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Improve Doorstep Security with Loxout

Everybody has the right to feel safe and secure in their homes but unfortunately many households are not adequately protected. People are unaware that most burglaries take place during the daytime and in 3 out of 10 cases someone is at home when the burglary is carried out. Experiencing a home invasion from intruders, determined to find something of value, is extremely traumatic.

Distraction burglary, sometimes called ‘artifice burglary’, is a commonly used technique. It usually involves trickery and deception wherein a caller adopts a guise, possibly as a utility company employee, care worker, council employee, door to door sales person or even as a police officer. Criminals will often work in pairs enabling one to gain entry and steal things while the homeowner is distracted by the fake caller at the main door. It’s only when they notice that valuables are missing that they realise they have been burgled.

The days when burglars were after television sets and entertainment systems are long gone as the value of these once expensive electronic items has become relatively low. Today’s opportunist house thieves are looking for car keys and personal data. They are far more likely to grab laptop computers, mobile phones, bank cards, passports and personal identity information than attempt to steal a cumbersome, low value flat screen TV.

Legitimate Callers Only

An important step in improving home security is to never open the door to anyone unless they are legitimate callers. Never let anyone into your home unless they are known to you or you were expecting them. Most legitimate visitors will carry some form of identification or paperwork and they will be more than happy to answer any questions and to wait while their identity is checked and confirmed.

If someone knocks or calls at your door consider the following:

• Are you expecting a visitor?
• Ask for identification without opening the door. If necessary this can be safely passed through the letterbox.
• Ask the caller what their business is and who they work for.
• If in doubt, contact their employer or the organisation they are from by telephone. But always find the phone number yourself and don’t use a number provided by the caller.

Also, be aware that the caller at your front door may be nothing more than a distraction while their accomplice attempts to enter your property via the rear entrance. This is why it’s important to make certain that your back door and all easily accessible windows are securely locked.

How to Safely Open Your Door

Door security chains have long been used to provide a safe and secure way to fractionally open a main door to allow communication with a caller. High quality door security chains, which have gained approval from the British Police Force (Secure by Design), provide a valuable, effective doorstep security precaution.

But even the toughest door security chain cannot withstand a determined intruder who might use their body weight to barge their way in. A revolutionary, new door limiter device from Loxout overcomes many of the limitations associated with door security chains.

The new, patented Loxout door limiter has been subjected to rigorous testing by the UK Sold Secure testing house achieving the Sold Secure Domestic Bronze standard. This means that the Loxout door limiter has been tested and verified as capable of withstanding prolonged attack using a defined list of typical attack tools and techniques.

Like a chain, Loxout acts as a door restrictor, limiting the extent to which a door can be opened. But unlike a security chain the Loxout door stop device will not break, no matter how hard an intruder tries to gain entry.

How Loxout Works

Loxout is designed to be installed on exterior doors but works equally well as an interior door limiter. It only works on inwardly opening doors and there are two models: one for doors with left side hinges and another for doors with right side hinges.

There are two main components to the Loxout door limiter hardware, the safety stud and the Loxout mechanism. The safety stud assembly is mounted on the door and the Loxout mechanism is attached to the door frame. The system is suitable for installation into both wood and UPVC doors and frames and it can be readily installed by a competent handyman or tradesperson. Screws in the door frame need to penetrate to a depth of 55mm so the frame needs to be deep enough to accept these.

The extent to which a door is allowed to open is configured on installation. This is typically from around 100 to 150mm (about 4 to 6 inches), depending on requirements. The gap allowed should be large enough to allow conversation to take place and identities to be confirmed but not so large as to allow an intruder to reach around or for a toddler to attempt escape, if that’s a consideration.

Of course any form of door restrictor must be easily released once the identity of a caller has been confirmed. The Loxout mechanism is simple to control by an adult who can easily reach the release catch.

Who Needs Loxout

Loxout door limiters are a robust alternative to door security chains making them a direct replacement wherever such devices are in use. Loxout is primarily intended to support situations in which it is necessary to securely open a door, to allow communication and exchange, without enabling unwanted intrusion. For example, elderly people feel more secure if they know that they can safely open their doors wide enough to confirm who a visitor is without risk of them gaining entry.

Another important capability of the Loxout system is to keep people inside a building or a room within a building. Keeping youngsters in a busy creche, for example, can sometimes be very challenging. But with Loxout mounted on the creche door to restrict the door opening you can be confident that all youngsters are safely kept within the creche space.

Similarly, in care homes and spaces used by vulnerable people, ensuring that they can’t leave a room or building and potentially wander into harms way is often essential. Loxout provides this protection, allowing doors to be marginally opened to allow air flow and ventilation without risk that someone will exit without permission.

While tried-and-tested door security chains provide a valuable layer of doorstep security it’s great to see innovative product development from Loxout in this important area.

If you have any questions or would like to know more about home security and how best to secure your doors and windows - remember that we are here to help. Give us a call on 01273 475500 and we’ll provide you with free, expert advice and guidance.

This message was added on Wednesday 29th July 2020