I got burgled this weekend, whilst i was in the house!

[Lee H]

they left a lot of expensive camera gear (Canon L lenses, flashes and stuff that my dad didnt take with him) but they left it 2 doors up on the grass, I'm thinking most likely because they wouldnt be able to sell them without being questioned... or infact they didnt want to take them home for fear that thier parents might see it and question them...

More likely they left left them because they are specialist items and I bet they didn't know anyone who would buy these off them asap so they could cash quickly to fund their needs.

[GoNz0]

That's actually a really good price for that lock, the only downside is that there's still bump keys available for the lock.

your average thief wont even attempt to bump one of those, its not a 2 taps and your in with a astra S, the astral on the other hand is not classed as bump resistant and you can find videos online of them being bumped.
they will either break a window or bog off to the next house.

[mmh]

its scary how readily available information to break into someones house is available...

typed in bump locks on FACEBOOK (not even google) and came straight to a website selling, to the public, everything you need to start picking locks and breaking into places...

surely this kind of thing should be regulated?

its bad enough career criminals knowing this information... but to blindly give out this information so any would-be criminal can get the information is a bit sillly... then again, its the internet and you cant stop the internet...

scary thought though that anyone can get hold of those items which make breaking in a doddle, whilst also voiding the people they are breaking in's insurance :/

Good, honest, law abiding people never prosper in this world

[oolon]

surely this kind of thing should be regulated?

It is, if the police catch you with one, you will probably be done with going equipped for burglary. This way it can cover lots of other items that in themselves might be harmless however together make a thieving toolkit.

[Cornholio]

Sorry to hear this buddy.

Shame you dont live closer, ive two staffs that would worn off any theiving pikeys.

[Lucio]

its scary how readily available information to break into someones house is available...

typed in bump locks on FACEBOOK (not even google) and came straight to a website selling, to the public, everything you need to start picking locks and breaking into places...

surely this kind of thing should be regulated?

Nope! Not even close to being regulated. The Master Locksmiths Association has been pressing the Government for regulation for ages now, along with the Institute of Certified Locksmiths, and nothing has even come close to getting through!

The company I work for sells the tools but only to people who've been trained on a course that runs CRB checks but most companies out there don't


Best defense going is still a Chubb 5 lever BS mortice lock as even half the locksmiths going won't get into one in under 5 minutes.

[razer121]

Its so tempting to get a security system that allows them into the house, then drops metal plates over all the doors and windows, and an automated voice goes "and now we are going to play a game, lets hope you win".

this is an awesome idea! would be very cool to do lol saw ftw lol

[GoNz0]

this is an awesome idea! would be very cool to do lol saw ftw lol

You're probably wondering where you are. I'll tell you where you might be. You might be in the room that you die in.

[Whiternoise]

That's actually a really good price for that lock, the only downside is that there's still bump keys available for the lock.

There's going to be a way to bump or pick any lock. Locksmiths designed locks that have magnetic pins so that ordinary picks can't open them. What happens? People magnetise the lock picks.

As I said, if people want to pick your lock then odds are they will do it. You just want a lock that will be too much effort and time to bother with.


Lock picks aren't regulated much. I've often considered getting a set to fiddle with, who hasn't tried to get into the cracker padlocks with a paperclip anyway? The law is a bit fuzzy, there is no law against owning lockpicks - but if you're caught outside your house with a set without a very good/convincing reason then you can be arrested for 'going equipped'.

[mmh]

There's going to be a way to bump or pick any lock. Locksmiths designed locks that have magnetic pins so that ordinary picks can't open them. What happens? People magnetise the lock picks.

As I said, if people want to pick your lock then odds are they will do it. You just want a lock that will be too much effort and time to bother with.


Lock picks aren't regulated much. I've often considered getting a set to fiddle with, who hasn't tried to get into the cracker padlocks with a paperclip anyway? The law is a bit fuzzy, there is no law against owning lockpicks - but if you're caught outside your house with a set without a very good/convincing reason then you can be arrested for 'going equipped'.

yeah, but that would mean someone would have to be caught and searched for something else :/

[Whiternoise]

Oh I don't agree with the way the law works, it's a gaping loophole and should be regulated.

I think definitely a CRB check should be required before you can buy them - that would at least cut down on the number of "script kiddies" trying to break into people's houses. It would also still allow people to enjoy lockpicking as a hobby - which I don't think there's anything wrong with in itself, it's a useful skill to have and could be seen as a mechanical puzzle.

At any rate the addresses of people who buy them should be logged.

[yoohoo8]

sorry to hear what's happening

[Kata]

My method of home security is just to have better door locks than the apartments next to me

[Calmeister]

At lest with the crowbar you are safe from headcrabs

But on a serious note, that's a horrible thing to happen to you and your paranoia is understandable. You should definitely change the locks and uprgrade your security a bit. it's a shame you can't get the best sort of alarm system, the C.A.N.I.N.E, commonly known as a dog .

It is worrying how freely available information on picking locks is and it's easy to defend giving it out by saying it's helpful for people locked out of their house or car.

[Brucelles]

Bad luck, mate, but it happens a lot and it’s nothing personal.

we have a security light in the back garden, apparently it didnt ward them off...

Generally, all they do I give them light so that they can see the locks better.

Borrowing a dog is a good idea, if you can. Burglars hate dogs. Of course, it has to be the right dog. I had an elderly Airedale Terrier bitch in Luxembourg when I was burgled. She slept through it. In that case the thieves broke into my car, by levering open a window, and found the garage door opener (I seldom parked in the garage, as the slope was steep and my BMW 740iL was 5 metres long, so it grounded on the way in) they opened the garage door and got into the house that way. The worst thing (after the theft of my wife’s Hermés handbag) was the loss of nearly all of the keys in the house; house keys, keys to my car and my wife’s Mercedes. I think that about half of the replacement cost was the keys & locks.

Nowadays I have a 3 year-old Airedale chap, weighing 40Kgs who sleeps with one eye open and goes absolutely apeshirt if he hears a noise.

We had an ‘accidental visitor’ recently in the middle of the day while my wife was in. A chap from the Galleries Lafayette food hall, who does our delivery, forgot to ring the bell so there was no-one to hold Grendel back. He didn’t draw blood, but ruined his jacket and was standing over him holding his wrist, growling when my wife got there from the kitchen. I figure that sort of thing is good, if word gets around, and no-one innocent gets hurt.

I would not get too confident about the buggers not returning, as the sods who burgled me came back twice. Once they damaged the garage door trying to get in (I had changed the opener code) and once snapped a key off in the new front door lock. In a cunning attempt to deter burglars the front door was in a little porch on the side of the house behind some bushes, so they probably figured they had all night without being seen.

Where I live in the South of France we don’t have burglars, as everyone has a shotgun, and the police are very relaxed about shooting out of season in one’s own home.

[Blitzen]

I know you don't want to hear this, but:

In the town where i live, my girlfriend lived with her mum, dad and sister (this is going back about 14 years now).

Someone broke in whilst they were asleep, and as they were leaving, my GF went downstairs for a drink. She startled the burglar and he stabbed her 4 times.
Strange because we live in a nice little town where nothing ever happens, especially like this.

And before anyone says this is an 'old wives tale', i can assure you, her hands are still scarred now where she was protecting herself