Historically reserved for banks, safes are now being used by many private individuals who wish to protect their valuable possessions.
In the current context of rising insecurity and ever-more frequent burglaries, owning a safe is fast becoming a must. Find out about the advantages of a safe and what criteria you should consider to determine the model that best meets your needs.
Residential burglaries: some startling figures
According to France’s Ministry of the Interior, 206,099 burglaries were recorded in 2021, i.e. 713 burglaries every day, compared with 222,130 in 2019.
Despite this drop recorded during the first Covid lockdown, other figures might still encourage you to buy a safe to protect your property:
- An average burglary requires only 20 minutes: thieves are experienced and can quickly identify valuables in a home before any police intervention takes place;
- According to a survey conducted among burglary victims by France’s official ONDRP (Observatoire de la délinquance et réponses pénales), 66% of households stated that their home was empty at the time of the incident;
- Likewise, ONDRP findings show that burglaries mainly take place in July and August. Yet autumn and winter still account for 50% of burglaries, with a peak in December;
- The most frequently stolen items are jewellery. This alone accounts for 45% of stolen property, followed by cash, computer equipment and electronic devices;
- In 40% of cases, thefts amount to less than €1,000 and in 34% of cases, losses are estimated at between €5,000 and €10,000.
Different types of protection provided by safes
An ideal bulwark against burglary
First and foremost, a safe protects your belongings against burglary. Buying a safe is undoubtedly the best way to keep your valuable property in your possession: jewellery, cash, confidential documents, collectors’ items. Made of very robust materials and equipped with an effective locking system, a safe is the best protection against break-ins at your home.
Safe resistance lasts much longer than the average duration of a burglary, which means that in the vast majority of cases the risk of theft is actually eliminated.
Easier access to contents
With a safe installed in your home, you no longer need to go to a bank to deposit or retrieve your belongings. They remain in your home, permanently accessible and completely safe.
Added fire resistance
Another advantage of safes is the fireproof features that can be included to protect your property from fire damage. Equipped with specific thermal insulation and certified as per EN 1047-1 standards, our fireproof safes ensure inside temperature remains adequate for between half an hour and two hours (depending on models)—even when outside temperatures exceed 600°.
How to choose your safe?
Small safes, large safes, safes with a key and mechanical lock or safes with a code and electronic lock—a wide array of choices is available to suit your specific needs. Safes are also graded in accordance with their certified level of security and have capacities ranging from 10 to 1,500 litres—again adapting to the volume of contents you wish to store.
- Small safes are ideal for domestic use or for installation in hotel rooms. These can protect jewellery, small electronic devices, cash, documents, etc.
- Large safes are be more suitable for organisations or individuals who wish to store cumbersome objects (e.g. paintings) as well as confidential equipment and
- For standard protection, it is advisable to opt for a safe with a mechanical lock and key. This type of safe is very easy to install and very discreet. It can be built into a wall or simply anchored on the
- For the highest levels of security, safes with a combination of mechanical and electronic locks are ideal.
- On the contrary, it is preferable to opt for a model with a single mechanical or electronic lock for frequent openings and daily practical use. In addition to the price and the volume of property to be protected, this criterion of simplicity should also be taken into account at the time of purchase.
What about home installation?
There are two types of safes that can be installed in your home: built-in safes or free-standing safes.
- With a front much stronger than the other panels, built-in safes flush-mounted and sealed into a wall are perfect for discreet storing and protection, concealed behind a picture or piece of furniture.
- Free-standing safes can be larger than built-in ones and offer the same level of resistance on all 6 sides.
