Sales of home security safes have multiplied as homeowners worry about an increase in crime tied to the economic downturn and as confidence in banks and financial institutions wavers.
Several Denver security companies are reporting that sales of home security safes have doubled since the recession deepened last fall.
“With the economy not doing as well, people are scared of theft and are concerned about their house getting broken into,” said Jennifer Wickhorst, an administrator with Englewood Lock and Safe. “Women want to lock up their jewelry, and people are using security safes for passports, checks and anything with personal information on it.”
Paul Rossman with the Arapahoe County Security Center said security businesses always benefit when the economy slips.
“Anytime there’s an economy problem, crime rates go up and our business goes up. When things are bad, things are good with us,” Rossman said. “We’re really selling a lot of safes, and we have a hard time getting them in here. There’s a lot of demand and very little supply.”
The increase is mostly due to safes being purchased for homes, said Lenny Guida, who owns Master Security Center in Denver, which has doubled its safe sales in recent months.
“Usually, residential households mainly purchase gun safes, but now it’s home security safes,” Guida said. “The security safes they’re buying are typically lower end. People aren’t spending a ton, maybe $200 to $250 and up to about $400.”
Although customers are typically tight-lipped about why they need a safe, Rossman said, sales are frequently driven by low confidence in banks and safe deposit boxes.
That was the case for a Castle Rock woman, who declined to be named, who with her husband bought a $350 safe in November from .
Though the couple realize a major bank failure is unlikely, they’ve decided to secure a week’s worth of cash in the event of a disaster, she said.
“We initially thought about purchasing a safe to keep our birth certificates and passports somewhere safe and fireproof, but then we started to get more serious about it as we watched the economy,” she said. “Some of these big banks started to fail, and it became a reality for the first time in my life that I might not be able to get cash out of the ATM.
“It keeps you prepared for the unforeseeable, which has become a lot more foreseeable.”
Anthony Bowe 303-954-1661 or abowe@denverpost.com
Know your security safes
Tips for purchasing a home safe:
• Pick a spot. Make sure there’s enough space for a safe and measure dimensions of desired safe placement. • Pick a type. There are standing safes, in-floor safes and wall safes. A money safe should be large enough that a burglar can’t walk away with it in hand.
• Fire rating. The chances of a house catching fire are greater than a safe getting robbed. A fire rating of at least 45 minutes will keep contents safe during a house fire.
• Know the costs. A quality and secure residential safe will cost between $200 and $1,000; a gun safe $700 to $10,000.
Sources: Master Security Center, Arapahoe County Security Center
