Deadbolts Over Diversity Seminars

There’s an old saying in security, locks don’t stop everyone, but they stop most. That simple insight, rooted in probably thousands of years of human behaviour, has somehow been drowned in modern bureaucratic noise. Instead of funding locks, lights, and layers of resistance, we’re told the key to crime prevention lies in sensitivity training, inclusion workshops, and re-education of the community’s unconscious bias. Meanwhile, the front door still swings open at 2 a.m., and criminals aren’t attending the seminars. Go figure?

Let’s dispense with the fantasy, a thief isn’t deterred by your values. He’s deterred by barriers, physical, visible, and enforceable. He isn’t scanning your mission statement. He’s scanning for an unlocked window.

Modern crime doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens where risk is low and reward is high. Break-ins, theft, and home invasions aren’t random acts, they’re calculated incursions into what the offender sees as unprotected territory or someone that’s vulnerable. Criminals aren’t Men, they’re lowly piss-weak cowards, that make a great case for birth control. When the protections are real, reinforced doors, monitored cameras, perimeter alarms, criminals move on. When the protections are symbolic, posters, slogans, vague community initiatives, they move in. Its still amazing how many of Darwin and Palmerston’s most prolific criminals work at community centres or for local taxpayer funded NGO’s.

And yet in Australia and beyond, institutions are spending millions on ideologically fashionable programs while cutting budgets on the very hardware and staffing that keep people safe. A $30,000 lecture on “restorative justice” won’t stop a crowbar at 2 a.m. But a $300 deadbolt might.

Security is not abstract. It is applied physics, behavioural economics, and hard psychology. A motion light isn’t racist. A steel-reinforced door doesn’t need to attend cultural competency training. These are not tools of exclusion. They are tools of prevention.

The data is blunt. Homes with visible deterrents, fences, camera systems, security signage, and high-quality locks, are significantly less likely to be targeted. Businesses that invest in secure cash handling, real-time monitoring, and trained personnel report lower losses and faster recovery times. These are not accidental correlations. They’re cause and effect.

Contrast that with what many organisations now prioritise, team-building events, social media optics, and endless rounds of interdepartmental dialogues about privilege and systemic oppression. These might satisfy upper management’s moral vanity, but they do nothing for the family whose back window was shattered last night or the retail worker who found the door pried open this morning.

The idea that we can “educate” our way out of crime through awareness campaigns and group therapy is not only absurd, it’s utterly irresponsible. It assumes that criminals are confused, not predatory. That they need understanding, not obstruction. But real-world offenders are not blank slates, they’re opportunists. They don’t need an explanation. They need a barrier.

And here lies the central truth that no amount of academic wordplay can erase, security is about what works, not what signals virtue. You don’t secure a site by being nice. You secure it by being prepared. Not paranoid, prepared. Not brutal, boundary-conscious.

Every dollar spent on feel-good programming that doesn’t translate into hardened entry points, trained personnel, or rapid response is a dollar that might as well be left on the doorstep with a welcome mat. Because criminals aren’t waging war on ideas. They’re seeking unguarded access. And too many institutions are giving it to them, out of guilt, appeasement, or sheer ideological confusion.

The truth is, deadbolts don’t discriminate. They don’t care about politics. They don’t care about your background. They don’t care what’s written on your vision statement. They just do their job. Quietly. Effectively. Reliably. And that is more than can be said for most of the diversity consultants currently draining government and security budgets in both public and private sectors.

This is not a call to cruelty. It’s a call to clarity. If you want less theft, secure the perimeter. If you want fewer intrusions, increase resistance. If you want to protect your people, invest in tools, not theories. It is better to have a well-locked building than a well-worded policy.

Because when the burglar tests the door, he’s not asking what you believe. He’s asking what you built to stop him.

From the author.

The opinions and statements are those of Sam Wilks and do not necessarily represent whom Sam Consults or contracts to. Sam Wilks is a skilled and experienced Security and Risk Consultant with 3 decades of expertise in the fields of Real estate, Security, and the hospitality/gaming industry. Sam has trained over 1,000 entry level security personnel, taught defensive tactics, weapons training and handcuffs to policing personnel and the public. His knowledge and practical experience have made him a valuable asset to many organisations looking to enhance their security measures and provide a safe and secure environment for their clients and staff.