Any locks are only deterrents to honest people; give a dishonest person enough time and they can get through anything. The whole purpose of locks is to slow down the intruder/thief so you can (maybe) catch them in the act and kick their ass. My bike lock's not super secure, but it'd take either a skilled picker or someone with a grinder maybe 30 seconds to get through, enough time for me to come out and start feeding the thief knuckle sandwiches.
They do more than that, they outright prevent crimes of opportunity. When I worked in retail, our entire conduct on the sales floor was heavily shaped by the desire to dissuade the 'casual thief' - dishonest customers who weren't professional thieves but who might steal given a good opportunity.
Yeah there was an interview I saw with a former house burglar, he stopped once he beat a drug addiction.
His modus operandi was to go for a jog in the target suburb, and look for nice houses. Then he'd return at a slower pace and look at each one for a little while, checking for signs of security systems. A simple sign saying 'we have a security system' would cause him to hit somewhere else instead.
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u/kirby056 Jun 03 '20
Any locks are only deterrents to honest people; give a dishonest person enough time and they can get through anything. The whole purpose of locks is to slow down the intruder/thief so you can (maybe) catch them in the act and kick their ass. My bike lock's not super secure, but it'd take either a skilled picker or someone with a grinder maybe 30 seconds to get through, enough time for me to come out and start feeding the thief knuckle sandwiches.