With these tips your apartment will be safer! In Germany, the number of break-ins into apartments and houses continued to increase last year. In 2015, 167,136 cases were registered nationwide in crime statistics, almost ten percent more than in 2014.
Peter Benz from the technical prevention department of the Stuttgart State Criminal Police Office warns
“For burglars, breaking in through poorly secured doors and windows is child’s play. Burglary-resistant windows, roller shutters, house, balcony and patio doors offer the best protection. They can be recognized by special seals.”
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High-quality, burglary-resistant products, for example, have the VdS seal. The seal usually also has a scale of one to three stars.
The more stars on the seal – the better the protection class of the respective product.
The expert advises – a simple knock test reveals unsafe doors
According to Benz, you can easily test for yourself whether you should secure your house or apartment door with special measures against burglary.
“If the door sounds hollow when you knock and is easy to lift off its hinges, additional burglary protection makes sense,” advises the expert. This particularly affects apartment doors in apartment buildings.
Burglary-resistant solutions at a glance
Harald Schmidt from the state and federal police crime prevention departments explains
The door lock is the heart of a door. “It should correspond to class 4, i.e. be burglar-resistant,” says the expert. “I recommend locks with multiple locking from class 3 onwards.” Ideally, they even have attack resistance class 2, meaning they are drill-proof.
Tobias Enke, spokesman for the initiative for active burglary protection “Not with me!” adds
“So that duplicate keys cannot be made, there are locking cylinders with a security card.”
A protective fitting is also necessary. This tightly encloses the locking cylinder and is securely screwed on the inside. It protects the profile cylinder and the mortise lock. Ideally it has an additional cylinder cover.
“If this is not the case, the cylinder must be flush with the protective coating on the outside by a maximum of three millimeters,” explains Schmidt. “The profile cylinder should then be equipped with a so-called pulling protection.”
Locking bar allows door lock to open a gap
A box lock with a locking bar is mounted on the inside of the door and anchored in the masonry - thus increasing the security of the door. “If the door is opened wide, the locking bar prevents it from crashing,” explains Schmidt.
Door frame must be stable
“Every door is only as secure as its weakest part,” emphasizes Enke. Often this is the door frame. “If it is unstable, i.e. not firmly connected to the masonry, it can be easily levered open.” There are special locking plates to secure it. “They are anchored several times in the masonry and should be three millimeters thick,” explains Schmidt. The so-called hinge area of the door, the hinge side, can also be reinforced. “There are special strap locks for this that also reach into the masonry.”
A weak door leaf is not an obstacle
The door leaf is also a weak point. “A weak door leaf should definitely be reinforced or, better yet, replaced with a solid one – such as a 40 millimeter thick solid wooden door,” recommends Schmidt.
Which door viewer is suitable?
The door viewer can also be retrofitted. “Only wide-angle spies should be used,” advises Enke. Also important: The area in front of the door should always be well lit, for example with the help of a motion detector.
Light is a good protection against burglary
Light can protect against burglars. It is therefore advisable to illuminate vulnerable areas such as the front door, side and back entrances in the evening and at night. Lamps with motion detectors have proven to be effective.
Attentive neighbors make it harder for burglars
A good relationship with neighbors can also help protect against burglary. Inform each other about suspicious people or the appearance of so-called crooks in the neighborhood. These are inconspicuous signs that organized gangs of burglars leave behind to identify possible targets.
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To protect yourself from burglary, pretend to be present while on vacation
Burglars are in high season during the holidays. Through entries on social networks such as Facebook or by observing buildings, they find out which houses or apartments are orphaned. So do not announce your vacation trip publicly and try to feign presence in your apartment for the duration of your trip.
Time switches control lights and shutters. Alternatively, you can ask a neighbor to close the shutters in the evening. It is also important to avoid an overflowing mailbox. Neighbors or friends can help here. You should unsubscribe from a daily newspaper subscription for the duration of your holiday trip.
Pay attention to side entrances
If there is a side entrance door, its resistance should be adjusted to that of the entrance door. “This can be effectively retrofitted with a crossbar lock, solid sliding bolts, strong wooden or profile steel bars in the upper and lower thirds of the door,” says Schmidt. However, if it is a fire door, hardly any changes may be made subsequently. The solution: “Numerous manufacturers offer so-called multifunctional doors that meet both the requirements of fire protection and burglary resistance,” explains the expert.
Burglary protection that costs nothing
There are also ways to protect yourself against burglars that don't cost anything. “You should always lock doors twice, even if you are only away for a short time,” recommends LKA specialist Belz. In addition, climbing aids make break-ins easier. Burglars often use garbage cans, garden furniture, ladders or trellises for climbing plants to get onto a balcony or the garage or carport roof. From there they get in on the first floor of a building.
Garbage cans should therefore not be freely accessible, but rather stored in a lockable room if possible. The same applies to ladders. For example, if you interrupt cleaning your gutters to continue the next day, you should lock the ladder away in the meantime.
In addition, windows and French doors should always be closed when leaving the house or apartment. A tilted window is hardly a hurdle, even for less experienced burglars. The ground floor and basement are particularly at risk. But all windows that are accessible via balconies, flat roofs, terraces, extensions, garage roofs or canopies can easily become an entry point for burglars.
Source:
http://www.zuhause.de/einbruchschutz-fuer-haus-und-wohnung-experttipps/id_44181742/index
Notes:
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