There are over ½ million forced entry home burglaries in the UK every year, with one occurring every 40 seconds. Most forced entry home burglaries do not happen at night under the cover of darkness but during the daylight hours, generally between 10am and 3pm while a lot of people are at work. A majority are committed by the opportunistic burglar when they see an open window or door or a house with very weak security measures.
Deciding what security measures to implement without making your house look like a prison by fitting securing gates and grills to your doors and windows can be a very taxing problem (the police offer some good prevention advice here). You can fit window locks, better door locks, add security lights and alarms and even install cameras which send alerts to your phone. Whilst these are all excellent methods that are encouraged to be used, there is still more that can be done.
There are lots of entry points into our homes, and if the doors and windows are locked the easiest entry point is the patio/conservatory or French doors. These doors are generally out of view in the back garden, giving a thief time to work to gain entry. But how much time to they really need? They don’t want to spend too much time breaking in as the longer it takes, the risk of getting caught is increased.
With the increasing trend of lock snapping on patio doors, which can see a burglar enter your home within 30 seconds (this is based on patio doors with a standard euro cylinder lock), the patio doors really do need better security measures.
So how can you better secure the double doors on your conservatory or strengthen your patio or French doors to the garden. One way would be not to have any external locks or handles, with just the doors opening from the inside. The Patlock Internal French Door Lock is much simpler solution.
So what it is the Patlock? Well this is a simple, but strong, lock for double doors that slides over the handles. It requires handles on both doors to work and is for internal installation (if your set of doors only has one handle you can always fit a dummy handle to the other door to be able to use the Patlock). It is so easy to fit and remove and requires no drilling, screws or gluing or even keys or codes. The Patlock not only secures the doors making the doors harder to break and gain entry to – even if the lock is snapped, it is also a visible deterrent.
The Patlock has been awarded “Secured by Design” accreditation and is recommended by Police Forces and Crime Prevention Associations throughout the UK. Secured by Design (SBD) is the Official Police Security Initiative that improves the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit. The Patlock is also endorsed by the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.
So what do you get with the Patlock? In the box is:
- 1x Patlock
- 2x Tamper-proof Spindles
- 2x Spring Clips
- 2x Window Stickers
- 1x Instruction leaflet
The Patlock is very easy to fit:
- Push the buttons to release each half
- Place each half over each door handle
- Push the two pieces together
- Push, click, secure
If your door handles are longer than standard you can remove the rubber inserts to create more space, so it should fit all doors.
Once the Patlock is fitted, the doors are now secured, even if someone snaps the locks from outside. It works by making the handles immovable and ensuring that the multi-point locks and shoot bolts in the door locking mechanism remain engaged.
Whilst the Patlock can be used as it is straight out of the box, it also comes additional with security should you want to use it. It is supplied with 2 tamper-proof spindles and spring clips for added security. Once fitted, they maintain the integrity of the internal handles and the Patlock as they can’t be removed from the outside. These are to replace the spindles already in the door handles and are easy to fit (they fit most doors, but if too long will require cutting and it is recommended a professional locksmith fit them).
Once the Patlock is installed, it is visible from the outside so that anyone trying to gain entry can see that a security device is fitted. Whilst the patio doors are generally an easy entry point, with this visible deterrent a burglar will not want to attempt entry as it could take too much time trying to get in, increasing the risk of being caught. Even if they do decide to try, the handles are secured internally, keeping the door locked.
When the Patlock is in operation, it fits in with the look of the doors and blends in with white uPVC doors. It is simple to fit and just as easy to remove, literally in seconds, and it does an excellent job of securing the doors. As it is endorsed by the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, Secured by Design and recommend by police forces around the UK you might even be able to get a slight discount on your home insurance by using one (check with your insurer first, there is no guarantee of this).
Overall, the Patlock is an excellent simple and secure method for ensuring that your patio/French doors can’t be opened from the outside. It works well and is very easy to use. It is not a replacement for locking your doors, but if you do forget and just put the Patlock on it will stop them being opened.
Whilst no home security measures can 100% guarantee that you won’t be burgled, the Patlock is an excellent deterrent which will make the would-be burglar think twice. At £49.99 including delivery, it is definitely a worthwhile investment.
Deter those thieves and make sure your home security is strong. Make sure you always lock those doors and windows (no point having locks if you don’t use them), don’t leave small high-value items in view from the windows (most opportunistic burglars are only after small and portable items, not 50” televisions), if using timers make sure they are set for random times and it you have patio or conservatory doors, invest in a Patlock – push, click, secure.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £49.99 (includes VAT and delivery to UK mainland)
For more information or to buy, visit www.patlock.co.uk.
