In every decent movie or TV thriller, there is a moment when the protagonist finds a locked door and pulls out a credit card or a hairpin or perhaps a neat, leather-bound lock picker set without a break. With a few expert jiggles, the door gives way, and we viewers happily accept this absurd little trope – as if it could ever be that easy to pick a lock.
Except sometimes it’s that simple. And picking a lock might not be the big deal, it seems (more on that below).
How we learned to pick locks
Not that long ago, out of curiosity, we bought a cheap lock picking kit from Amazon while testing smart bolt locks. And in no time, we’ve made the grim discovery that it is far less complicated to poke a variety of popular locks (smart and non-smart) and successfully open them, usually in minutes – and occasionally in just a few seconds. (No, really: I have an impatient 6 year old with fiddly fingers, and he successfully got caught in a training padlock.) To be clear, there are tons of locks out there that are tough and almost impossible (although not actually impossible) to select. But many of the popular bolts and door locks sold in large physical stores (locks that live on your front and back door right now) are the kind my sweet boy who can’t tell the difference between a hammer and a hammer Screwdriver, has a good chance of breaking in.
On the surface, this isn’t great for obvious reasons (unless you’re a movie star hero). So, during the testing for our guide to the best smart locks, we tried to break into our smart lock candidates last year. When we managed to break into a lock, we tried repeating the process to make sure it wasn’t stupid luck. We then excluded endangered locks from being wirecutter picks; that happened twice. (We also tried fooling fingerprint readers, with some success. But that’s for another post.)
After going through this process for about a year – and discovering a few more locks that were easy to pick – we had a discussion among the editors and did some research. We also took a closer look at the FBI’s 2019 annual report on crime statistics (the latest available) and any burglary rate studies we could find. And now we don’t think it’s all such a big deal.
Burglars are like us – they’re in a hurry
Crime statistics can be biased, however the overall trends for burglary are steady and very encouraging: having burglaries decreased by more than 80% since the 80s. Estimates vary, but many insurance companies and Alarm companies report that most break-ins last around 10 minutes (and sometimes a lot less). This makes sense because time is an important factor for a burglar – the Insurance Information Institute says that most burglars give up if the break-in lasts more than four or five minutes. And for the most part, burglars typically don’t rely on cat-burglar skills: FBI data shows that in 2019 about a third of burglars gained access to property through unlocked or open entrances. About two thirds of them forced entry or attempted entry. This includes everything from prying open or kicking in a door to breaking open a window and picking locks. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (which collects crime data nationwide) has no information on how often locks are picked during break-ins. But one of the few sources in the area –a study by UNC Charlotte from 2012 (PDF) from repeat offenders from three states – suggests this is a skill that is rarely used.
When you put all of these statistics together, you find that burglars are sensibly looking for the fastest way to get their job done with the least risk of getting caught. Security expert Marc Weber Tobias also confirms this in our guide to the best door lock. “Here’s the thing: burglars don’t pick locks. Burglars have nothing to do with that, â€he said. Instead, imagine a person secretly jiggling doorknobs or trying to quickly smash and grab against someone standing at a door, adrenaline pumping, and taking an unknown amount of time fiddling with a collection of dieters in Hoping to get it right beforehand and discovered the cops will come. It certainly has to happen, but it is the wrong thing to focus on. The most important statistic you need to know in order to protect your home is: Burglars avoid well-lit houses with surveillance cameras and / or security systems.
The bars to consider
All of this doesn’t mean that we would ever recommend that you buy junky hardware. On the contrary, we believe a well-built bolt is essential, as burglars often start their work by breaking open a lock and locks typically one ANSI class that reflects the durability of your hardware. Our pick for the best smart lock, the Ultralock U-Bolt Pro, features a sturdy brass bolt as well as a Schlage C-keyway; it is in the process of being certified, but the company is expecting an ANSI Class 1. The Schlage Encode is also ANSI Class 1 (our other picks are adapter models based on your existing latch and therefore not ANSI Class).
Our conclusion: We are of the opinion that a homeowner should not necessarily overlook an otherwise robust bolt or a lock with good equipment just because it can be cracked. Finally, if you ask a locksmith (or a professional locksmith) they will tell you that there has never been a lock that cannot be picked.
