[Tom H (Unverified) Posted Mar 19th 2007 9:32PM]

Very nice article. In my former life, long, long ago, I was a carpenter and we referred to Kwikset locks as Kwikshit; Schlage was better, but not much. You could yell hard at them and they would open. When I did side jobs for a property management company, I could drill out the pins of almost any lock in about a minute. Medeco was better about key control -- you would have to ask really nice to get someone who stocked their key blanks to make you a copy. And of course without an anti-jimmy plate or a reinforced strike-plate, most doors could be opened with hardly any damage (or noise) with a bump of the hip.

Security systems are a complete joke, but only because people don't use them, or use them and set them off, or pay no attention to them when they go off. I lived on a city street a while back and hard the car-alarm song memorized. The police take plenty of time to show up at a building whose alarm has gone off more than a few times in the last year.

So the solution? We always said you just needed to look harder to get into, and less attractive, than your neighbor (granted, installing locks was how I made money, and all). Drive down the street -- case your house and your neighbors' -- if yours doesn't look hard to get into, then it's time for some upgrades.

[KevinQ Posted Mar 20th 2007 12:04AM]

So the stuff you can get at Home Depot and Lowe's, the Schlages, Baldwins, and Kwikshits, mechanically they are all identical (5-pin tumblers). So what makes the Baldwins rated ANSI Grade 1, while the Schlages ANSI grade 2, and the kwikys Grade 3? Is it their resistance to Physical attacks like prying and drilling, etc? Because at the end of the day, a Baldwin could just as easily be bumped with the method mentioned above as the Kwiksets.

[Jeff (Unverified) Posted Mar 20th 2007 7:53AM]

"Security systems are a complete joke, but only because people don't use them, or use them and set them off, or pay no attention to them when they go off. I lived on a city street a while back and hard the car-alarm song memorized. The police take plenty of time to show up at a building whose alarm has gone off more than a few times in the last year."

Car alarms are a completely different animal than home security systems. A home security system is not about the siren; it really doesn't matter if neighbors ignore it.

You are right that many municipalities will purposely downgrade the response to a home that is known for false alarms. But that's not really a damnation of security systems in general; it's a damnation of faulty installations. Like anything else, a security system needs to be installed properly to work effectively.

My county, like many others across the US, helps ensure this by issuing security system licenses. You technically cannot operate a security system that automatically dials the police without a license. They will come to your house anyway, but they will actually issue you a citation if it's a false alarm and you don't have a license.

I've had my security system for a year (GE Simon 3) and have never had a false alarm, even with a cat running around (I have motion sensors). I also never forget to turn it on because it just turns on with a key fob; turning it on is just part of my regular routine of locking the door. All modern security systems can be used the same way.

Security is all about layers. There's no magic bullet. I look at all these stories (especially during the bump key hysteria a while back) and wonder what people think the intent of a lock actually is. Locks are not intended to turn your house into a fortified castle - there are many other ways to get into your house if a criminal truly wants to. Locks are intended to make it more difficult for criminals, and to keep honest people honest. Most burglaries start with an unlocked door or window.

Good exterior lighting, deadbolts on all your doors (however good they are), working locks on all your windows and a decent and properly installed security system that's used dilligently will be basically 100% effective at keeping all intruders out of your house. If you're still paranoid at that point, you may as well just live in an underground bomb shelter for the rest of your life.