If your home is broken into then this is an extremely traumatic event. You may lose costly possessions and items of sentimental value. Your home could be vandalised and you will be left feeling vulnerable. It is easy to imagine potential intruders creeping around in your back garden and trying to gain access through one of your windows. But the truth is that many burglars will enter your home through your front door.

It is vital to ensure that your front door doesn’t represent an open invitation to unwelcome visitors and that doesn’t mean that it actually has to be open! Many doors do not present great challenges to seasoned criminals and might just as well be left open for all the security that they provide.

Here’s what you should do to maximise the security of your front door:

• Your door should be fitted with a five lever mortice lock (British Standard 3621 or European Standard EN12209).
• You should replace any glass panels with toughened glass or laminated glass as plate glass is easy to break and intruders can then reach the locks.
• If possible, fit a spy hole.
• Fit a door chain or limiter.
• Check that the door’s hinges are secure – use good quality, long screws and consider fitting hinge bolts.
• Check the integrity of your door frame because a door is only as strong as the frame it is attached to.
• Do not install letter boxes closer than 400mm to the door lock as potential intruders will be able to reach through the letter box and unlock the door.
• Do not fit a letter box to the bottom of the door as this enables unscrupulous people to grab mail from the floor and use it to steal your identity.
• Consider an internal cover plate or letter basket (remove the bottom of the basket to prevent mail theft).
• Don’t leave your door unlocked at any time.
• Don’t leave spare keys under pots or plants in the garden or hanging inside the door.

Choose the Right Front Door

Some doors are more secure that others and so if you are concerned about security then you should choose your front door wisely. Whilst uPVC doors are cheaper options than wooden styles and offer better thermal and sound insulation, they do not enable you to retro-fit security devices and they can be less than robust. Most modern uPVC doors do feature multi-point locking systems and/or bolts and so provide good protection but if you have an older door it could be worth replacing it.

Composite doors are a great choice if you do replace your front door. They are extremely strong and very secure. They look more stylish than uPVC models and deliver excellent thermal and sound insulation.

30% of break-ins are the result of a door or window being left unlocked. Don’t become a victim because you have made yourself an easy target! Fit a good quality door and the right locks, ensure the frame is secure, keep spare keys safe and always use your security devices. Then a potential intruder just might choose another house to rob!