Ask homeowners to name areas they will focus security investments on, and you will hear about door locks, alarm systems, and maybe driveway gates. Side gates are seldom mentioned. Even when mentioned, they are always afterthoughts - additional budgetary costs to complement security plans implemented elsewhere.
This misallocation is precisely what opportunistic criminals rely on.
The side passage poses the biggest vulnerability to access in most semi-detached and terraced houses in the UK. The passage connects the front road to the rear garden through minimal natural surveillance and, in most instances, the cheap side gate that came with the house originally. Realising the importance of these factors and the fact that the security investment required here is much lower than what homeowners expect, helps redefine property security.
Why Side Access Gets Targeted
Opportunistic burglars perform quick security assessment of properties. What they look for is quick access, minimal natural surveillance, and quietness in case of any forced entry. The front part of a property fails the test - it fronts the main street and thus draws attention through natural surveillance from neighbours and passers-by. Any forced entry leaves visible traces.
The side passage is the complete opposite in these terms - it faces the street perpendicularly and is normally surrounded with fences that reduce surveillance from other properties. Access efforts are concealed from natural surveillance. It also provides direct access to rear gardens with numerous secondary entry options like patio doors, back windows, and outbuildings, all of which provide access away from the main road.
The statistics of insurance companies shows the same trend - rear garden access through side passages is featured frequently in residential burglary claims compared to forced front door entry. However, the investment put in securing side gates is insignificant compared to the front door equipment.
The Height Factor
Most homeowners fail to understand this aspect of side gate security. Fences 1.8 metres or 6 feet tall are widely used as standard height for side gates. While the height may be enough as a means of achieving privacy, it makes a poor security barrier.
Any person determined to break into the house can climb over a 1.8 metre fence easily. The barrier effect is negligible in this situation. The deterrent effect, which is the true security mechanism, relies on creation of barriers that look imposing to an intruder, not inconvenient.
Side gates taller than 2 metres make a difference. Increasing the height does not add to the barrier effect but it sends a message to the potential intruders about your seriousness regarding security matters. Such a gate acts as a deterrent even before the intruder contacts it.
In case when the height of a gate becomes an issue in planning because of proximity to highways, which often requires planning permission for gates taller than 2 metres, the way to solve the problem does not lie in the height but in good quality of hardware and construction.
Construction and Specifications Really Matter
The difference between adequate and inadequate side gate security is not about price - it is about construction specifications and hardware.
Antilift features are normally overlooked. The standard hinges do not prevent gates from being lifted from their mounting position once the lock mechanism has been compromised. It takes seconds and leaves almost no trace behind. Hinges with antilift pins or bolts eliminate this method altogether. The upgrade is insignificant in terms of costs but eliminates important vulnerability created by basic gate installation.
Locking system of a side gate deserves to be chosen more carefully than normally done in standard installations. Basic latching system gives a visual deterrent but does not offer much resistance. Padlock hasps, multilocked mechanisms and key-operated locks provide increasingly resistant gate opening mechanisms. Each of them requires longer time and more noise during forced entry and thus serves as a great deterrent to opportunistic criminals.
Fixing of both hinges and locks to posts and frames is as important as the hardware itself. The components with poor fixings installed to poorly specified posts will be able to be levered off regardless of their quality. The weakest link of the security chain is the fixings in poorly specified side gates.
Steel Material and Security Effectiveness
Timber side gates are quite common - they are available at affordable prices, are easy to obtain and are aesthetically pleasing. What they are not - is difficult to defeat in a short time and without making noise.
Steel material makes a fundamental difference here - the steel gates resist cutting, bending and other attacks that make easy work of timber gates. The material does not splinter under any blows, cannot be cut with hand tools quietly and does not decay, which may result in additional security vulnerabilities in the future.
The powder-coating of the steel gate ensures maintenance of its structural integrity during many years of British weather without developing any rotten and warped joints as happens with timber gates. Steel side gates remain at their initial specification throughout their whole life. While timber gates can initially have adequate security specifications, they decay and become vulnerable without homeowners knowing until the problem occurs.
The Autumn Time Frame
Side gate security becomes especially important when we are approaching autumn and winter months. Longer nights expand the window of opportunity for low-visibility crimes. The period around Christmas correlates specifically with higher rates of residential burglary, due to increasing value of household possessions and long periods of absence of the house owners.
Evaluating side gate security in advance, when the risk profile is low, in the late autumn before October and November will allow to make a deliberate decision instead of reactive purchases done in emergency situation.
Security Without Sacrificing Style
The claim about compromising aesthetics of a security gate in order to achieve effective protection is not correct. Our Classic, Clifton, Stirling, Manor, and Saxon side gates combine authentic steel construction and true security with attractive and proportionate design suitable for different styles of properties. The Royale range of gates extends this - high-quality construction combined with high-end decoration to enhance appearance of the properties and provide necessary security specification.
Side gate security is not a luxury item. It is the boundary investment that properties require the most.