In June this year the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) in association with Secured By Design issued a new Technical Specification for letterboxes – TS009:2012.
The DHF’s new TS 009:2012 is the security rating for a letterbox receptacle on the outside of a building into which postal items are deposited. This is the type of product which is increasingly common in the communal lobby of apartment buildings, and shared offices.
The DAD009 letterbox can be mounted on or recessed into the wall of the building, or be free standing. The new spec covers single stand alone private letter box assemblies, as well as multiple letter box modules.
Why the new standard?
“The need for the new spec arose when the Association of Chief Police Officers and Secured by Design began to express concern about the security of mailboxes, particularly with regards to identity theft,” says DAD’s MD Emmanuel Charbonnel. “Some mailboxes were being subjected to mail theft either from direct break in, or from “fishing” through the mail slot.”
No standard existed in the UK for mailboxes, and manufacturers were forced to test boxes against PAS 24 – the burglary resistance standard for entrance doors. Clearly mailboxes were struggling to pass this test which required them to withstand attacks with tools such as mole grips and crow bars for three minutes - the average amount of time it is estimated that a burglar or opportunist thief will spend trying to break into a property. “Clearly a mailbox was not going to be able to withstand a test designed to be carried out on a complete door set in its frame” says Emmanuel.
The DHF set about writing a new specification in association with Secured by Design, leading lock and mailbox manufacturers (ASSA and DAD) plus Exova, the accredited test house. The new TS009:2012 sets out a new test and expectations for mailboxes. Products meeting DHF TS009:2012 provide resistance to forced entry using physical force and a variety of tools for either 30 seconds or 60 seconds total attack time. “The failing criterion is quite simply that mail cannot be removed,” says Emmanuel. “Boxes must be able to take an A4 document, it must not be possible to fish out mail from the outside, to break into the box, and the lock must comply with EN 1303 – this offers a realistic evaluation against opportunist attack to prevent the contents and/or letter box being removed.”
The full standard can be downloaded at www.dhfonline.org.uk .
What is in the box?
Thanks to its 140 years experience, DAD was able to enter discussion with Secured by Design in order to provide the best solution to fight crime and mail theft. We are proud to have been consulted as the expert in the letterbox industry, resulting in DAD being able to manufacture the first letterbox certified to TS009:2012. Made of steel, with a patented locking mechanism and a DAD lock complying to EN1303 (offering over 30,000 variations and the possibility of an integration into a master key system), the mail is now safe. Available in any RAL colour, this letterbox can be integrated into the design of any building, with a choice of fittings.
