Safes have been used for many years as a way of securely storing items that are prime targets for theft, and both private citizens and businesses alike make use of safes to prevent theft of items ranging from laptops to firearms to jewelry or valuable documents, and perhaps most famously, banks will have many safes of all sizes and strength for storing the items of their clients. Many different models of safes exist, from small ones meant to hold jewelry to bigger ones meant for large amounts of paper money to gun safes that are designed with firearms such as rifles and shotguns in mind, both for commercial and private use. In nations where citizen are allowed to own their own firearms and have them at home, such as the United States, a gun safe is a very smart and secure investment for dangerous items such as firearms, and using them can prevent both the theft of those firearms and accidental discharge (often at the hands of children playing with them). Laptops and other electronics can be stored in safes by business professionals who want to keep their data secure from corporate espionage or general theft, and a moderate sized safe can be placed on the floor in an office to secure laptops, documents, and more.

Rates of Safes and Theft

Theft is a common crime, and the counter-measures for theft are just as prevalent and take different forms. A home or business may invest in anti-burglary measures such as fences, security cameras, and even armed guards, but sometimes, thieves and burglars will still manage to get into a building and leave again without impediment, and for this reason, safes act as another line of defense whenever cameras or fences fail. Even if a burglar breaks into a home or public building without detection, that intruder may be hard-pressed to steal laptops, firearms, jewelry, or cash if such items are stored in a proper safe. And given how nearly two million burglaries are reported in the United States per year, and how 90% of burglary cases are never solved, it is clear that homeowners and building managers may want to take extra precautions against this crime. The industry for developing and selling safes is large, too. In fact, as of the year 2017, the safe and vault industry earned $494 million, and this business may grow in the future, too. It is predicted by experts to grow 2.6% per year from 2012 to 2022, and this can be a major relief for homeowners who are afraid to lose their valuables in a break-in.

Safes are also effective because they are very tough and can resist major trauma and even fire, greatly reducing the odds of the laptops or cash inside being damaged due to accidents or fire. In particular, high-security burglar safes may store item collections worth $50,000 to $1,500,000, and they can protect those contents from both safe crackers and fire alike. For this reason, a business owner or homeowner may want to put their sensitive documents inside such a safe and also digitally scan them and upload them to a secure Cloud storage service so that such documents are never lost. Business safes can contain blueprints or diagrams for new items, financial reports, and more, and a floor safe can contain laptops, cash, or more.

Gun safes are designed in particular to hold firearms big and small, and since many Americans own their own firearms and these armed households often have children in them, great care should be taken so that no people, pets, or property are damaged from accidental fire. It has been demonstrated that playing children often get their hands on firearms such as pistols and accidentally harm each other or themselves, so a firearm-owning adult is urged to buy and use a gun safe where handguns, rifles, and shotguns (as well as their ammunition and accessories) can be stored. This can neatly prevent children from getting their hands on these dangerous weapons and can also prevent thieves from getting them, either. Many firearms are worth hundreds of dollars, and their accessories may be valuable as well. Burglars may want to steal firearms and sell them, but a gun safe will prevent this.