Scary fact – with the right tools and knowledge, a thief can break through certain locks and gain access to your property in less than two minutes. The technique used is called locksnapping and it works on conservatory, French and uPVC doors as well as composites that use a Euro cylinder lock.

So what is locksnapping and what can you do to stop it from happening to your property?

How locksnapping works

Locksnapping works because the burglar removes the outer casing of the door lock to get access to the Euro cylinder inside. They then use a tool to cover the protruding barrel and add force to it. This breaks the cylinder in half. Once the cylinder is broken, the lock can be manipulated and the door can be quietly unlocked.

The other worrying thing about this technique is that people think they are safe because they have multi-point locking doors. But this isn’t the case. That’s because all of those locks work from the cylinder so if this is compromised, the whole lock will be rendered useless.

How to stop it from happening

The best way to ensure that you don’t fall victim to locksnapping for your home is to have anti-snap locks. These have been developed especially to combat this growing criminal trend and feature anti-snap lines so there is force applied to either end of the cylinder, the line will lock into place, ensuring the cylinder cannot be broken.

This ensures that the mechanism inside the lock remains solid and unbroken and stops the thief in their tracks.

Are my locks anti-snap?

There’s no easy way to look at a lock and know if it is anti-snap. Some of the newer ones may have some markings on it but just because a lock shows the BS kitemark, this doesn’t guarantee that it is an anti-snap lock. If your lock is older than 2011, there’s a good chance it won’t be anti-snap as this was when the technology started to roll out.

You can remove the lock casing and have a look for the snap lines that show the lock has this extra feature. If you are buying new locks, you’ll be able to see this and check with the locksmith you are buying them from that they have the anti-snap features.

For existing locks, the best option can be to have a trained, professional locksmith take a look at them. They can assess if they have anti-snap features and if not, look at replacing them for you with something that does.

They can also ensure that the cylinder doesn’t stick out of the door casing – something that makes it easier for thieves to attempt to snap the lock in the first place.

Having the best locks

While this method of breaking into homes started out as a localised trend, it is now being seen across the UK and could account for as many as 25% of all break-ins.

Having the right locks on your doors is a crucial part of safeguarding against this kind of criminal activity and if you are unsure if your home’s locks are up for the task, contact us today for a lock checking service to help you better understand your defenses.