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Anti-Bump, Anti-Drill, Anti-Pick, Anti-Snap, What Are These?
When it comes to protecting your property and preventing thieves from breaking and entering, there are measures you can take to ensure your home is secure as can be.
Whilst most break-ins are conducted by opportunistic thieves, there are some that will be more prepared and pry for weakness in the security of your home. It can take a matter of seconds for an experienced thief to bump, drill, pick and snap the lock on your door.
If you’re unsure what it means to bump, drill, pick or snap a lock, then this article should clear things up and help you prevent such things from happening.
Anti-Bump Locks Prevent The Lock Bumping Method
Lock bumping is a cunning method as it doesn’t leave any trace of forced entry.
A special key is used which has ridges that are all the same length. The thief will quickly insert the bump-key, often using a hammer, or device to knock the key into the lock quickly.
The force of the key being bumped into the lock makes the pins jump up out of place, which allows the barrel to be turned and the lock to open.
To prevent this from happening, anti-bump locks require special keys which results in the lock barrel having more pins. They are much more durable and have shallow pin stacks to prevent the pins from jumping up.
Anti-Snap Protection With Snap Safe Locks
Another method of gaining entry is lock snapping, which accounts for around 27% of burglaries. Lock snapping is when the cylinder overhangs and is exposed, making it easy to snap. When the cylinder is forced, it allows easy entry.
Again, this method of gaining entry isn’t very subtle and would likely alert the occupants of a house on a quiet night.
To avoid this, snap-safe locks feature sacrificial cut lines on the outside of the cylinder.
Cylinder gauges help ensure that the cylinder is the correct size so if they are forced, it remains in the door and prevents the main component from being snapped.
Anti-Drill Safety With Stronger Materials
Drilling is another method used by thieves to gain access to a property, although this particular technique isn’t the most subtle. A drill bit is forced through the keyhole above the shear line, destroying the lock. A flat-headed screwdriver can then be used to turn the lock as a key would.
This method would typically take a thief a couple of minutes to gain entry, however, anti-drill locks have pins that are much stronger than other locks, such as steel pins and ceramic plates offering peace of mind and safety.
These types of locks are even equipped with a steel cylinder which makes it almost impossible to drill into, even with a diamond-tipped drill.
Anti-Pick Protection For Your Property
A common method of gaining entry that has been around for many, many years is lock picking.
Small tools such as paper clips, pins or lock picking tools (as locksmiths may use), are items that turn the barrel of a lock whilst pushing the pins up to the shear line which mimics the key.
Once the bottom of the pin stack is aligned, the barrel can be turned and the lock can be opened. Lock-picking does require some skill but it can be done in seconds when conducted by someone with experience and the correct tools.
Anti-pick locks can be made using three pins on each side, and some pin stacks have an indent on the top half which catches when it is picked. If the top half of a pin stack is ridged it makes it difficult for the intruder to guess when it is on the shear line.
As the bare minimum, anti-pick locks should be considered when looking to secure your property due to how much of a widely used method it is, not to mention that the tools are accessible by most.