Andrea L. was taking a shower at her home in Pleasanton, California when she heard a loud banging noise and her dogs barking.
Andrea jumped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and ran downstairs to see what the commotion was.
According to Andrea, “I didn’t know what it was. Half the house was shaking.”
Just as Andrea made it downstairs, two masked men kicked in the front door of her Bay Area home in an attempted home-invasion.
Thankfully, the two men were scared off by Andrea who was screaming at them.
Home surveillance footage shows one of the men knocking on the front door.
When no one answers the door, thinking no one is home, the two men break the door down.
According to Lt. Brandon Stocking with the Pleasanton Police Department, this is a pattern law enforcement sees quite often.
“It’s when they get no answer, they go forward with the burglary,” says Lt. Stocking.
Andrea and her husband Darren think their home was randomly targeted.
“When they saw me pull out to take my oldest to (school), they thought, ‘Oh. They are gone. No one is there.’ It’s an empty driveway,” explains Darren.
The scary thing is, the family has security signs posted at the front of the house, an alarm system, security cameras, even barking dogs, but that didn’t stop the bad guys.
The fact is, a burglary occurs every 15 seconds in the U.S. and 33% of burglars enter the home through the front door.
In other words, this isn’t a crime that is going away and the front door is often the first line of defense.
With that being said, I want to share with you some of the best security devices to keep your front door from being easily kicked in.
NightLock. The Nightlock works like a vertical doorstop near the base of your door.
It’s made of solid aluminum and it’s a great option if you don’t want to mess around with trying to jam a bar under your doorknob.
However, it’s a more permanent solution because it does require installation.
The best thing about the NightLock is that the base plate is screwed into the floor and the vertical barricade rail slides into the base plate, creating a barrier that prevents the door from opening.
My point is, this device is permanently installed and you simply remove the rail to open the door.
Master Lock Security Bar. If you are looking for an inexpensive option to add a little security, the Master Lock Security Bar is one of your choices.
The Master Lock bar is designed to fit securely under a door knob or it can fit into the track of a sliding patio door. Both options require no tools.
A pivoting ball joint on the Master Lock ensures the device has full contact with the floor even if you don’t line it up perfectly.
It only weighs about 2.5 pounds, making it easy to handle and move around to other doors.
If you travel frequently and had the room to pack it, the Master Lock bar is a great option.
The bar is designed to withstand up to 350 pounds of pressure and it comes with a padded foot to protect your floor, while keeping the door closed.
Haven Mech Door Lock. Haven produces a floor-anchored, mechanical locking wedge that blocks the door at its the base.
The Haven lock is made with steel and military grade nylon.
The wedge uses industrial-strength polycarbonate that bends when someone tries to force open the door and flexes to use attackers’ energy against them.
Similar to the NightLock, the Haven lock is installed onto hardwood, tile, concrete, vinyl or over carpet by screwing into the floor via its 6 install holes on the bottom of the unit.
Haven’s wedge is activated by either a foot press on the baseplate, or via the Smartphone app.
The basic Haven Mech door lock, that does not include Wi-Fi connectivity sells for $150. The updated version with Wi-Fi capability sells for $350.
The bottom line is, one of the weakest points on any exterior doorframe is the strike plate or the place where the deadbolt goes into the frame.
Oftentimes, standard door locks can be defeated with a couple of kicks.
While the devices mentioned above may not completely stop an intruder, they will no doubt slow them down and give you a chance to react to an incoming threat.
