Quick answer: most Perth break-ins are through an unlocked door or window, a flimsy back or side door, or a key someone shouldn’t have. Fix those three and you’ve done more than any camera will. This is the list we’d run through on a first visit to any house.
We see the aftermath of break-ins every week, and it’s rarely a clever burglar. It’s a laundry door with a spring latch, a sliding door with no secondary lock, or a key that a previous tenant still had. Work down this list once and you’ll know where you stand.
Doors
Every external door has a deadbolt or a deadlock, not just a knob latch. That includes the laundry, the garage-to-house door and the side door nobody uses. The doors are on one key you can account for. If you bought the place or a tenant has left, the locks have been rekeyed since. Read should I rekey or change the locks?
Security screens
Screen doors have a working lock, ideally a triple lock on the main entry, and they’re locked when the door behind them is open on a hot night. Coastal homes: the lock isn’t seized with salt. See security screen door locks.
Windows and sliding doors
Every window that opens has a key lock or a keyed sash lock, especially ground floor and anything reachable from a fence or a carport roof. Sliding doors have a secondary lock or a bolt, not just the handle latch. See window locks.
Garage, shed and gates
The roller door locks, and the door from the garage into the house is a proper lock, not a passage set. The shed is padlocked and the ladder is inside it, not lying along the fence. Side gates have a bolt or a padlock so nobody can walk to the back of the house unseen.
Keys
No key under the pot, on top of the meter box or in the letterbox. Every key is accounted for; if one isn’t, rekey. A keypad lock on the front door ends the hidden-key habit for good. Car keys are away from the front door and out of sight from the letterbox slot.
Lighting and sightlines
A sensor light on the driveway and the side path. Shrubs trimmed below window height at the front. Not a deterrent by itself, but it removes the cover a burglar wants.
Habits
Lock the door when you’re in the back yard. Lock the car in the driveway. Don’t post holiday dates before you go. Ask a neighbour to clear the letterbox. Most of the list is free.
If you rent
You can ask your property manager to have the locks rekeyed at the start of a tenancy, and many will. Check every window has a working lock; that’s a repair request, not an upgrade. You usually can’t change the locks yourself, but you can add a keyed sash lock or a sliding-door bolt with permission, and you can take them when you leave. Keep the agent’s after-hours number in your phone for lockouts.
Common questions
Do cameras stop break-ins?
They record them. A deadbolt on the laundry door prevents them. Do the locks first, then cameras if you still want them; we don’t fit cameras, but we’ll happily tell you which doors need attention first.
What’s the single most common weak point?
An unlocked or poorly locked back or side door. Second is a sliding door with only its handle latch.
Should I rekey when I move in?
Yes. You can’t know who has keys. It takes about an hour for a typical house and you keep your locks.
Can a locksmith do a security check of my house?
Yes. We’ll walk the house with you, tell you what’s fine and what isn’t, and quote anything that needs doing. No pressure to buy locks you don’t need.
Want a locksmith’s eye over your house?
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Everything we do for homes: residential locksmith. Around our base: Carine.