Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
17th April 2024 Issue no. 701
Your industry news - first
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The Last word
Another 'taster' from sister publication Locks & Security Magazine:
By Dave Bellis
I’ve been retired from the profession for a year now but, like the sad old man that I am I keep in touch with the industry through the PLF forum (link below) and, secondly, this magazine. Some of the articles are very interesting (Nigel take a bow) however, there are inevitably pieces praising the virtues of the latest locking product. How much more security it offers, how well it may be regarded by one noble organisation or another and how much more effective it is against some improbable sort of attack.
When I first started out there was really only one industry standard for residential locks; BS3621. Inevitably they underwent a couple of amendments, notably, and the most practical, the extension to the bolt from 14mm to 20mm. This gave the handyman more leeway on doors that had a gap between edge and frame through which a newspaper could be delivered.
If you were posh you had Chubb’s, otherwise it was usually a cheap tinplate thing, if you were middle class it might be a three lever mortice lock or Yale 1109/ERA with old style backset. I still don’t recall burglars picking, drilling or even slipping locks. Usually the rotten frame would be levered apart, bending the flimsy bolt, ripping it from the door. Carrying a Jemmy or lock picking tools was sure to get you nabbed by the local Bobby, better to use a well soled Beetle Crusher to smash in the 4mm plywood panel at the bottom of most back doors. As we didn’t have TV’s larger than 28” there wasn’t any need to make a bigger hole...
10th August 2016