Sliding door targeted in robberies

DURBAN North SAPS has warned residents to secure their sliding doors after an increase in house robberies. According to Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the station, there were three incidents last week but the trend had been steadily increasing. Longwoods Drive, St Andrews Drive and Broadwood Drive were just some of the cases opened last week where criminals entered through sliding doors.

“Criminals have also targeted B&B’s and holiday homes. Sliding doors have two weak areas in terms of home security issues. First, they are relatively easy to open. Secondly, a bar can be placed under the exterior edge of the door and by prying upward the sliding panel can be lifted out of the track and removed,” he said.

Deokaran said the trend could be combated by fitting locks on to the sliding door. “The problem of the sliding panel being lifted from its track and removed from the outside, can be prevented by inserting screws in the upper track. The heads of these screws should protrude down far enough to prevent the door from being lifted out of the bottom track. Another option is to purchase specially made sliding glass door locks which are available at most hardware stores,” he said.

“Another aspect of the crime method which has significant implications from an insurance point of view is some of the residents who have been robbed where the sliding doors were taken off their hinges were not covered by their insurance policies, because they had not secured it with a sliding door lock,” he said.