Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
24th April 2024 Issue no. 702

Your industry news - first

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Confessions of a Locksmith: An Insider's Guide to Securing Your Home and Business.

Melbourne's Toplock Locksmiths founder Justin Fankhauser says the majority of robberies are committed by opportunists. "They'll look for the weakest attack," he says. "If someone wants to get in they're going to get in, but what we try and do is make it less appealing."

Fankhauser has written a book based on his 12 years in the business - Confessions of a Locksmith: An Insider's Guide to Securing Your Home and Business.

He says many small businesses make the mistake of neglecting to re-key their premises when they first move in, leaving them open to burglaries by anyone who has ever held a key to it.

"The previous business would have had cleaners, they would have disgruntled staff members," Fankhauser says.

Re-keying doesn't involve changing the locks entirely, he says, but changing the barrel in the lock, which might cost $150 to $300 for two or three doors.
In one case, Fankhauser visited an office where an employment agency had been entirely cleaned out in its first few days of business. He says the robbers turned up in a delivery truck and took everything in one hit.

Money or anything easy to sell quickly - such as iPhones, iPads or other devices - are popular with robbers, Fankhauser says.

In the case of protecting your business from potentially dodgy employees, Fankhauser recommends installing a restricted key system, where the key can only be copied by a nominated locksmith, who then only cuts keys for authorised staff.

Other security measures include installing CCTV footage and an alarm system, fitting grills on the windows and blocker plates around the door lock.

For those short on cash, Fankhauser recommends re-keying the locks as the first priority and then perhaps installing a fake camera or leaving a radio on during the day.

Fankhauser says when it comes to deadlocks, business owners must be aware of specific regulations for different types of business premises.

2nd October 2013