Wilcox of the Bermuda Police Crime Prevention Unit.

"Home security'', to quote a journalist friend of mine, "is a very dry subject. When writing about it, you must liven up the text.'' And that is the reason why I have chosen to write these articles in the form of stories -- to get my points across in an entertaining manner.

This particular story concerns a couple who reside in Somerset -- we will refer to them as Mr. and Mrs. Jones.

At the time in question they were hoping to spend a long vacation in England visiting family and friends.

They were concerned however, about who would look after their animals while they were abroad? An acquaintance recommended an English lady to them, whose husband worked for an airline.

"She would be perfect,'' said the acquaintance! "She could travel on a discounted airline ticket, she only works part-time, loves Bermuda and loves animals.'' And so it came to pass. The lady from England - let us call her Mrs. White - flew out to Bermuda to house sit for the Jones'. After spending several days familiarising herself with their cottage and pets, she bid Mr. and Mrs. Jones a fond farewell and they flew to England in the knowledge that all was well! In fact everything did go well at the start, then came that fateful day! Mrs. White, like most people who come out to Bermuda from England, was intent on soaking up as much of the sun's rays as possible. It was a beautiful, warm sunny afternoon.

Having assured herself that the pets were fine, Mrs. White then changed into her new bikini.

Armed with a long, cool drink and a good book, she stepped out into the garden, positioned her lawn chair at the desired angle, laid out her towel, smothered herself in suntan oil and laid back to enjoy the `good life'! After awhile Mrs. White decided that she had better check on the animals.

She walked to the back door of the cottage, turned the handle, and...to her shock, realised that the door was locked! At some point the partially open door had blown shut, the spring latch lock had caught, and she had become locked out. A concerned Mrs. White then walked around the outside of the cottage, checking each door and window to see if one was open, but to no avail -- all were closed and locked.

"I'll check with the neighbours,'' thought Mrs. White, "maybe one of them has a spare key.'' Feeling a little self-conscious, dressed only in her new bikini and covered in suntan oil, Mrs. White set off to meet the neighbour's for the first time! Most of the neighbours were out and those who were home could not help her.

"Try the Police,'' suggested one person, "the Police station is just around the corner.'' The thought of walking into a Police Station however, in her bikini and being stared at by numerous burly Policemen was too embarrassing to contemplate.

By now it was after five o'clock and Mrs. White knew that the locksmiths would be closed. She concluded that she would have to break-in to the cottage -- which is what she did.

The top half of the rear cottage door was fitted with six small panes of glass. By breaking one of the panes, Mrs. White was able to slip her hand through the opening and to release the lock from the inside.

Not really the type of thing however, that you want to be seen doing when house-sitting for a Police Sergeant (no, it was not my house)! Mrs. White then spent most of the following day trying to secure a handyman to replace the broken pane of glass! She learnt two lessons the hard way -- to be careful never to lock yourself out of your own home, and to always have a spare key available. Several points come to mind when reflecting upon this story.

As most people know, when a door is fitted with a spring latch lock, if that door blows to, there is always a chance that the lock will catch in the closed and locked position.

Of course you can always flick the switch on the back of the lock into the `unlocked' position, so that your lock simply becomes a catch, but then you loose your security! Furthermore, other types of locks offer better protection.

It is for this reason, that the Police Crime Prevention Unit recommended deadbolt locks in place of spring latch locks. The principal types of deadbolts are single cylinder and double cylinder, and each have their own particular uses.

An important point to remember is that you cannot unintentionally lock yourself out of your home if your doors are fitted with deadbolt locks.

Fit single cylinder deadbolt locks on solid doors where there is no glass within reach of the lock. Install double cylinder deadbolt locks when there are glass panes in the door, or beside it.

You open and lock a single cylinder deadbolt by throwing the thumbturn on the interior side or using a key from the outside.

Double cylinder deadbolts can only be opened by using a key, whether it is from the inside or from the outside.

One final point. For the sake of convenience, depending upon the types of locks installed in your particular property, a Locksmith may be able to `key' all your locks to accept the same key.

For further information about locks and home security advice, consult the Police Crime Prevention Unit, telephone number 299-4286. Remember that officers also conduct free security surveys of homes and businesses upon request.

My final article in this short series concerns safes, and of course I will have a story or two to relate!