Where Has Lock Snapping Taken Place?

Within the UK Lock snapping first started in West Yorkshire, but is spreading with cases reported in at least 17 other Police Forces.

Many Police areas don't keep records on lock snapping cases. We know that lock snapping has been recorded in 18 police forces, but there may be more areas.

Lock snapping is simple to do, force is applied to cylinder door locks and it snaps in two. Vulnerable locks are fitted to millions of properties, usually UPVC or double glazed doors. As a very basic guide, if you haven't fitted a new door lock since 2009 you lock will probably be vulnerable.

Where Has Lock Snapping Taken Place?

There have been at least 18 police force areas where cylinder snapping has been recorded, these include:

West YorkshireNorfolkBedfordshireNottinghamshireWest Mercia

However many Police areas don't keep records and anecdotal evidence (from lock smiths for example) suggests the problem is much wider than this.

Are Anti Snap Euro Cylinders Needed?

If you need to fit new locks, for example if you have just moved home, or have lost a key or broke up with a partner then a replacement £5 door lock may look appealing. The contents of your home are insured, but what about the items that will be difficult to replace such as personal items of jewellery or photos stored on lap tops? Consider upgrading your locks at this point in case lock snapping becomes an issue in your area.

If you live in one of these 18 police areas affected by this burglary problem and need to change your door locks then from a crime prevention perspective it would be prudent to replace your old lock with a Anti Snap Euro Lock.

Those of us lucky enough to live in areas not affected yet may have more cause not to spend £30 on an upgrade yet.

What You Should Look for in a New Door Lock

1. The lock must state "anti snap", not just "anti bump" and "anti pick"

2. It should be SS312 approved

3. It must come in the correct size for your door.

What is SS312

SS312 is Sold Secure's diamond rated approval. Sold Secure is a testing organisation run by the Master Locksmiths Association. There are a small number of locks that have SS312 approval, only these types should be purchased.

Summary

A high number of police areas don't keep records on this crime type. AntiSnap Locks are currently needed in some areas more than others, however that can quickly change as more criminals become aware of this burglary technique. SS312 approved locks are quite low cost (about £30), so why take the risk of NOT fitting them to your home?

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Tips to Stop Friends Drink Driving

Drink driving is incredibly dangerous, and what makes it really serious is the fact that it's not just serious for you, but also for everyone else. If you drink drive you are putting your life at risk, the lives of any passengers at risk, and the lives of everyone in the neighbourhood in jeopardy. But while we all know this sober, part of the problem is that we often don't know it when we're drunk and this is the whole danger of drinking in the first place - it takes away from your common sense and stops you from seeing things clearly. In moderation it's a lot of fun and great social lubricant and it can even be good for your blood pressure, but in larger quantities it can lead you to do stupid and dangerous things and risk your life.

There are various ways that you can prevent yourself from drink driving, and if you know you are prone to doing it you can simply avoid taking your car, or you can take only enough money for one drink. But when it comes to your friends it's not so easy and we often find ourselves in that very awkward position where they are getting into their cars drunk and we feel like we're the only ones who can stop them. So what do you do to prevent your friends from driving under the influence? Here we will look at some ways you can keep them safe and keep them off the road when they're drinking.

Get Them to Stop

Remember that part of the reason we drink drive in the first place is often that we have lost our good judgement and often this comes from having had too much to drink. So the obvious solution then is to avoid this situation by preventing our friends from getting to that point in the first place. This can also prevent a range of other problems by preventing them from making themselves very ill, and from keeping them out of trouble. You might seem like the wettest guy or girl in the room when you say 'don't you think you've had enough?' - but you'll also potentially save their lives and some day they will thank you.

Offer an Alternative

At the same time you will find that many people drive because they don't have any other way to get home and they think that it won't matter to give it a go just a mile down the road. Of course you know better, but it's possible to see their point when it's tipping it down and they have to walk alone in the dark otherwise - which is also dangerous. So be a good friend and if you're sober offer to drive them back, or invite them over even. Likewise you can call them a cab and when it arrives they'll likely take this easy option back. Of course if you know they're prone to this behaviour you can even prevent it from arising in the first place by offering to drive them there in the first place so they don't have their car.

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The Effects of Pepper Spray As a Personal Protection and Self Defense Weapon

The effects of pepper spray are numerous and are important to consider when using this tool as personal protection or self-defense weapon. The most important facts about pepper spray are the following: out of all the deterrents on the market, it's the most effective self-defense weapon, its effects last longer than those of a Taser and it causes coughing, choking and burning.

For the use of personal protection and self-defense, pepper spray has many benefits including its effectiveness and its price. You are at ease when it comes to using the deterrent. The steps of using the spray are very easy, step 1: aim and step 2: spray. It's effectiveness has saved many lives and could save yours if you are in a situation where you need to defend yourself.

You will have peace of mind using this deterrent, knowing that it is the most effective self-defense and personal protection weapon, even more so than a stun gun or Taser. While stun guns disable the nervous and muscular system, this effect only lasts for mere seconds. Whereas the effects of pepper spray, including, pain, temporary blindness and even choking, will last for around 30 minutes. The longer lasting effect of this self-defense device will give you the most time to get out of a situation where you are being attacked.

