Crime Statistics - Greater St Louis Region 2/20/12-3/20/12

The map to the left shows a poor picture of the area we principally conduct our onsite service business in.

The last 30 days crime statistics are listed here as found in the source below.

Alarms - 256

Breaking & Entering - 37

Robbery - 80

Theft - 112

Hoppe - Locks Of Distinction

Hoppe locks are a very well known high-end door hardware brand originally designed and manufactured in Germany.

Friedrich Hoppe started the company in the mid 1950's and has built manufacturing facilities in many other European countries.

Built to very exacting standards, these high end residential entry systems are often found in patio door applications across the world.

Europeans generally install their keyhole upside down...

Freekey - No More Broken Nails, Finally!

There is almost one universal issue we all complain about when it comes to keyrings.

It is sometimes a painful task to remove or attach a key to the little wire rings we use to bind our keys together, isn't it?

Many customers, over the years struggle to remove or attach keys to keyrings and sometimes even break a nail or two in the process.

Manicures are not expensive, but they are time consuming. I'm sure many a manicurist or two has received business from customers wanting to have their nails repaired following a breakage that may be a result of attempting to open the keyring

FREEKEY is a novel solution to this ages old problem. Simply press on the indicator to spread the ring allowing easy access to removing or attaching that key and saving a broken nail and consequently the expense and time of a manicure.

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Breaking News! Schlage Price Increase.

All Ingersoll Rand security products including Schlage, Von Duprin and Glyns Johnston to rise on the 5th.

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Cowdroy P697 Pocket Door Lock With Key UPDATE! 2012

Many inquiries I receive are from people requesting hardware to effectively secure their sliding pocket doors. There are very few products in the USA that achieve this without considerable expense.

A forward thinking company from Australia have already produced a competitively priced key locked pocket door lock that is simple to install and looks good too.

The Cowdroy P697 Cavity/Pocket Door Lock, ...

Run-Local-Locksmith Caught In Bait And Switch

News Flash! As Seen on KSDK5 February 22, 2012.

According to the St Louis branch of the Better Business Bureau, Michigan-based company, Run Local Locksmith, is the focus of several complaints from St. Louis area customers who say they were lured by low advertised prices, but then charged much higher fees by workers who responded to service calls.

Beware St Louis, another company has been discovered by the BBB to be fraudulently scamming locals using classic bait and switch tactics online, using sponsored advertising in search engines and other sites across web sites.

Essentially you see these ads at the top of the page when you search. These ads clearly say $15 Service Call. Most genuine locksmiths like us charge the average $65 for an opening, but these guys are taking advantage of people.

Bird Flu - Still A Menace In Asia And Beyond

A couple of years ago the H5N1 - Bird Flu virus made news headlines across the globe. There were about 350 reported deaths across the world and many thousands more were infected before an anti-virus was found.

In recent days days (see source below), a discovery has been made in Vietnam of a new strain (mutation) that is allegedly impervious to the anti-virus.

10 people have died in Cambodia, Egypt, Indonesia, China and Vietnam. The new strain has also been found in Bangladesh and Nepal.

The WHO (World Health Organisation) is remaining tight lipped about it, but I think it is vital and important to be aware that Bird Flu is again on peoples minds.

Whereas the transfer of the virus is usually through peoples contact with poultry, these viruses are known to mutate quite quickly and could spread rampantly due to migrating birds.

We post this here to remind our readers of the Serrature Meroni Anti-Bacterial door handle products, that mitigate the transfer of potentially threatening virus' and other diseases by contact.

In many environments in our daily lives, we often will touch a door handle or knob that has been touched by others. In high-trafficked environments, we can have little to no control over the spread of illnesses and having the benefits of Meroni anti-bacterial door knobs on our doors, could help to prevent us from getting sick.

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Crime Of Opportunity - Do You Really Know Who Has A Copy Of Your House Key?

I did a job for a customer the other day who had her home burglarized and her insurance company refused to pay the claim.

The reason is, there was no sign of forced entry.

This lady had only recently moved to the new home and when she moved in, had new locks installed.

She took her car to the local mechanic, who she had been going to for many years, to get it serviced. As normal, she pitched the keys to the mechanic and went to wait in the waiting room.

Little did she know, but the mechanic had recently taken on a new employee, laborer to do general duties in the workshop. The mechanic shop thought they were doing a good thing by giving an unemployed person a job.

According to the police report, they searched this persons house on suspiscion because the mechanic shop is the first and only place the lady went to, where she was without her keys. The good investigative work by the police, found her property in this persons possession after contacting the mechanic and getting a list of the people that worked there the day the lady brought the car in.

Being without her key for a short time, the burglar had opportunity to get the number off the key, see the customers records, obtain her address and get a key made to the code number. Then they obviously robbed the home.

I recently changed the locks to restricted copy proof keys, that prevent any similar scene from happing again.

Do you know and trust everyone who may have access to your keys?