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.
‘QUALITY IS GOVERNED BY TWO ACCREDIATION STANDARDS’
“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 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.
“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.”