Forget the film version — the picked lock, the glass cutter, the night-vision goggles. Real domestic break-ins are fast, quiet and depressingly practical, and they cluster around a handful of methods that barely change from year to year. Our locksmiths see the aftermath of all of them, which means we also know the specific fix for each. Here they are, in roughly the order we encounter them.
A large share of UK burglaries involve no force at all — the burglar tried the handle and walked in. The uPVC version of this is subtler and catches careful people out: lifting the handle engages the multipoint hooks, but until you turn the key the door is not deadlocked, and a flexed door or slipped latch opens it. Locking the door means turning the key, every time, even when you're in. It is the only method on this list with a fix that costs nothing.
The standard euro cylinder fitted to millions of uPVC and composite doors has a structural weak point at its centre. Grip it, apply leverage, and it snaps in under a minute, exposing the mechanism behind — no skill, no noise to speak of, ordinary hand tools. This is the defining UK forced-entry method, and the defence is specific and affordable: a TS007 3-star or SS312 Diamond cylinder engineered to defeat the attack. Our anti-snap guide covers how to check what you have in two minutes.
A surprising amount of forced entry is just leverage — a screwdriver or small bar worked into the gap between door and frame, or under a window sash, until something gives. The defences are unglamorous and effective: solid keeps screwed into solid frame material, hinge bolts on outward-opening doors, properly fitted window locks, and the simple discipline of fixing the small frame damage from any failed attempt, because a levered frame that "still works" is pre-weakened for the next visit.
If keys hang or sit within reach of the letterbox, a hook on a rod can have them in seconds — and if they're car keys, the car is gone with zero forced entry. The same geometry applies to thumbturn locks within reach of glazing or the letterbox: smash or reach, turn, open. Keep keys genuinely out of reach of the door, fit a letterbox cage or internal cowl, and think twice about thumbturns adjacent to glass.
The rear of the house offers what every burglar wants — time and privacy. An unlocked side gate is an invitation to both; a locked one forces the approach into public view. At the back, key-operated window locks, secured outbuildings (and the tools inside them), and lighting on the approach remove the comfort that makes rear entries attractive.
A named, vetted master locksmith covers your area — no call-out fee.
Unlocked doors → turn the key, every time. Snapping → rated anti-snap cylinders. Levering → reinforced keeps, hinge bolts, window locks. Letterbox fishing → key discipline and a cage. Rear approaches → locked gates, lit paths, secured sheds. Every one of these is a job our locksmiths do daily, usually in a single visit — and if you'd like the whole property assessed honestly, every LocksmithLocal branch offers free security surveys with no obligation. Find your local locksmith here, or work through the 10-minute checklist yourself.
Being burgled once measurably raises the odds of being burgled again — often within weeks. Why returning makes sense to a burglar, and the 48-hour plan that makes it pointless.
It's about events, not calendars. Moving house, lost keys, a break-in, an ex with a key, a lock that's started telling you — the seven moments the trade takes seriously.
By tonight, nobody but you should hold a working key. The keys you'll never see, the new-build myth, and why UK doors make this the easiest win on the moving checklist.