Almost everyone locks their front door when they leave the house, but nearly a quarter leave their doors unlocked when they're at home
Last week a a former soldier scaled the fence at the White House and managed to actually enter the Presidential residence. Initial reports said that the intruder, Omar Gonzalez, had been stopped just inside the building, but new evidence shows that he actually managed to run through the entrance and East Room of the White House before being stopped as he tried to enter the Green Room. Despite the high tech security measures that are deployed to protect the President, the Secret Service did not regularly lock the doors of the White House - at least until now.
The latest research from YouGov shows that the vast majority of Americans lock their doors, both when they go out (93%) and when they're at home (77%). When it comes to locking the door when you're out, there isn't any major difference between various groups, though people in rural areas (86%) are somewhat less likely than people in cities (95%) to lock their doors when they are out.
Differences are much greater when it comes to whether or not people lock their door when they are at home, however. 85% of people in cities lock their door when they're at home, compared to only 71% of people in towns and 62% of people in rural areas. There is also a significant age difference on this question, as 81% of under-30s lock their doors when they are at home compared to 64% of over-65s.
The most significant divide on this question is along racial lines. Only 72% of white Americans lock their doors when they are at home, compared to 97% of black Americans and 91% of Hispanic Americans.
Full poll results can be found here.
Image: PA
