Home burglary nightmare - without burglary protection, the risk of it becoming a reality increases. After all, burglaries occur every three minutes in Germany, over 115,000 times a year¹. Yet just a few burglar-resistant protective measures can directly p
- the most important questions and answers on the subject of burglary protection.
- The most common mistakes that attract burglars.
- Burglar-resistant windows and doors: certified security for houses and flats.
- Addresses and links on the subject of burglary protection that will help you.
The most important questions and answers about private burglary protection
How do burglars get into houses and flats?
In private homes, burglars usually enter via accessible ground floor windows, only 20 per cent via the front door. In apartment blocks, however, they most often enter via the front door.
If there is an accessible cellar door, the burglar can work there in secret. Some balconies are easily accessible via the garage roof and the balcony or patio door is quickly prised open. In an anonymous apartment block with many parties, the ground floor is particularly vulnerable to burglary. Incidentally, almost half of thieves break in during the day.
How do I recognise whether my flat or home is at risk of burglary?
The risk of burglary depends on the location. Your home is particularly attractive to burglars if it is close to the motorway.
- it is close to the motorway . Burglars can get there and away so quickly.
- it is in a secluded location with no neighbours around. The police often recommend higher security classes for mechanical protection and an alarm system with a direct line to a security company or the police. However, this is expensive.
- there is a 3-metre hedge of tuja growing all around or the property is overgrown. This means that someone is sealing themselves off. Burglars can work undisturbed.
What protects against burglary: security technology, guard dog or neighbour to deter thieves?
"Incidentally, a burglary professional can "shred" a burglary protection door that has not been professionally secured from its anchoring in under a minute. Often the cheap Internet purchase was quickly and incorrectly installed by the burglar himself. Only to be broken out of the wall within seconds during a break-in. An expert, on the other hand, fixes the door securely to the masonry." (Lutz Brauneck, Head of Development/Design at PRÜM)
When it comes to burglary protection, mechanical security technology is the top priority. Above all, this is the burglar-resistant front door or entrance door. This already goes a long way towards preventing burglars and thieves. Even a solid oak door, for example, can be made significantly more burglar-proof with the right locking system and professional, stable installation in the brickwork.
Also important: Are there windows that can be reached quickly from a standing position? Then these must also be secured.
Light is a deterrent to thieves and means security: lighting with motion detectors is therefore a good investment. Because burglars shy away from the "limelight". However, the motion detector must be mounted out of reach so that it cannot be torn off or turned away.
Speaking of lights: leave them on here and there when you are not at home. This also deters burglars.
Cheap becomes expensive: How much does burglary protection cost?
Many people would rather spend money on the design of their house or flat door than on burglary protection. Yet a burglar-proof door for a flat or house is available for as little as 1,000 euros, plus professional installation. With many multifunctional or soundproof doors burglary protection is already included. But: Please always check the certificate!
Certified resistance class: burglar-resistant in accordance with DIN standard EN 1627
The certificate applies to a burglar-resistant system. If individual points are missing or have been installed incorrectly, then the entire burglary protection is "shaky".
The test certificate attests to this: This door is burglar-resistant. This is because the DIN standard EN 1627 is only awarded to doors that have been tested according to strict test criteria. The lock side, hinge side, panel or glass cut-out, door leaf and the entire interior withstand burglars. Nobody can simply kick the door in.
A specimen is completely dismantled on the test stand as part of the weak point analysis and the weak point is identified. A second, new door is then tested. The aim is to overpower the door. Only a door system "from a single mould" will stand up to the test.
What are the benefits of security technology? Hands off dummy cameras!
The police advise against dummy cameras: If a red light flashes, then every burglar knows that this box isfake. Because a real video camera doesn't need that. Nevertheless, it is usually useless. The images are often too dark and blurred. What's more, many burglars are unrecognisable even when wearing a balaclava.
Who is responsible for burglary protection? Landlord or tenant?
"Our current building law does not describe a usable minimum standard for burglary protection. This is voluntary. It's a shame, because there are binding specifications for other functional areas such as energy efficiency." (Lutz Brauneck, Head of Development/Construction at PRÜM)
Tenants themselves are responsible for making their flats burglar-proof. However, they can hope to receive funding from the KfW Bank.
KfW funding for burglar-resistant doors
If you replace your old, ugly, noisy entrance door with a burglar-resistant door, the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), for example, will subsidise ten percent of the costs (the first 1,000 euros of which is even 20 percent). This can amount to a total of up to 1,600 euros per funding application.
"Incidentally, the new, secure door in rented flats can have two sides: an attractive one on the inside that matches the interior design. And one that meets the landlord's (design) specifications on the outside," says Lutz Brauneck.
More security with a smart home?
If you're very lucky, you can use a smart home to detect an attempted break-in at home from your holiday thanks to an alarm. Unfortunately, this doesn't always work. If images are also to be transmitted, a good W-LAN is usually required. In addition, he also needs to find out what to do in the event of a break-in before going on holiday: if you are on holiday in Spain and dial -110, you will not reach the police station at home. This is not an emergency call to Germany.
These are the most common mistakes that attract burglars during a holiday.
- The letterbox is overflowing. This is a clear signal to gangs of burglars that this flat has been empty for a long time and that nobody is looking after it at the moment.
- The answering machine readily reveals your holiday destination and duration.
- Your holiday pictures on Facebook & Co. show everyone that you are far away. Burglars are also on the move on social media.
- Your key is hidden "at the house". It's better to entrust keys to a neighbour. Then they can regularly check on your home, open the blinds, bring in the post and switch on the light.
- Your windows are left ajar. The doors are not locked either.
Burglar-proof windows: lockable, with safety glass
Is impact-resistant film a good solution? Only to a limited extent. Because burglars would rather prise open windows than accept broken glass. After all, broken glass means noise and risk of injury. That's why only ten per cent of burglars "go over the glass". If the thieves do, a lockable window handle can thwart the break-in attempt. Because the handle does not get any further through the hole in the window, the burglar would have to make a larger hole to get through. But most burglars shy away from this.
Just because windows close tightly doesn't make them burglar-proof. "If we had known that, we would have spent more," the police often hear when burglars have "cracked" a new window.
The "supreme discipline" for windows is security or laminated glass. However, this is not standard for windows. The police recommend burglar-resistant windows with special glazing in accordance with DIN 104, Part 2, but here too, professional installation is crucial. Otherwise, the most secure window can simply be levered out in a matter of seconds.
Link list burglary protection
How do you make life difficult for burglars? www.sicheres-zuhause.info/de/FAQ
What to do after a burglary? www.energie-fachberater.de/ratgeber...
Anyone who invests in burglary protection can receive state subsidies. www.kfw.de/inlandsfoerderung/Privat...
PRÜM is certified and regularly (over)inspected by independent experts - in accordance with "DIN burglar-resistant" or DIN CERTCO
The PRÜM burglar protection door received a police seal of approval in 2017.