Summary of DIY electronic RFID Door Lock with Battery Backup
Summary: The article reports rising burglaries in Germany, peaking in winter, with low conviction rates and many offenses by organized gangs. Most homes are vulnerable: common pin-tumbler locks can be picked silently in seconds using simple tools; higher-end locks slow intruders but are still bypassable or forceable. Police recommend mechanical protections and vigilant neighbors; the article concludes no purely mechanical lock is completely secure and links to a DIY electronic RFID door lock with battery backup as an alternative.
Parts used in theDIY electronic RFID Door Lock with Battery Backup:
- RFID reader
- RFID tags or cards
- Electronic door lock or actuator
- Microcontroller (for control logic)
- Battery backup
- Power supply or adapter
- Wiring and connectors
- Enclosure for electronics
- Mounting hardware
- Optional keypad or buttons
About Burglars
Recently the Spiegel published an article about burglars in Germany:
- Burglars prefer the dark months. In december the insurances report 3 times more housebreakings than in july.
- The police reports that it is very difficult to find the delinquents. Mostly there are no witnesses and no traces. Only in 2,6% of the housebreakings the culprit can be condemned.
- Burglars do not only break into houses of rich people. Everybody can be the victim. In nearly every house they find handies, laptops or money in cash. Especially drug addicts chose houses in their near environment.
- According to the experience of the police the best prevention is a mechanical protection at doors and windows and attentive neighbours. Mostly burglars try only 2 – 3 minutes to break into a house. But in 60% of the cases they are successful.
- This article tells that the German police observes that more and more housebreakings are organized by professional gangs from Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Albania and Georgia.
- There is also another article with a map of Germany that shows the cities where the majority of housebreakings take place. The police counted 152.000 cases in 2015 – tendency increasing.
The majority of door locks is highly insecure
Does your door lock protect you against burglars ?
If your key looks like this one:
it surely does not.
Your door can be opened within a few seconds and you don’t even notice that someone has entered while you were not at home, because there is no damage, neither at the door nor at the lock. Also your neighbours will not hear anything because lockpicking is absolutely silent.
You don’t believe that ?
Then watch this video:
As you have seen: Lockpicking is very easy.
A thief does not even need special tools. He can open your lock with two hairpins!
When you search for “lockpicking” on Youtube you will find 169.000 results.
With electrical vibrators (pick gun) it takes less than 10 seconds to open a lock as you see in this video.
Even for cross locks there are special lockpicking tools that open a lock in 10 seconds as you see in this video.
Better mechanical locks
There are better locks where the key has round holes instead of notches like this KESO 2000 key.
These locks are very expensive. Nevertheless they can also be opened by lockpicking, although it may takes 3 minutes to open them as you see in this video.
Finally locks can be broken with a big plier or opened with a drill as you see in this video.
Conclusion: You will not find a mechanical lock that is really safe.
Read more: DIY electronic RFID Door Lock with Battery Backup
- Do burglars prefer certain months?
Yes, burglars prefer the dark months; insurers report three times more break-ins in December than in July. - Are most housebreakings solved by police?
No, only in 2.6% of housebreakings can the culprit be condemned according to police reports in the article. - Can simple locks be picked silently?
Yes, common door locks can be picked silently within seconds using simple tools like hairpins or pick guns. - Are high-end mechanical locks completely safe?
No, even expensive locks like KESO 2000 can be picked (taking longer) and can also be forced or drilled open. - What prevention measures does the police recommend?
The police recommend mechanical protection at doors and windows and attentive neighbours as the best prevention. - Who are increasingly organizing housebreakings?
The German police observe more organized gangs from Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Albania and Georgia. - How often are burglars successful when trying to break in?
Mostly burglars try 2 to 3 minutes and are successful in 60% of the cases according to the article. - Do burglars target only wealthy homes?
No, burglars do not only break into houses of rich people; nearly every house contains valuables like phones, laptops, or cash. - Are there many resources showing lockpicking methods?
Yes, searching lockpicking on YouTube returns many results; the article cites 169,000 results. - Is there a technological alternative suggested?
The article links to a DIY electronic RFID Door Lock with Battery Backup as an alternative.
