Week 4 of National home security week looks at outdoor security and how households can best protect the perimeter of their home and anything stored outside

Garage Security

Garage security is vitally important to the overall security of a property as many high value, easy removable items can be found in a garage.  Just take a moment to think of the goods that are stored in your garage, these can range from bikes, lawn mowers, tools and other sporting equipment, all of which come with a high price tag.  Now lets look at the door and window locks that are protecting this equipment.  Most garage doors will only have a single locking device, this being the handle that is used to open and close the doors, these handle locks are normally of low security and can be easily bypassed or wrenched off, it is therefore good practice to fit and use additional garage door locks.  Locking garage bolts can be fitted to most types of garage door and offer great levels of improved security.  The garage bolt kit contains a pair of locking bolts that both use the same key, the long bolt extends out from the lock case by over 50mm with a number of turns of the key, this bolt can extend left or right into a wall, or down into the ground depending on the garage door type.
Other garage entry points also need to be considered, the rear door to a garage should have a British Standard Lock, just like any other external door to a house and any opening windows on a garage should be fitted with a suitable locking device.

Shed Locks

Garden sheds are great place to store garden equipment or hide from the other half, but have you considered the locks that are used to secure them, if you even have any!  Sheds are an easy target for passing criminals, often cheap, low security locks are used and when combined with thin wall construction make them hard to secure.  Most sheds have some sort of concrete base, a ground anchor can be secured to this concrete base, a chain and padlock can then be used to secure garden equipment to.  Some sort of alarm could also be used to protect a shed, this could be an extension to a alarm already fitted to the main house, or a stand alone system inside the shed, battery operated alarm system are useful for sheds that do not have a power source.

Outside lighting

A lots of councils are saving money by switching street lights off  over night, this combined with longer darker nights over winter give criminals even more cover to check out a properties weak point or attempt a break in.  Outside security lights with motion sensors will combat this threat by switching on a light when anyone walks close by.  Security lights powered by a Solar panel are no readily available, these allow for easy installation without the need to employ an electrician

More details can be found in this video from Yale, for any lock or security advice give locktrader a call on 01843 209239.