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Lock Snapping

Lock snapping on the BBC Standard euro cylinder door locks which secure the vast majority of homes in the UK have a major weakness that can allow quick and quiet access within 15 seconds - what's more worrying is that this can be done with simple everyday DIY tools.

The weakness in standard euro profile cylinders has been known by both locksmiths and lock manufacturers for many years, a prominent locksmith went public in the newspapers with the problem in 2006, due to occurrences of burglars using this technique.

"Lock Snapping" has become the preferred method of attack against many UK homes. Recent BBC reports have highlighted a significant increase in the number of burglaries using this technique and Police crime statistics indicate that approx 27% of all Burglaries in some areas involved snapping of Euro cylinder locks.

What is the problem?

The principle of "Lock Snapping" is simple - apply enough force to the cylinder and it will break at the fixing point. Once broken, the burglar has access to the internal working of the multi-point lock or dead lock, the most vulnerable part of your door and within a few seconds, can open the door. Thieves have taken advantage of this and in very little time can get in to a property. They are often looking for quick access to car keys and are willing to access alarmed properties due to the speed of access.

This method has been known for many years but relevant bodies had refrained from alerting the public but now due to growth in this method of attack many police forces, standards agencies and manufacturers are making the public aware.

Many locksmiths and "experts" will tell you "if the cylinder lock does not stick out past the handle then you have nothing to worry about". As you can see from the video, and from numerous discussions we have had with the Police, Locksmiths, Crime reduction officers and victims of lock snapping, in the majority of cases the burglar rips the handles of any way. The screw attack becoming more common, also makes the "doesn't stick out past the handle" argument irrelavent too.