders and tools stored away; don't leave them outside where they could be used to break into your home Ensure side gates are locked to prevent access to the rear of the property Ensure rear fencing is in good repair Improve natural surveillance at the front of your property i.e. trim high hedges Mark your property with postcode and house number and register your property for free with Immobilise Consider joining or forming a Neighbourhood Watch scheme Remove valuables from view of ground floor windows Store any high value items (i.e. jewellery, passports) in a properly secured safe or bank vault In most burglaries, the criminals broke into the house or flat through the door, either by forcing the lock or kicking it in. So make sure your doors are strong and secure. Consider fitting a bar for extra strength; a locksmith can advise you on how best to do it. Glass panels on doors are particularly vulnerable. If you have one on your door you could replace it with laminated glass, which is stronger.
You can also buy a film in a DIY store that you can stick over the glass to make it harder to break. Home security and DIY shops sell inexpensive, key-operated locks to fit most kinds of windows. Fit window locks with keys to all downstairs windows and those upstairs that are easy to reach. If you're not sure who is at your door, don't open it. Check the identity of the caller by calling the company they are claiming to be from i.e. gas, electricity, water and police. Use the telephone numbers listed in your local directory or provided independently by your service provider - Do not use any telephone numbers provided by the caller - they may be bogus. The 'Waterboard' no longer exists, it is an obsolete phrase used only by bogus callers. Going away on holiday Make your home look like someone is living in it: Use automatic timer-switches to turn your lights and radios on when it goes dark Cancel any newspaper or milk deliveries Use the Royal Mail's 'keepsafe' service - they keep your mail for up to 2 months while you're away.
Mail sitting on your doorstep is a sign that you are away Trusted neighbours may be able to help you by collecting your post, opening and closing curtains and they could park their car on your driveway Avoid discussing holiday plans on public social networking sites - burglars can use any information you post on there to their advantage Please enter any helpful information, ie. installation requirements, bespoke features, etc.Burglar ratings are a mix of manufactuer standards and Underwriters Laboratory burglar ratings. A general guideline for the type of safes versus the content value is as follows (you should always ask your insurance broker to contact Underwriters Laboratory for additional recommendations on content value storage). These ratings and content values are guidelines only: Question: What are these ratings? Answer: These ratings are based on years of conversations with insurance company underwriters who set the maximum insurable limits for safes for their companies.
We have spoken with Lloyds of London, Chubb Insurance, and Jewelers Mutual who insures 75% of all jewelry stores in the United States. These are guidelines intended to help you decide which burglar rating is best for you. Safe manufactuers do not guarantee these amounts, however, we are sharing them with you to help you make an informed safe buying decision. California Department of Justice Construction Standard (CDOJ) (This is NOT a TRUE burglar rating. It is a minimum construction standard) Regulatory Gun Safe Standards DOJ regulatory standards require a gun safe to meet ALL of the following requirements: or ALL of the following requirements: Burglary Classification Residential Security Container (RSC) signifies a combination or keylocked unit designed to offer protection against entry by common mechanical tools. Performance tests are conducted against the entire unit. The basic standard used to investigate in this category is UL 1037, "Antitheft Alarms and Devices.
Burglar safes are usually made of solid steel plate or a combination of solid steel and composite fill material such as concrete. These safes are divided into categories based on the level of protection delivered and the testing endured. Here we will discuss only seven classes: B-Rate, U.L. RSC Rating, B/C Rate, C-Rate, U.L. TL-15, U.L. TL-30 and TL-30 X6. B-Rate Safes (Also U.L. RSC, Residential Security Containers): B-Rate is a catch all safe industry rating for essentially any box with a lock on it. The safe industry had an unwritten standard of ¼ inch body, ½ inch door. Today, many safe companies use 1/8" steel in the body. Some will make both 1/8" and 1/4" steel bodies. The 1/4" costs more. As steel prices (and shipping costs) increased manufacturers tried many things to reduce their costs. No tests are given to provide this rating. When buying a B-rate safe, look at things such as lock work, hard plates, and relockers. U.L. Residential Security Container rating (RSC) - This UL rating is based on testing conducted for a net working time of five minutes, on all sides, with a range of tools.
Underwriters Lab conducts the test and provides certification to the safe manufacturers. See U.L. TL-15 and TL-30 descriptions below for "net working time" description. This is a catch all rating for safes with at least a 1/4" steel body, 1/2 inch door PLUS additional 10 or 12 guage metal layers where composite fire resistant material is also deployed. Look at the lock work, relockers and other features when making your decision. This is defined as a ½ inch thick steel box with a 1-inch thick door and a lock. As before, NO tests are given to provide this rating. Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) High Security Burglar Ratings Safes given a U.L. TL-15 rating have all passed standardized tests defined in UL Standard 687 using the same tools and usually the same group of testing engineers. The label means that the safe successfully resisted entry (i.e. opening the door or making a 6" square opening entirely through the door or front face) for a NET working time of 15 minutes using "…common hand tools, drills, punches hammers, and pressure applying devices."
Net working time means simply "when the tool comes off the safe the clock stops". There are over fifty different types of attacks that can be used to gain entrance into the safe. Usually they will try only 2 or 3 based on what they know about the product, and they know a lot. The NET working time of 5 minutes for the RSC Burglar Rating, 15 minutes for the TL-15 and 30 minutes for the TL-30 are often thought to be the amount of time it takes to break into a safe. Our safe crackers who are legally breaking into safes for our customers, have the knowledge, correct tools and plenty of time can often take from 1 hour to 8 hours to break into a safe legally. It all depends on the skill of the safe cracker, how much information he has about the safe construction and even some "luck". Any safe can be broken in to. The higher the UL Burglar Rating, the more time it takes to break into the safe. Construction requirements are identical to the TL-15 above. Tests are essentially the same as the TL-15 tests except for the net working time.
Testors are allowed 30 minutes and a few more tools (abrasive cutting wheels and power saws) to help them gain entrance. The label signifies the testors were unable to open the door or make a 6" square opening entirely through the door or front face within 30 minutes. Keep in mind these engineers have the manufacturing blue prints and can disassemble the safe being tested before the test begins to see how it works. They know their stuff. TL-30 x 6 - The TL-30 (30-minute) test is conducted on all six (6) sides of the safe. Click here to view video on the testing of a TL-30 safe. When you begin the search for a safe it is a good idea to speak to your insurance agent and see if a particular type of safe will reduce your insurance costs. Many times you can justify the additional expense of a higher security safe because of the premium reduction. Remember no safe is burglar proof, you are buying time. The longer it takes to break in the greater the chance to be caught, and thieves don’t like to get caught.