How Burglars Get In | The Unlocked Door Problem

Police-recorded residential burglary in England and Wales has been falling for several years. Good news, and genuine progress. But one figure has stayed stubbornly fixed across successive Home Office and police data releases: roughly one in four residential burglaries involve no forcing at all. An unlocked door. An open window. Someone simply walked in.

No crowbar. No cylinder snap. No lock picks. Nothing that better hardware would have stopped, because there was no lock to attack.

What the pattern actually tells us

The proportion attributed to opportunist entry has barely shifted even as overall burglary falls. That tells you two things at once. Targeted, forced entry is getting harder. Better cylinders, better awareness, and a decade of police campaigns are working on that front. But the opportunist who tries ten door handles before breakfast is still finding one open on most streets, and the statistics reflect it.

Thames Valley Police data consistently shows that urban areas in SL1 and SL2, Chalvey, Britwell, Cippenham, Langley, carry residential burglary risk above the Thames Valley rural average. That's not a slur on Slough. Population density means more doors per street, which is simply more opportunity for someone who's prepared to try each one. An opportunist in Stoke Poges or Gerrards Cross has fewer options.

The insurance problem hiding in your policy wording

Most standard home insurance policies specify a minimum security requirement. Common conditions include a BS3621-compliant five-lever mortice deadlock or a euro cylinder certified to TS007 3-star. Failing to meet those conditions doesn't automatically void a claim, but insurers are within their rights to reduce or reject a payout if you haven't met the stated terms, and that scrutiny has tightened in recent years.

A few things worth being clear about, because they're often muddled:

• BS3621:2007+A2:2012 specifies tests for bolt strength, pick resistance, manipulation resistance and key security across a range of attack methods. It's not a single timed test. A Yale P-shaped nightlatch from a DIY shed almost certainly doesn't meet it.
• TS007 3-star is a UK-specific rating for euro cylinders, covering snap, pick and drill resistance. It's separate from Israeli standard SI 1227 or LPS 1621, which some cylinder brands are tested to instead. A cylinder carrying those marks isn't automatically TS007 3-star compliant.
• PAS24 applies to a complete doorset, not just the cylinder or the lock in isolation.

On specific products: Avocet ABS and Ultion both publish TS007 3-star certification clearly and it's verifiable. ERA's Fortress range has variants that are TS007 3-star rated, but not all of them, so check the spec sheet for the exact product code, not just the brand name. Mul-T-Lock cylinders are strong, well-regarded, and tested to rigorous standards, but those standards are not always TS007 3-star. If your policy specifies TS007, confirm the specific variant meets it before fitting.

The opinion, plainly

No cylinder upgrade helps a door that's unlocked. A £120 Ultion on a door you've left on the latch while you're in the back garden performs identically to a £12 own-brand one in that situation.

But good habits without adequate hardware leaves you exposed to the other three quarters of burglaries, and potentially arguing with an insurer afterwards. The two aren't alternatives. They work together, or neither works properly.

If you're a landlord with properties in Colnbrook, Wexham or Upton and you haven't checked your cylinder and lock specifications against your tenants' policy requirements recently, it's a sensible audit to run. Not because something dramatic has changed overnight, but because the paperwork matters considerably more once something goes wrong.

We're Rapid Response Locksmiths, based in Slough and covering the SL postcodes, usually on site in under 30 minutes. If you want a straight answer on whether your locks meet your policy conditions, we'll give you one on the call, including the honest answer when everything's fine and nothing needs touching.