SAFES THAT ARE UNSAFE

Shannon News, 9 April 1926, Page 3

SAFES THAT ARE UNSAFE

BURGLAR'S EASY TASK STEEL BAR TO THIN. i Recent burglaries in London, which aroused so much interest on account of the belief that a new and mysterious kind of drill had "been used, are' not quite so clever or mystifying- as was at first supposed. That is how the safe manufacturers look at them. A motor steering wheel, left behind after one burglary .evidently formed part of a hitherto unknown equipment. But experts have not been so impressed by it as the public. Mr. Ratcliff, managing directors of the Ratner Safe Company, Ltd., says the success of two recent burglaries was due not so much to special tools as to the nature of the safes. They were fire-reisting, but not thief-resist-ing safes. "The idea that thieves bored a hole through a 3in. steel door is a delusion. Neither of the safes is more than a Jin. thick in the bodies, owing to the presence of the fireproof chambers behind the door. Therefore, 3in. thickness exists in appearance only. "Thief-resisting safes are drill-proof and will defy the work of any gang of burglars, even if they are superexperts at the game. "As to the. mysterious drill, it is my opinion that the same tool was handled ten years ago, although, perhaps, without the motor wheel. This, of course, would accelerate the work by the pressure it can produce, while two other men would, perhaps work a ratchet handle each. "Then, again, with the latest thiefresisting safe, its main difficulty for, the burglar is the combination of letters fixed on the door. Before it is possible to insert dynamite in the keyhole the burglar must know the 'key letter.' To find this would occupy more of his time than he could afford to spare. ' ' , "But, if he did succeed, he would find after the first lock had been blown off, that there were still another tow, to say nothing of the 30 solid steel bars that would finally have to be removed from their sockets before the door could be opened. "So long as people continue to keep valuables in fire-resisting safes they are liable to lose them by burglars. But those who have thief-resisting safes have nothing to fear.