Doors and Windows:
Secure locks and good key control are essential security aids. Cheap locks are easily picked, and secure locks are only effective if the keys to them are properly protected as follows:
- Keep a strict check on your house keys.
- Do not allow duplicate keys to be made without your permission.
- If a key is lost in suspicious circumstances, report the fact, and have a new lock fitted.
- Working keys should never carry any form of written identification. If you need to identify keys, a system of colour coding could be used.
- Never leave keys under the mat or in other obvious hiding places.
- Spare keys should be held in a central location not accessible to visitors.
You are particularly vulnerable when answering the door. Do not answer the door automatically in response to a knock or bell. Check who is there by observing through an adjacent window, by using an entry phone, if installed, or by using a door viewer if fitted? You should note the following points:
- If suspicious of any caller do not open the door.
- When answering the door, do not put on the hall light. An external light in the vicinity of the door should be kept burning during the hours of darkness.
- If you have glass panes in the door, prevent observation by, for example, fitting a thick curtain.
- Keep access windows locked.
- After dark, keep curtains or blinds closed. Remember to draw curtains before switching on lights and switch off lights before drawing back curtains in order to avoid being silhouetted at windows.
Make a safety check each night before retiring to ensure that all doors and windows are properly closed and locked. g. Have a security chain fitted to the door.
