Recent statistics in 2022 show that the total number of “burglary crime” in Sunderland is 1.8k, and this number has increased by 26.1% when compared with the same period the year before. In fact, Sunderland has the 5^th highest crime rate out of 94 postcode areas. This is shocking and the police are trying to crack down on crime in the area with some success. In order to not become one of these statistics here are some tips to follow to ensure that your property is secure.

1)      Make sure that your uPVC doors are snap safe. uPVC, composite/wooden doors are usually secured by a multipoint locking mechanism. But lock snapping is a very common occurrence with inferior Euro cylinders that are within the door mechanism. If your uPVC doors are fitted with inferior locks then your home could be at risk. Burglars can break in literally within seconds if they come across a poor-quality locking mechanism as this video shows. Our advice is to get a locksmith out to check whether you need to upgrade your locks.

2)      Do you have secure British Standard BS3621 Dead Locks? These are insurance approved as they are rigorously tested to ensure that they can resist the tricks and skills of burglars. Ask a locksmith to review your front and back door security and upgrade your door locks if necessary.

3)      Don’t post on social media platforms that you are away on holiday. This is an open invitation to thieves. Consider putting timer switches on a couple of lamps if you are away from home for any time to give the appearance that someone is at home. And if you go on holiday, make sure that you cancel milk deliveries and ask neighbours to put your bins out.

4)      Install an alarm system if possible as well as security lighting. Thieves tend to look for easy targets. Putting security installations in place will make them move on usually to find an easier target.

5)      Don’t leave your front door unlocked even when you are inside. It is easy for a thief to try a front door and sometimes they get lucky and nip in and steal a purse or wallet lying near the door. Or worse – your car keys!

6)      Close and lock all windows when you leave your home. Even ones on the upper floors can be accessed by expert thieves. And on that note, don’t leave ladders around either. This is an invitation to them to try and enter via an upper floor.

We think Sunderland is a great place to live and work despite the crime figures. If you follow our advice you will hopefully avoid becoming a burglary statistic.

The post Sunderland Burglary Crime in 2022 – Is Your Property Secure? appeared first on Sunderland City Locksmiths.

Choosing a front door that will give aesthetic appeal as well as security can be difficult. You want to choose a door that has kerb appeal but also makes you feel safe and secure once you close it. There are a number of things to consider when choosing a new front door:

1. Style and material. There is a huge range as you can imagine. There are wooden front doors including oak, mahogany, and pine. You can also choose a Upvc door or a composite door or a custom-made door.
2. Cost is important and it depends on the material and style of the door. An average price of a front door can range from anywhere from £200 to £4000 for a custom-made door. One thing to check is if it covers all the door furniture such as handles, letterbox, weather, strip, weather seals, and of course locks.

3. Door Security

   How secure the front door is:

Wooden Doors

A thick wooden door is considered to be very secure – basically the thicker it is the less chance it is of being kicked in. But to complement this you will need to install quality locks fitted by a professional locksmith. Most insurance companies will insist on the five-lever mortice as standard security. Wooden doors allow you to add extra locks such as night latches if so desired unlike other types of front doors.

UPVC Doors

These are very popular and have been for decades. Older UPVC doors suffered from security lapses as the locking system was easily snapped by burglars. Cheap cylinder locks are a specific weakness and you should ensure that your multi-point lock has an anti-snap euro cylinder. New UPVC doors will have an anti-snapping lock. A disadvantage of these types of doors is that you cannot enhance security by adding any more locks to the door other than what it has.

Composite Doors

These are doors made up of several types of material. They normally have a solid timber core, but the skin of the door contains other materials such as uPVC, laminate, or fibreglass to make it really strong. They are usually secured with a multipoint locking system and anti-snap euro cylinder.

As a professional and local locksmith, Sunderland City locksmiths can install new locking systems on all front doors- in fact, we are considered experts in multi-point locksmith systems. Give us a call to find out more.  We cover the whole of Sunderland including Washington and Seaham.

The post Choosing a New Front Door appeared first on Sunderland City Locksmiths.

Have you ever been locked out? It is very annoying and very inconvenient. From speaking to my customers, keys are usually lost on nights out or left at work or even left at home – only remembered too late once the door slams behind them!  At this point, a locksmith is needed to gain entry back into the property.  But who do you call? There are lots of choices but who can you trust to do a good job – and are also trustworthy? Here’s some help.

Local is best

Do you know that there are national companies who are using local numbers to portray themselves as local locksmiths – when in fact they are franchises? Why does that matter? National companies have bigger overheads than local locksmiths and so are more expensive. Perhaps you might think that a larger company gives you more security and trust. But consider that a local locksmith has lower overheads compared to national companies.  Also that larger companies have someone answering calls and that has got to be recouped – and they may also charge a call out fee. Furthermore, to cover costs they may charge more for any parts required. So whilst the estimated price they give over the phone seems great, usually once they start the job they will add on bits and pieces like a call out charge, higher mark-up on any parts required and also VAT.

Call centres answer your call and because they don’t know the local area well are only able to give an estimated time of arrival using online tools. As a local Sunderland locksmith I know Sunderland very well and I can usually get to you within 30 minutes. If you are stuck outside in the rain, you want someone to get to you fast.

Something goes wrong? You have to argue with a national company and the whole process will be drawn out.

A local locksmith knows the area well, is usually cheaper since they are sole traders and most likely can do a first time fix since their vans are usually well equipped.

How can you tell whether a locksmith is local? If, when you call, you are talking directly to the person who will come to do the job then it is a pretty good bet you are dealing with a local company.

Check out their reviews

The volume of work that a locksmith does on a weekly basis lends itself to opportunities for lots of reviews and these are a good indicator. It is a good rule of thumb to check out the number of reviews, the quality (i.e. real people using normal language) and the average rating of the review.  Usually a few reviews will mention the locksmiths name time and again and you’ll know then that the person doing the job is real. The online reviews will also mention whether the job was done competently and quickly. I will always try to gain entry in a non-destructive manner as a priority, but some less competent locksmiths will create a real mess with the job and remedial work will be required. Normally disgruntled people will let this be known on reviews.  If there are lots of reviews and none of them mention a bad job you can be sure that you have found a good and competent locksmith.

Here at Sunderland City Locksmiths, our reputation is very important. You only need to look at our reviews to see that we are very skilled and courteous and no job is too small.

“Excellent service – Michael was very friendly and professional. Had a faulty lock which he was able to fix in no time at all, and at great competitive prices. Would definitely use again.”

“Upvc door jammed He came out within an hour. He had the parts with him and everything was sorted in 20 minutes. Very friendly and very reasonably priced.”

Always choose local and make sure that you are using a locksmith who can be trusted with your house keys!

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