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When business owners plan their building security to prevent burglaries and break-ins, they pay a lot of attention to the front of the building. But the back doors are equally vulnerable to a break-in, if not more so. According to FBI statistics, most commercial burglaries occur when a business is closed, and 58% of break-ins are by forced entry.
So it may be even more important to focus on the security of the back doors of commercial buildings. What makes the back doors more vulnerable is that they are typically not visible to normal foot or vehicle traffic. And back doors often open to alleys or delivery areas that are poorly lit, which offers would-be burglars more freedom to perpetrate a break-in.
Back doors of businesses may be used as an employee entrance, or they may be intended exclusively as an emergency exit. In either case, the security hardware that is installed on the doors can be beefed up with additional security features. Multi-point locking systems offer the most effective security for back doors. These systems can include a re-latching feature or a deadbolt that must be reset with a key.
Hinges are another area of vulnerability on back doors that open to the outside of the building. With the hinges on the outside, they can be easily compromised to gain access to the building. One power tool can remove the hinges to allow the door to be pulled open from the hinge side. One way to combat this is to add hinge-side bolts, which can be as simple to install as drilling 3 holes and installing 2 screws.
The main goal is to delay potential intruders from entering the building for as long as possible. The ideal combination of products for achieving that goal includes a 3-point locking panic device with a deadbolt and alarm, and additional hinge-side bolts. This combination can provide up to 16,000 pounds of static pull force, which in most cases is more robust than a door frame installed into a brick wall.
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