When enquiring about our roller shutter, our clients often want to know how secure they are. As a business, you need to ensure that your shop front is as secure as possible to avoid any break-ins or theft.
So, how secure are roller shutters? Roller shutters are very secure and can be the perfect option to provide out-of-hours security, privacy, and easy access for yourself or your staff. High-quality roller shutters are made from robust steel or aluminium to ensure that they cannot be broken into without specialist tools.
Read on to find out more about what makes roller shutters secure, why material choice has an impact, how shutters deter burglars, lock choice, interlocking surfaces, fire resistance, and more!
Key Takeaways:
How Secure Are Roller Shutters?
Roller shutters provide a range of security benefits that work to greatly reduce the risk of break-ins. While no security measures are 100% foolproof, the best advice is to slow the burglar down as much as possible.
If a building looks like it will take too long to gain entry, the majority of burglars won’t take the risk. Not only that, most burglars tend to spend less than one minute trying to enter a building before giving up.
Because of this, roller shutters are one of the best ways to secure your business or property. Firstly, by making the shop front look like it would be difficult to gain entry, and secondly, by massively slowing the progress of anyone who attempts to gain entry.
Even with professional equipment, it is extremely difficult to break through a roller shutter due to its interlocked design. Cutting through the metal will take a long time, which increases the likelihood of the burglar giving up or getting caught.
What Makes Roller Shutters Secure?
There are a variety of features and benefits that make roller shutters a better option for security than glass or doors. Below, we’ll break down each feature and why this contributes to the overall security of a roller shutter.
What Materials Are Roller Shutters Made Of?
Roller shutters can be made from a variety of strong materials that will make it difficult for anyone to force entry into your building. These can include strong materials such as aluminium or steel that will greatly delay a break-in attempt using professional equipment and completely stop the majority of attempts without equipment.
Do Shutters Deter Burglars?
The vast majority of burglaries are ‘smash and grab’ style theft, where the burglar sees something in a shop window and sees the opportunity to quickly break in and steal it. This is the most common form of theft because it puts the thief at the least possible risk of being caught.
Because roller shutters mean that it’s no longer possible to quickly smash a window or force entry quickly, it deters the vast majority of burglars.
How Do Roller Shutters Lock?
This depends on the type of shutter that you have. Standard roller shutters will generally use a traditional lock and key system, featuring either a loop to insert a padlock into or a built-in locking mechanism that you turn your key in.
More modern roller shutters, like electric shutters, will often use automatic self-locking systems, so that when the shutter closes, it automatically locks.
This will have a large impact on the effectiveness of your roller shutter deterrent. If a thief sees a small padlock on your roller shutter door, they may be more likely to attempt to break it than they would be with a self-locking mechanism on an electric shutter.
For more information on electric shutters, read our guide: How much do electric shutters cost and are they worth it?
Interlocking Surface
The majority of roller shutters feature an interlocking surface that makes it very difficult for anyone to break through without specialist equipment. Even with specialist equipment, it can take a long time to break through multiple layers of interlocked metal, which will be a massive deterrent for anyone looking to break into your building.
Are Roller Shutters Fire-Resistant?
Not all roller shutters are fire-rated or fire-resistant. For the majority of shutters, fire isn’t a consideration, although they might help slightly. Shutter fire ratings are measured in minutes, which tells you how long they will be able to withstand a fire.
Common ratings start from 60 minutes and go to around 240 minutes.
Safe and Secure Roller Shutters From Sykes London Shop Fronts & Shutters
At Sykes London Shop Fronts & Shutters, we’ve been designing and installing high-quality roller shutters for over 35 years, with a wide range of features available, from solid roller shutters to electric shutters with automatic self-locking systems.
Regardless of your budget, we can provide the perfect roller shutter solution for your needs and enhance your out-of-hours security, ensuring that your business is as safe as possible while you’re not around!
Get in touch with our team today to discuss your requirements.
