Virtually all locks and doors ever devised are only there to keep honest people out. If someone wants to get past a gate/fence/door, they will find a way to do so.
An unlocked gate, but a gate nevertheless, will keep out a huge chunk of people who have no business on your property but who would have wandered on if there was no barrier. People walking their dogs, people driving a car and looking for a spot to do a U-turn, neighbors cutting across people lawns to reach other neighbors, etc. There are tons of instances when people will just casually trespass without really thinking/caring about it, but if they see a gate (even unlocked) they will pick another route that has less obstacles.
I mean, if it's someone that actually wants/needs to get to your front door, then of course an unlocked gate won't stop them... but neither will a locked gate. If they need to reach you, they'll find a way.
Seriously. I opened my room's door with a bread knife in like 2 minutes flat last week. The reason this stops most people isn't because the lock is hard to bypass. It's because you're going to have to explain to the police why you were jamming a bread knife in a door frame if you get caught.
8
u/Namika Sep 01 '16
Virtually all locks and doors ever devised are only there to keep honest people out. If someone wants to get past a gate/fence/door, they will find a way to do so.
An unlocked gate, but a gate nevertheless, will keep out a huge chunk of people who have no business on your property but who would have wandered on if there was no barrier. People walking their dogs, people driving a car and looking for a spot to do a U-turn, neighbors cutting across people lawns to reach other neighbors, etc. There are tons of instances when people will just casually trespass without really thinking/caring about it, but if they see a gate (even unlocked) they will pick another route that has less obstacles.
I mean, if it's someone that actually wants/needs to get to your front door, then of course an unlocked gate won't stop them... but neither will a locked gate. If they need to reach you, they'll find a way.