HARDWARE&SECURITY
SPONSORED BY DAVENPORT BURGESS
AVOCET CALLS ON AMAZON TO
END LOCK-SNAPPING TOOL TRADE
A West Yorkshire company has called on Amazon to ban the
sale of tools specifically designed to assist in lock-snapping.
Brighouse-based Avocet
Hardware, which
manufactures the ABS
snap-secure lock, says it is
astonished that items such
as a pocket sized snapper
bar for anti-snap cylinders
and a premium lock snapper
bar are readily available to
buy for as little as £34.95 on
Amazon.
Avocet director, Dr Tinkle
Jain said: “Lock-snapping has
fast become one of the most
popular means of forced entry
into UK homes, meaning
untold misery for millions
of Britons every year, but for
some reason Amazon sees fit
to sell products that enable
thieves to bypass the vast
majority of security locks
on the market in a matter of
seconds.”
“Yes – these products may
well be viewed as locksmith’s
trade tools, but they are readily
available to members of the
general public and it’s fair
to say that only particularly
unscrupulous members of the
public are going to search for
them, let alone buy them.”
According to a report from
West Yorkshire Police in 2012,
27 per cent of burglaries in the
region could be attributed to
lock-snapping. More recently,
a number of other forces have
unofficially stated that over
half of burglaries are now the
result of lock-snapping. While
the BBC’s Watchdog Test
House highlighted the extent
of the lock-snapping problem
in an episode aired on 13
March 2014.
“The growth in lock-snapping
has seen more and more
manufacturers launching
snap-secure locks and systems
aimed at keeping the burglars
at bay,” continued Dr Jain.
“As with any emerging
product market the quality of
the new solutions is variable,
but in this instance it is
governed by two standards –
BSI’s TS007 and Sold Secure’s
SS312 Diamond Standard
– with accreditation by both
parties being a true signal of
product quality.”
The growth in lock-snapping
is linked to the ever increasing
usage of uPVC and other
‘quality is governed
by two accreditation
standards’
double glazed doors. The
majority of these doors are
secured with a standard
Euro-cylinder lock, which can
be snapped in seconds using
nothing more than simple DIY
tools. The snap-proof solutions
that have been developed as a
result of this are considerably
more robust, but many of them
won’t stand up to the tools
being sold on Amazon.
‘needs to take
immediate steps
to take these locksnapping products
off its website’
“Amazon is as good as
arming the thieves and really
needs to take immediate steps
to take these lock-snapping
products off its website,” added
Dr Jain.
“I’m just surprised that the
frequently bought together
suggestions alongside these
products don’t include a
balaclava and a swag bag.”
homesecurityandsafety.co.uk
56
THE MAY/JUN 2014 ISSUE
SPONSORED BY ASSA ABLOY Security Solutions
To read more, visit www.locksmithjournal.co.uk