Peeling safes - huh?

I read a recent article about a number of church burglaries in a local community, and one of the churches had their safe "peeled." I don't know exactly what happened but I can offer a small about of info on breaching safes....

First of all safes are a barrier device! They are not a stand alone solution. Never forget that given enough time any barrier can be breached - this is especially so with things that contain money (or are perceived to contain money). That is why monitoring devices, like alarms, are used; they permit a response that shortens the available time to complete the attack. Back to safes -

Safes come in two general varieties - burglary resistant and fire resistant - and they are rated to describe their robustness. Fire safes are meant to prevent property inside from being destroyed by heat from the outside. Remember paper breaks down around 350 degrees Fahrenheit and magnetic media starts to go at about 150 degrees. Fire safes are also only good for a fixed period of time after manufacture - generally. Anyway, they are not meant to significantly delay physical entry by a determined attacker. Their sides are filled with insulation to repel heat and not tools. Simple tools can do wonders when used for forcible entry. They are ideal for those records that you do not want destroyed - although the best solution is to also store duplicates off-site (also done somewhat securely). Now burglary resistant safes, on the other hand, are an entirely different animal. They are meant to keep unauthorized folks out. Because their sides are typically made of steal they tend to work like an oven during a fire - so not good for important records. And yes you can use a fire resistant box inside a burglary resistant safe - again it's a heat issue... how long and how much. Burglary resistant (BR) safes that rated by the Underwriter's Laboratories carry ratings like TL-15, or my personal favorite TLTR-30x6. In short TL = tools, TR = torch, and TX = explosives (although you don't see many of these). So a TLTR is rated for tools and torches. The number after these designators represent the amount of time in minutes. Yes, that 200 pound safe is only rated for 15 minutes of protection! And they should be bolted to the floor and away from external doors because they can still be chained to a vehicle and dragged off. If a "x6" is attached to the end it means that the protection is extended to all six sides. Normally only the door is tested and rated. It is also the most likely point of attack. When locksmiths need to gain access they will either drill through the door or through the back so that they can see the door to manipulate the "wheelpack" which is how the combination works. But that's not the focus right now. Incidentally, safes are not intended to go beyond the 30 minute mark - after that you should be looking at a vault for protection, but that's for another time (and likely over on security-today.blogspot.com)

Safes can be breached (besides explosives) in a couple of ways with the most common being "peeling" and manipulation. Peeling is just how it sounds. A segment of metal is gotten hold of - often at the edge of the door - and pulled away. This along should tell you two things: the quality of the safe and the amount of force applied. Drilling into the door to allow he manipulation of the combination is dangerous if the safe is equipped with a "re-locking device" - which might be a sheet of glass that, when broken, causes spring-loaded rods to push into the door PERMANENTLY. The safe will now require a locksmith - of safe cracker - to gain access. My lesson learned came when a safe I needed at a store was pushed off the back of a truck - the glass broke and I had a very heavy empty metal box.

So there you have it in a nutshell. Choose your safe carefully and make sure you have a few layers of protection in front of it. And yes, we will discuss layered protection in the future..

Rob
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