The main ingredient of pepper spray is cayenne pepper because of its heat properties making the spray very hot and causing intolerable pain when it comes in contact with skin or is breathed into the mouth, hence, the reason why the pepper spray is aimed at the attacker's face. Once the pepper spray comes in contact with their mouth and is breathed into their nose, it burns so badly that it knocks them to the floor and they feel like are going to die. Therefore they are disabled from being able to continue attacking or chase you.

A further effect of pepper spray is the alteration of the attacker's sight. Due to the burning it cause, the eyelids and skin around both eyes becomes puffy and swollen which makes it very difficult for the attacker to see. In addition, the eye naturally shuts down as a way to protect itself from the spray. However, the blindness caused by spray is only temporary but gives you an opportunity to get away from the attacker without them knowing which direction you took.

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Zombie Apocalypse and Preppers

Over the past couple of years a fascination with zombies has led to one of the most interesting changes in American society. Today you can hear ordinary, everyday people, young and old, black and white, rich and poor talk about ZOMBIES! What the HELL is going on around here?!?!

What is a zombie?

The answer to this is different depending upon who you ask. To me a zombie is someone that is not preparing for emergency and disaster events. If an emergency or disaster event occurs these individuals have a great potential to become non-thinking and non-caring monsters that will kill you and yours just to continue their own existence. Obviously this is a "worst case scenario" and hopefully we won't see it come to reality, but one never knows.

To most people a zombie is a member of the undead army, a person that has died and been reanimated into an uncontrollable eater of live human flesh bent on killing all surviving humans.

Now a new zombie reference has appeared, and that is a person so whacked out on drugs that they are willing to randomly attack and attempt to eat or bite their victims while not responding to verbal commands or physical attempts to restrain them. I have to think Darwin is laughing his ass off as he watches this evolutionary step unfold.

Why are zombies so popular?

There are lots of reasons zombies have become popular in recent years. I just want to touch on a few of the more likely reasons.

1) Zombie Effects - Makeup and technology allow for some truly awesome looking and acting zombies these days. You can make nearly any kind of zombie you want instead of people walking around all goofy with ketchup and syrup rubbed on their shirt acting dead.

2) Social Collapse - Deep down I think people are actually looking forward to this. The rat race is getting harder and harder for normal rats to compete in and most of them are really hoping for an opportunity to level the playing field. Rich or poor won't matter after the Zombie Apocalypse starts. No more phone bills, mortgage payments, car payments, insurance, etc. either.

3) The Hunt and The Kill - The ultimate hunt, man versus man. Kill or be killed. BONUS: You may actually run into the zombiefied versions of people you really didn't like back before the apocalypse started and now you can do what you always wanted to do!

4) Everything Must Go! - Remember all the cool stuff you always wanted to buy but couldn't afford? Well, unlike war, natural disaster, meteor strike and many other events, Zombie Apocalypse comes with relatively small amounts of damage and lots of people not around to suck up resources! If you know how to get it out there will be fuel for a while, power for a while, food, water, supplies, etc. Shopping Spree!!

5) Community Spirit - Our planet has over 7 billion people swarming over its surface. In some places we packed in tighter than sardines. The numbers keep increasing and resource availability is decreasing. Our space programs haven't started colonizing other planets or moons and we have nowhere to go. Crime is rising, tensions are rising and hundreds of millions of people probably couldn't even tell you their neighbor's names. After the Zombie Apocalypse people would most likely survive in small communities together like we did back before previous population explosions. Although it sounds corny, and it's a movie or TV series plot line, the vastness of unpopulated areas and open roads and the lack of constant noise from cars, planes, trucks, sirens, radios, televisions and everything else we use to ensure we don't pay attention to the world around us would be gone. I for one think it would be scary as hell, but liberating and a saving grace for our species. (okay, corniness done).

6) I can FEEL it coming! - Throughout history people have warned of coming events that would shake the very foundations of human existence and change our world forever. Yeah, so most of these people are currently worm food while the rest of us are still spinning around the Sun. However, I cannot deny, and neither can most other people, that in the past few years there has been a very pervasive increase of "doom and gloom" feeling about the future. Whether it's the economy you are worried about, or the political future of the country, or race relations, or food shortages, war, Mayan prophecies or whatever... the feeling is out there. SOMETHING BIG IS COMING. Maybe the end of the world? Maybe a collective bowel movement, who the hell knows... it... just... feels... wrong.

What should a prepper do?

Continue prepping. That really is the easiest answer to the question, and the most logical. I prep for "any and all emergencies and disasters" that are likely to befall me and my family for the region in which I reside. I also keep an open mind as to the things that could happen that I do not specifically prep for by prepping for general chaos and insanity. Being near Chicago I don't prep for a volcanic eruption, it just really isn't very likely. Even if Yellowstone's caldera went off the eruption wouldn't affect me, I would simply have to deal with the aftermath and the ash (as if that's not bad enough).

So I prepare for whatever comes my way in the hopes that if/when something happens I can give my family the best chances possible of surviving and possibly thriving after it does. Maybe we will, maybe we won't, maybe nothing ever happens and people remember me as the crazy guy that spent weeks making and testing Faraday cages much to the chagrin of his wife and their portable electronics.

Then again, maybe ten years from now I'll be leading a small community of survivors on daily foraging expeditions through hostile zombie territory looking for resources and people that called me crazy...

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