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  • On the security front. It seems like people miss the point of Banham locks. The keys can't be copied easily. That is one of the main benefits. There are a few alternatives that are similar but Banham is one of the most popular. The lock bodies are pretty decent but there are a lot of euro spec locks that compete with or exceed the security of a Banham lock body. Aside from that they look good on victorian doors.

    The advantage of keys that can't be copied is most easily felt in larger properties where a lot more people need to have access (cleaners, builders, lodgers etc.) and you don't want them making copies. So not really about burglary. Banham can do super high security though, like Pimlico Plumbers do plumbing.

    Security laminate glass over the top or behind the glass in the door would help a lot. The central plastic in the security glass makes it very difficult to smash or cut when it's in place.

    I've been to a few places after burglaries to make the doors safe, spoken to the forensics people for tips.

    Mostly the doors have been forced by shouldering or kicking them, a properly fitted London bar helps to avoid this. In one case someone managed to bend the Banham security cage on a window open, still no idea how they got the leverage but given enough time to work on a door or window they will find a way.

    Burglars do not recognise your most expensive possessions. They'll ignore a Damien Hurst and steal your laptop, so make sure you have backups of your data. An alarm does limit the time they will spend in the house, especially if it's loud throughout the house as that's deliberately unsettling. Cameras are not a great deterrent but they are helpful as an early warning that you are being cased. It's very easy to avoid leaving forensic evidence. If you have a safe they will stop at nothing to remove it, potentially creating tens of thousands of pounds of damage to achieve it.

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