To wonder about changing attitudes to household security

[Ifyougivethefirstyouvegottogivethesecond]

When I was a kid in the 80s my grandparents only locked their door when they were in bed or had gone out. When they went they used the back door, locked it, and then hung the key on a hook on the inside of a small cubby hole next to the front door, accessible to anyone.

My parents had one set of keys and would hide the key (badly) under a brick next to the door.

I wouldn’t dream of doing this stuff. Is that because crime is higher? Or the type of crime? Or did I just have a family who were very lax when it came to security?

I guess people are perhaps more aware, but also society has changed. Not saying things were perfect back then by any means, but generally where I grew up you didn't have young men driving down the motorway to smaller towns to cause havoc and then drive away. There was more of a sense of community and people were more protective of their neighbourhoods rather than passively letting places turn to shit. I always lock the doors unless one of us has quickly popped out and will be back soon, it only takes a few seconds.

I think it depends where you live(d). My parents lived in a flat in SE London in the 80s and were robbed twice. But I suppose you’d need someone in the know to break down crime stats to say either way.

We only lock the door when we've gone to bed or gone out. As do my parents and PIL.

I don't leave a key out generally but if we have workmen coming and can't be there to let them in we've left one in the shed and told them.

I have been known to be running late for school pick up, not put hands on my keys in time and run out leaving the door unlocked. It's 5 minutes down the road. Wouldn't intentionally make a habit of it but don't stress about it.

Thank you for the responses.

My parents are better now (no key hiding) but still have the back door unlocked all the time, despite the fact the back is accessible, easily, from the road, and me giving them several examples of opportunists opening back doors and stealing handbags off kitchen tables.

I only lock the doors when I am going out or to bed.

All the doors are unlocked now. I’ll lock them last thing on my way up. I thought locking up and going to bed was a thing?

Pretty similar to last poster. Don't lock the door unless out or in bed, and we often leave it for each other in fairly obvious but out of sight place.

I grew up in a village and all the front doors were open into the porch, then unlocked glass door into the house.

I woudn't feel safe if the door wasn't locked now, also not covered by insurance.

We pretty much do this now tbh. We leave the key inside the house though. Our area is thankfully quite a low crime area, and we've been very lucky. I once went out to a shopping centre several miles away and left the front door wide open. The post was on the mat when I got back 😂

Some idiots had my mini metro off my drive and trashed it, I was upset about that.

I'd be gutted if we did get burgled, we've nothing of great monetary value, but a lot of sentimental stuff.

Our doors are always locked and were when I was growing up too because they're the Yale lock types, that automatically lock when the door is closed.

Before bed we still lock up which involves Chubb locking the door and putting the chain on.

Our door is always able to get of easily incase of fire/other emergency

I don't like living like I was in Fort Knox so I've only doubled down on security when I've been robbed twice

@TheresaCrowd

I hope you don't mind me mentioning this.

If you are not sure who is at your door, do not open it or let anyone into your home. Always put the chain on before you open the door. However, only put on your door chain as you answer the door – do not keep it on all the time as this could delay your exit in the case of fire.

I don’t have a door chain! When people knock I just open the door.

I’d love to see some stats on this tbh. I feel like everyone just worries more now, same way they do about kids, rather than it being more dangerous. But maybe crime is way higher, I’m not sure

There was alot of crime in the 80s and 90s. We are the safest we have ever been.

I lock my front door most of the time. When the kids were small we lived on a busy A road and had no front garden so it was to make sure they didn’t get out rather than stopping anyone getting in. We’ve since moved but we’re in the habit of locking the door almost all the time now.

My parents would never have done of that when I grew up in the 80s, but we lived in a flat in central London. I can't understand the idea of leaving the door unlocked as I've always been used to it. I think even if I moved to a super safe rural area I'd still keep the front door locked. But then again, I still live in a fairly central bit of London now and I have twice left the key in the lock by accident and nothing bad happened. (Now I've attached it to my handbag so I don't leave it dangling in the lock).

We don't have a chain on our front door and tbh even when we had one in our old flat I'd never use it. It seems a sensible idea but it does make me feel paranoid to use it.

I have had door chains on almost every house I've lived in - I've never used them! Like you, I just open the door.

Door is unlocked first thing and locked up at bedtime.
We are lucky to live in a low crime area - we’ve been known to go on holiday leaving the front door actually open and not noticed by neighbours for a couple of days.

Nope, we've always put the chain and Chubb lock on at night and we always will.

We're well trained in how to escape during a fire, but thank you

I see big differences in different communities. Particularly along rural and urban divides. More rural and small village people are much less likely to stay locked up all the time.

I think it's a combination of things. Part is people just being more security conscious and fearful generally. Maybe in part due to things like the news. Many people have an inaccurate sense of risk.

Also liability is much more a concern. People are trained to do things like lock doors in case insurance won't pay out.

I also think in some places there is a real change in actual risk. I remember an interview with Thomas Sowell, who grew up in Harlem in the 1930s. He said at that time it was very common, on hot summer nights, for people there to sleep out on a fire escape, or if they didn't have one, they might sleep out in the park. The same park where today you wouldn't walk your dog in the daytime for fear of being mugged or shot or stumbling over a needle or something.

Do and I always had doors locked, even as a children of the 60s. He was a townie and me a country gal. We no longer have a letter box though!

I genuinely don’t know whether crime has increased since the 80s but we’re constantly exposed to a pretty high level of threat every time we pick up our phones or switch the radio on in the car, or read a paper or watch the news.

When something terrible like a murder happens, the coverage drags on and on and on.

Then it’s further compounded by the online echo chamber / discussing this sort of things in forums like mumsnet.

I think we’re a nation of anxious, depressed paranoid people because we’re tapping into an all day stream of negativity and fear.

I wouldn’t leave my door unlocked.

All of this.

As a child out in the country we never locked the door. That stopped after someone came in one night and took the car keys off the kitchen table.
My front door has a Yale type lock so is always locked. My back door is unlocked if I’m in the garden.

I do remember public information films telling you not to have the key on a bit of string through your letter box.