Can your lock be slipped? Have your heard of lock slipping
or lock popping
? Have you ever wondered if it was possible on your front door?
Well, in the image above we have focused on the latch of a basic Night-latch. The unit itself goes by many names, Yale lock, Top lock, Latch and many more, all names for the same latch.
Internal doors with handles have the same type of latch inside, the only difference is that this one can be operated only with a key from the outside. This doesn't mean your door is locked, this simply means its latched closed. I like to think of it like magnets on a fridge really. It will keep your door closed and seem locked, however don't be fooled, its not locked. if you open your door and push that latch in with your finger, chances are if someone slips a piece of plastic, larger than a credit card, down the crack, this will "pop" your lock.
Many burglaries happen this way, it's silent and easy and non destructive. I've been to burglaries where this has happened while people are sleeping and it's scary.
My tip for today is to always lock your bottom lock, if you don't have one you must get one, for your safety. Please note that there are Night-latches that are designed to be Anti slip, these in fact deadlock the latch when the door is shut. This makes life and security just that little bit easier.
For more information on slipping locks check out our most recent blog post Lock slipping tips.
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