A resource for consumers, locksmiths, and security professionals
There are innumerable costs that stack up when you are attempting to properly invest in your security. You can save money if you forego the price of lock changes with the cheaper option of rekeying a lock, but this might diminish the overall return on the investment. There are so many things you need to know about the price of a locksmith, let alone all the costs of security products.
Security is not like a standard investment, and it is not obvious how to determine what a “return” would be. The most effective security will seem like it is doing nothing at all, so it can be close to impossible to figure out if your security is working or you had nothing to worry about in the first place.
When it comes to security, you calculate the return on your investment up front. For example, if you purchase an Abloy Protec2, the lock is as close to unpickable as possible, bump keys cannot open the lock, and it is one of the most difficult residential locks to cut or drill open. All of those factors are returns on the initial investment.
Every threat that you significantly reduce your vulnerability to, or become impervious to, are a return. If you are not getting a protection you need, or not to the degree you require, then you are not maximizing your returns.
There is no such thing as perfect security, which means that if someone wants to gain access to your property, they can. Because of this, you can keep spending money on security indefinitely. So it becomes paramount to know what level of security will achieve your goals, and it likely costs less than you would think.
What you do not want to do is invest in security that costs and offers less protection than some other product. You can see this issue when you looking into door lock prices, but also in the trouble with using security cameras effectively as compared to other similarly priced means of physical security.
When you are purchasing security or paying for security services, you want to spend no less than 10% of the value of what you are protecting, on the security used to defend it. This is due to the fact that when it comes to security, in most cases, you get what you pay for.
The 10% rule is more of a guideline than a hard and fast dictate, but it is important to not violate it to severely. Obviously, security has diminishing returns beyond a certain point, but this is meant as a type of thought experiment. The rule is designed to get people to see how ridiculous it is to try to cut costs or spend too much on protecting valuables.
If you are securing $5,000 worth of firearms, jewelry, electronics, etc., in your home, it does not sound all that outrageous to spend $500 protecting it. And those are just the items that have a price tag. Similarly, it puts things into perspective, so you don’t spend more than you need protecting something that is unlikely to be stolen and cheap to replace.
The loss of a vehicle includes the cost to replace and losses incurred by a lack of transportation. Car insurance can take care of some of these costs, but only if you have the proper coverage. They are unlikely to cover any items that are stolen from the car unless those items themselves are insured separately. If you have any aftermarket installs, such as sound systems, rims, etc., those are unlikely to be covered by basic vehicle theft policies.
All cars and motorcycles are not built with the same level of protection, and this is exceedingly true in the case of classic car security, for the simple reason that security technology has progressed. But many luxury, exotic, and high-end automobiles have more security measures than more common cars, even though cheaper cars are more likely to be stolen and broken into.
When it comes to protecting your cars and motorcycles, it is a good idea to consult with an auto locksmith because they can offer you more insights and ideas than alarms. For example, when it comes to motorcycle security, you need to know about locks and chains. Locksmiths are also filled with a wealth of information pertaining to basic security tips for preventing car theft.
There are also certain car security measures you might not be aware of. One of which is invalidating lost or stolen car keys. A car locksmith can invalidate key remotes, key fobs, and transponder keys through the car’s onboard computer. For physical keys, you can change your car lock cylinders and/or change your ignition cylinder.
The cost of duplicating car keys is always less than the cost of getting a new car. When there are keys that are unaccounted for, your vehicle is in danger. If you are worried about the cost to change broken car locks, ask yourself about whether or not your car door locks are putting your vehicle in jeopardy.
In the case of broken car locks, many people try to deal with a car door lock that does not automatically lock by always remember to lock that one door manually. Humans are flawed, so the better your existing security works, the less you have to worry about forgetting or some form of operator error.
Home security is the most difficult worth to calculate because it comes down to the value you place on the wellbeing of yourself and everyone else in the home. From that point, you can factor in things like computers, instruments, firearms, cash, etc. The combined total can then be weighed against the likelihood of experiencing a robbery or burglary.
Whether you need homeowner or apartment security tips, things like how to burglar-proof windows and improve the security of your front door will come in handy. This is not just about what type of locks you are using, but the more complicated layering of things like structural support, monitoring, and planned response.
A home locksmith can help you sort through something as basic as choosing the best door lock brand, as well as using rekeying or replacing your locks to strengthen your security. There are seemingly endless ways that you can improve the security of a home, but not everyone is going to give you the type of protection you need.
Rather than pay for every protection under the sun, which not even the richest people and institutions can do, you need to invest in the security that is going to give the type of returns you need. Likely this is going to include improving the strength of your front door, as this is the most likely place for a criminal to attempt to break through.
There are many good options for your home security, but there is only one best option. The fastest way to find out what that one best option entails is to call a locksmith. Just as a way to demonstrate the complexity is which of the many cost-effective ways to secure a sliding glass door are you going to use?
Another thing that you have to consider about investing in your home security is the type of physical security threats you can expect to experience. Your security has to do more than just protect your property, it has to protect people. And when bad things happen, your security can be catastrophic if it keeps good people in while trying to keep bad people out.
Most instances of business security are predominantly concerned with burglary so that you can protect commercial your property. Theft can result in company downtime, the loss of sensitive information, and can result in the loss of any stored cash.
Whether you are doing pre-planning or looking to rebuild your security after an office break-in, the main thing you need to do is reduce the risk of employee theft. According to the available information about who steals from businesses, the facts are in that you need to worry about the people who work for you.
A commercial locksmith cannot vet your employees for you, but they can provide you with the tools you need for key control and accountability. Whether it is the security of a retail shop or warehouse security, there is a way to restrict access so that you minimize your risk of theft.
Because you are potentially dealing with protecting assets of such a substantial monetary value, and there is a severe vulnerability, there is a lot that you need to do to protect your business. In terms of digital security, there is a lot to invest in. Hiring is very important as well. But the part a locksmith can help with comes down to the physical security of your building.
With so much money at stake, you need to determine what your level of vulnerability is in a physical sense. The more information and overall value that is cloistered in one area, the more protection that area needs. Even digital information and electronically stored liquid assets have physical portals that need physical security.
The 10% rule is your guiding principle that you will use after you have some idea as to the value of what you are trying to protect. From the breakdown of your budget overview, it is up to you to figure out how to invest those funds. The return on that investment is calculated by the protections that the security measure affords you. If you need help understanding what you need to protect, any part of your life or all of your valuables, contact a locksmith.
Category: How To's, Safety & Security
