Do you lock your door when you’re in the house?

[patienceandprudence]

Inspired by another thread (no prizes for guessing which).

I was surprised that people lock their doors sheen inside the house. Granted, we live in a small house, but it’s in a ‘bad’ area. We never lock our door when someone’s in, except at night if someone remembers. I’d say we leave it unlocked while out a good 30% of the time so if the kids come back or someone drops by to visit they don’t have to wait outside.

In my area this is the norm, and most of the time if you knock you’ll just be called in and told to walk right in next time. We tell anyone the same, even the regular delivery-people know that they can open the door and put the parcel in if it’s open.

I was burgled by someone just walking in many years ago, since then all doors locked.

I live in a city so no unlocked doors. Gate locked. Doors all closed. Cameras at key entry points

Yes, ours locks automatically when it closes. Are there front doors that don’t?

our front door 'clicks' shut when you pull it closed but can easily be opened with a credit card or a hard kick. takes seconds and not much skill required.

I once left my front door wide open by mistake for a whole day. Nothing happened.

Mine automatically lock themselves when they close. The rear door is wide open when I'm at home from when I get out of bed until it gets dark, unless I'm going out for the dog's to wander in and out as they please.

Front door locked but backdoor wide open usually. Last house in town both doors unlocked all day only front door locked at night. Nothing happened in 5 years

The door used to be unlocked as we have electric gates, so no-one can get to the door without being let in.
But now we have a toddler that can reach the handle so it’s locked to keep her in!

@MrsSkylerWhite

Yes, ours locks automatically when it closes. Are there front doors that don’t?

We deliberately have to put it on latch to keep it open.

Of course not all doors lock automatically. Mine doesn't. I have to put a key in and turn it to lock my front door

You bet I lock my front door. I'm amazed you have to ask.

Years ago at university, I lived in shared houses where housemates would roll in drunk and forget to lock up. We were burgled in three different houses due to people's carelessness - robbed while we slept. It just goes to show how many chancers go around trying doors.

Always locked whether we are in or out. It is totally naïve and daft not to.

Only at night. I live in a village where most people know each other on quite a main road, so there would be a lot of witnesses to a stranger letting themselves in. Most people in the village are the same, although I have one friend who religiously locks hers all the time.

I always lock the door, reason being that the layout of the house means where I prefer to sit is the point furthest from the front door and I wouldn't hear if anyone decided to sneak in.

No - but if I lived in Catford I would!

Yes, plus cameras, gate locks, alarm & a big barky dog. I live in a low crime area and have done for decades but grew up in a high crime area and it’s just ingrained into me.

I have always locked my door, partly because I live on my own. I do remember in the 60s my mother would walk to the local shops five minutes away and leave the door unlocked. However she stopped doing this after Thatcher came to power and crime rates went up because people were desperate.

We don't lock it, but it has a latch so can't be opened from the outside anyway.

Where I live you can't get home insurance unless your front door locks automatically.

There have been several incidents locally, and the police don't recommend leaving the door open.

In our current and former homes we didn’t need to physically lock them from the inside as they’re on locks which automatically lock in to place when the door shuts.

I would ensure a chain was on in the day otherwise though, as where we used to live was an area of very high crime, and where we live now is a fairly busy street.

My parents lock theirs from nightfall, but generally don’t during the day as it’s in a quiet town with one of the lowest rates of crime anywhere. They also have an inner porch door, so you have to walk through two doors to gain entry, by which time an intruder would’ve been heard.

Yes, always. We have been burgled (though not by a walk-in - they smashed a glass door pane round the back) and know that people have been trying doors on our estate periodically. It takes no time to do and I don't see any downside?

Also 3 big loud dogs and 2 small yappy types. It's a high crime area and when you see how easy it is for someone to just brazenly walk into your home in broad daylight, then it puts things into perspective.

Front door is always locked with keys kept nearby in case we need to make a sharp exit due to fire or whatever. We come and go via the back door. I have a little plastic thingie on the inside that you can simply flip over with your hand as you shut the back door - it isn’t exactly locked, but it secures the door so no-one can saunter in. I have one fitted on all the back doors after a locksmith told me how difficult they are for burglars to get past. They are so simple to just tip over with your hand as you pull the door shut. No faffing with keys. We’re rural, with very low domestic crime (and a very barky dog), but sometimes that makes me think it’s even more important to keep doors locked, as if I was the burgling sort I’d be straight out to the countryside and nipping in and out of all those permanently unlocked doors helping myself to all manner of goodies.

The front door is always locked. The back door leads off the kitchen and we don't always lock it if we're pottering about in the kitchen and going in and out to the outhouse where the washing machine/dryer and an extra fridge freezer are, but other than that yes we do lock it. I'm currently in the living room, right beside the kitchen, and the door is locked. We live in a low crime area but you just never know.

We always lock the doors. We are not in a bad area but we got a security camera a few years ago. Dh goes through the footage every morning and more often that you'd believe we've had people walk down our drive and try doors and the car doors. We'd have never known before the camera.

Our doors are always locked, whether we are in or out - unless I’m literally just taking something to the bins ten feet away or putting something in the car on the driveway for a couple of seconds. Our insurance depends on it for a start, and it saves remembering to “lock up” at night, cos it’s always locked up. I’m baffled by people who leave their doors open, remote Alaskan cabins etc aside.

Neither adult in our household would ever go out without keys, unless very rarely we’d specifically agreed it that the other would be happy to let us in - even if we are both going somewhere together 99.99% of the time we both have our own keys.

Who has a door that doesn’t automatically lock when you shut it? As in if you shut the door whilst standing outside you wouldn’t be able to get in without a key. Surely this is the minimum for home insurance?!!