Your home is your safe space. It’s where you feel the most comfortable and protected—and you want it to stay this way. You want to ensure you and your family are safe, especially with crime rates steadily increasing. You don’t want to make it easy for burglars, thieves, or other nefarious individuals to gain entry. You want to deter crime.

That’s why you’ve called a locksmith and prioritized high-security locks for your home. The better the locks, the better protected your home will be.

But how do you choose? How do you know which brands are worth considering? Here are some tips for choosing strong, reliable door locks for your home.

1. Check the Grade

When it comes to locks, industry ratings range from Grades 1 to 3. The most durable and difficult to disable locks are those with a Grade 1 rating. Check the packaging carefully and review the company’s website to determine the grade of the lock you’re considering.

2. Don’t Focus on Budget

I’m sure there are many things you’d rather spend your money on than a new lock for your home. But when it comes to this purchase, it’s important not to skimp. High-security locks are going to be more expensive than their lower-quality counterparts, but, at the end of the day, the cost of the lock is far less expensive than replacing the contents of your home after a break in.

3. Complex Internal Makeup

You don’t want any thief with a lock pick to be able to easily get into your home. The lock cylinder should be complex enough that a criminal cannot figure out how to work it. You also want to make it tough for thieves to make an impression of your lock or make a bump key device. The more complex the internal makeup, the better.

4. Drill Protection

Drilling locks open is surprisingly quick and easy—and it’s also universal. That’s why many criminals use this method to break in. To protect against this, ensure the high-security lock you choose has anti-drill precautions. These precautions come in the form of hardened steel ball bearings and anti-drill plates.

5. Patented Keyways

Often, the people who break into your home are the ones who have had limited access to your keys at some point or another. Maybe this is a friend of the family, the babysitter, or the gardener. They only need to have access to one of your keys for a short time before making a copy for themselves and then giving you back the original.

To prevent this, ensure your high-security lock has a patented keyway, which restricts key blanks more effectively.

6. A Hardened Steel Bolt

A strong kick to the door or a shoulder strike is often all that’s needed to break open a door that has a weak lock. Alternatively, a criminal may simply use a saw to damage the bolt. You will ideally want a lock that can withstand significant force. The most secure locks will be equipped with hardened steel bolts to protect against both cutting and bludgeoning attacks.

7. Metal Components

When shopping for a high-security lock, pick up some of the options in your hands. You can often tell how secure a lock is by its weight. The ones that are made of strong metal contents will be heavier. The lighter locks often have plastic components inside, while others have empty space, both of which compromise security.

The more secure locks are composed of sturdy, heavy metal.

When it comes to purchasing a high-security lock for your home, these tips will help you choose the lock that will best protect your family and property.