3 ms·

Someone capable of cutting a padlock can definitely cut a cable lock, so I'm not sure who you're going to deter this way. You will, however, increase your loss

by dpark 10y ago

Someone capable of cutting a padlock can definitely cut a cable lock, so I'm not sure who you're going to deter this way. You will, however, increase your loss if they take your gun case. I think it's a fallacy that using a better lock makes you a bigger target. In a gym, thieves are looking for the same thing in every locker: money and jewelry. A better lock doesn't indicate that the Hope diamond is inside. It indicates that it's going to be harder to steal the $50 from the wallet inside.

ptaipale 10y ago
I guess the idea of a cable lock here is to use it so that it attaches the bottom or backside of the hard case to the inside of the locker, so that the cable lock is only accessible from inside the hard case. This is, after all, how safes are attached to floors and/or walls. Then, the thief would have to destroy either the hard case, or the whole locker. That would be slow and noisy. It's not impossible but deters intruders who will simply perform a cost-benefit analysis and move on (but will surely destroy your clothes in revenge).
- jacquesm 10y ago
  > but will surely destroy your clothes in revenge In revenge for what? Interesting psychology.
  - ptaipale 10y ago
    Indeed. But it seems to be what burglars often do: if they are frustrated by security, they do some vandalism.
- dpark 10y ago
  Couldn't the thief simply pull up on your gun case and cut the cable through the gap created? There's no way you're going to get the cable tight enough by hand than a thief can't move the case a bit (safes generally use bolts, which don't have this problem). Maybe if it's secured to the back wall it will be awkward enough to maneuver the cutters that the thief gives up?
logfromblammo 10y ago
If you make the lock too strong, the thief just cuts the hinges of the locker. It doesn't take much for your lock to not be the weak link in the security chain. The unattended security measures are only there to delay a criminal long enough for a human to take action. Are you smarter than a dumb hunk of metal? Yes, you are. So is a thief that is stupid by human standards. The only reasonable counter to a human criminal is another human. The lock is productivity multiplier capital for that human. If there is no security guard, there is nothing there to multiply, and the lock and locker are only increasing the security you provide for your own stuff. Do you really want to check up on your locker between every set? It would be annoying, but you could do it. You wouldn't be able to do a long cardio workout, though. As such, time spent shopping for a stronger lock is probably not as useful as time spent yelling at the gym management to stop the locker room thefts. They need a guard to make sure no one is popping locks in the locker rooms. Until they have one, what's going to stop someone from going in with a rotary tool and a stolen staff shirt or handyman outfit, telling the customers that they have to occasionally cut locks off when people abandon their lockers? A customer would only have reason to challenge that ruse if the thief were cutting off their own lock, but a real employee would know that the thief was not a genuine employee or contractor authorized to do that to anybody's lock. If locker room thefts are a general problem, you have to hire a person. If the gym won't do it, individual customers could, at greater overall cost. But really, that's not necessary. Just don't keep valuable items in a gym locker. Leave them at home, put them in the trunk of your car, or have a trusted human hold them. Keeping your valuables in a gym locker is like parking your car on the street in Detroit. Sure, it is theoretically possible that your security measures are sufficient, but you are placing your property at much higher risk to begin with.
- dpark 10y ago
  None of what you just said indicates that a better lock will make you a bigger target. I think you're also drastically overestimating the resolve of locker thieves. No one's cutting locker hinges or dressing as a handyman as an excuse to bring in a rotary tool. It's not a bank heist. Locker thieves are casual thieves. I would imagine that the most common attack mode is to just shim cheap locks open. If thieves did begin destroying lockers, the gym would probably actually do something. And obviously, yes, a guard is the ideal solution. I don't think I've ever been to a gym that did this, though. It's not worth it to them.

by dpark 10y ago

ptaipale 10y ago

I guess the idea of a cable lock here is to use it so that it attaches the bottom or backside of the hard case to the inside of the locker, so that the cable lock is only accessible from inside the hard case. This is, after all, how safes are attached to floors and/or walls. Then, the thief would have to destroy either the hard case, or the whole locker. That would be slow and noisy. It's not impossible but deters intruders who will simply perform a cost-benefit analysis and move on (but will surely destroy your clothes in revenge).

jacquesm 10y ago
> but will surely destroy your clothes in revenge In revenge for what? Interesting psychology.
- ptaipale 10y ago
  Indeed. But it seems to be what burglars often do: if they are frustrated by security, they do some vandalism.
dpark 10y ago
Couldn't the thief simply pull up on your gun case and cut the cable through the gap created? There's no way you're going to get the cable tight enough by hand than a thief can't move the case a bit (safes generally use bolts, which don't have this problem). Maybe if it's secured to the back wall it will be awkward enough to maneuver the cutters that the thief gives up?

logfromblammo 10y ago

If you make the lock too strong, the thief just cuts the hinges of the locker. It doesn't take much for your lock to not be the weak link in the security chain. The unattended security measures are only there to delay a criminal long enough for a human to take action. Are you smarter than a dumb hunk of metal? Yes, you are. So is a thief that is stupid by human standards. The only reasonable counter to a human criminal is another human. The lock is productivity multiplier capital for that human. If there is no security guard, there is nothing there to multiply, and the lock and locker are only increasing the security you provide for your own stuff. Do you really want to check up on your locker between every set? It would be annoying, but you could do it. You wouldn't be able to do a long cardio workout, though. As such, time spent shopping for a stronger lock is probably not as useful as time spent yelling at the gym management to stop the locker room thefts. They need a guard to make sure no one is popping locks in the locker rooms. Until they have one, what's going to stop someone from going in with a rotary tool and a stolen staff shirt or handyman outfit, telling the customers that they have to occasionally cut locks off when people abandon their lockers? A customer would only have reason to challenge that ruse if the thief were cutting off their own lock, but a real employee would know that the thief was not a genuine employee or contractor authorized to do that to anybody's lock. If locker room thefts are a general problem, you have to hire a person. If the gym won't do it, individual customers could, at greater overall cost. But really, that's not necessary. Just don't keep valuable items in a gym locker. Leave them at home, put them in the trunk of your car, or have a trusted human hold them. Keeping your valuables in a gym locker is like parking your car on the street in Detroit. Sure, it is theoretically possible that your security measures are sufficient, but you are placing your property at much higher risk to begin with.

dpark 10y ago
None of what you just said indicates that a better lock will make you a bigger target. I think you're also drastically overestimating the resolve of locker thieves. No one's cutting locker hinges or dressing as a handyman as an excuse to bring in a rotary tool. It's not a bank heist. Locker thieves are casual thieves. I would imagine that the most common attack mode is to just shim cheap locks open. If thieves did begin destroying lockers, the gym would probably actually do something. And obviously, yes, a guard is the ideal solution. I don't think I've ever been to a gym that did this, though. It's not worth it to them.