Emergency Safe Opening
Safes and vaults must be opened within their certification standards. Doing otherwise will invalidate certification and may result in a denied claim if a robbery occurs later.
Key Things To Remember
- A qualified safe technician will always open a safe on-site.
- The ONLY reason a safe might be removed first is if the premises are unsafe (e.g. after a fire).
- A qualified safe technician will always tell you exactly what he will do and give you the full price upfront.
- A qualified safe technician will always pick open a safe rather than drill it open (if possible).
- A qualified safe technician will always ask for the customer to be present when opening the safe.
If you require a safe opened, it is your responsibility to ensure that you call the right person for the job.
The professional opening of a safe or vault requires detailed knowledge and specialist training for a reason. Safes and vaults are made to resist opening by anyone but the owner. A weekend course and a few cheap lock picks wont make someone a safe technician, it takes years of training and financial investment to develop the skills to become one. Like nearly any profession, when you become qualified as a safe technician, you quickly realise that you never stop learning and that there is always something new to invest in.
However, there are many locksmiths who think they can make the jump from domestic tradesman to professional technician without putting in heavy investment in the necessary tools and specialist training. Ironically, this type of locksmiths will approach all safe opening like a criminal would – using brute force and ignorance to break the safe open.
The industry is full of horror stories of this type of locksmith offering incredibly low prices to open fully functional safes, only to butcher the safe open. With locks and mechanisms destroyed, customer is left with no choice but to buy a whole new safe (which said locksmith will be ready and willing to supply at a not so incredibly low price). As a qualified technician will leave your safe or vault as good as it was before opening, or better, so they are often not as expensive as the untrained amateur.