Locksmiths In Manchester

Cutting Antique Keys - Locksmithing

Occasionally people will want to keep old locks and keys. Why do people want to keep old locks? Sometimes it's in order to maintain the character of the building, and sometimes these locks can't be removed because a building is listed.

The pictures on the right show one of our locksmiths cutting keys for an antique lock. It's a different task than cutting contemporary keys, as it has to be done by hand rather than by machine.

Beware Of Bogus Doorstep Callers

We recently published an infographic showing UK burglary statistics, and perhaps one of the most shocking statistics is that 59% of burglaries occured when the victim was still in their property. It's possible that a burglar will use several different techniques to gain access to a home when someone is in but one of the most common is by means of distraction.

Burglars have been known to pose as fake doorstep callers or collectors in Manchester such as Gas meter readers or someone offering some kind of service to the home owner. They have been known to either confuse the victim into paying them cash or using an accomplice to enter the property from another door while the victim is being distracted.

How can this be prevented?

1. Door Signs / Stickers : Add a sign or sticker to your door which reads something along the lines of "NO door to door sales or canvassers". If someone continues to knock and you're not expecting them, you can choose not to answer the door.
2. Install a Peep Hole : Installing a peep hole in your door will allow you to identify who is at your door before you open it.
3. Keep Your Doors Locked : Ensuring your doors and windows are locked will prevent someone else from entering your property while you're being distracted by someone at the door.
4. Ask For Identification : As of laws passed in 2002, all cold callers are required to provide identification, and to explain the purpose of their visit upfront.
5. Don't Make Any Payments or Book Work : If you're sure the person you're talking to is an honest employee, book a second visit rather than booking or paying for work there and then.

If you'd like to have door chains fitted to your doors for better security, we can help.

This video by Greater Manchester Police shows how a distraction burglary could take place.

They recommend purchasing a peep hole and / or door chain to improve the security of homeowners when they're approached by unexpected callers.

It's important to mention that an accomplice could enter the property from the rear of the building through a door or an open window if they have been left open or unlocked, therefore, it's important to ensure that your doors and windows are locked when you can't see them, even if you are in the property.

Manchester Student Security

One in 10 Manchester students are said to become victims of crime, according to Manchester City Council . What that means is that, out of its student population of 70,000, the amount of them that will be victimised is around 7,000.

Greater Manchester Police is keenly aware of the risk to students, which arises partly due to their often-expensive possessions: according to Chief Inspector Arif Nawaz in an article for Endsleigh , they “bring with them between £5,000 and £10,000 of high-tech gadgets”.

A series of videos have been produced by the Greater Manchester Police to alert students to some of the dangers that they could face from criminals. One of them is a burglary video, which shows an individual (in an artificial situation) easily entering a property through an unlocked window, and proceeding to ‘steal’ a laptop and tablet.

Burglaries in Greater Manchester and How to Prevent Them

The Greater Manchester area has one of the highest crime rates in the entire country, with more crimes committed in the area than similar cities. To put things in perspective, Manchester had a crime rate of 109.39 per 1000 population in the year ending June 2015, while Nottingham had a crime rate of 101.2, Liverpool’s crime rate was 90.86 and Birmingham’s 68.35 (source: Greater Manchester Crime - Police.uk).

This makes Manchester and its surrounding areas one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country, despite the fact that very few of us actually see any crimes being committed. That, however, doesn’t mean that they aren’t committed on a regular basis, and one of the most common crimes committed in the Greater Manchester area are burglaries.

Burglary Rates Increase

Like many common crimes in Manchester, as well as other cities and towns across the UK, burglaries rates are on the rise. From November 2014 to October 2015, there were 25,359 burglaries reported in the Greater Manchester area, with 2,526 committed in November 2014 and 2,580 committed this October, a minor but noticeable increase in the number of crimes committed. And we can expect this rate to rise as time goes by.

Exposed Homes

Burglaries will always be committed, but it is possible to reduce the burglary rate by being vigilant and not leaving our homes exposed to thieves. As local Manchester locksmiths, we regularly make our way to local business and residential properties to board up windows after they’ve been smashed and carry out burglary repairs after homes and workplaces have been broken into. In many cases, there were clear reasons as to why thieves targeted that particular property, including the following:

• Valuables were left near windows

  This is one of the most common reasons for a burglary being committed in high-density residential areas. Leaving valuables like smartphones, handbags, wallets and laptops near windows, even if they aren’t open, entices thieves. Don’t leave your valuables near your window and certainly don’t leave your windows open when you aren’t nearby.

• Minimal lighting outside

  The darkness of night provides perfect cover for thieves, so installing an external lighting system is highly advisable. The areas to focus upon are the front and rear doors and the areas directly outside your windows. Thieves are less likely to target homes with brightly lit yards because it limits the areas in which they can hide.

• Fences and gates in need of repair

  It stands to reason, from a thief’s perspective, that if the locks on the fence and gate aren’t in good condition, neither will the locks on the doors and windows be. If your fence and gate are in need of repair, have them fixed and consider installing new locks

• Hedges were overgrown

  Hedges also provide excellent cover for thieves, so have your hedges trimmed back so that you can see over the top of them easily. You should also ensure plants and trees don’t obscure the view from your windows either.

• Keys lost or left out

  Everyone has lost a set of keys at some point in time, but it’s what you do after you’ve lost your keys that counts, since some burglaries are caused by people losing their keys, usually near their home or place of business.

If you’ve lost your house keys or the keys to your workplace and you’re worried about someone finding them and breaking in, give your local Manchester locksmith a call and we’ll replace the locks for you. As all our locksmiths are local, they’ll be with you in 20 – 40 minutes, there are no call out fees, and we're on hand to help you 24 hours a day.