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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Chris Sallmann\u2019s home is a monument to his 74 years of life.<\/p>\n The retired contracts estimator designed the sleek Ashburton unit with a sweeping open-plan lounge and kitchen to host his family and has the walls adorned with Australian landscape paintings.<\/p>\n In his sitting room hangs a portrait of his great-great-grandfather painted by five-time Archibald winner John Longstaff, and portraits of his parents by acclaimed artist Paul Fitzgerald, known for painting prime ministers, the Pope and then Prince Charles.<\/p>\n In his garage is a limited edition Audi and a red sports car he\u2019s restored over the past 25 years.<\/p>\n Sallmann takes few holidays \u2013 \u201cI don\u2019t even know where Bali is\u201d \u2013 opting to spend his money instead on filling his home with sentimental keepsakes and luxuries. It is, he says, his sanctuary.<\/p>\n \u201cI dreamt about it,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought about it during the 10 years that I planned my retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the past five years Google searches for \u201csteering wheel lock\u201d have increased by more than 5000 per cent nationwide.<\/p>\n But after a spate of attempted break-ins along his street, Sallmann has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect his home and his beloved cars.<\/p>\n All up, Sallmann estimates he has spent about $20,000 modifying his home \u2013 which once won a local council architecture award \u2013 to make it theft-proof.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not alone. Security retailers say customers are increasingly upgrading home protection systems after car thefts nearly doubled in the past three years<\/a> and community concerns run hot over the risk of home invasions and burglaries.<\/p>\n Data published this month revealed insurance claims for stolen cars in Melbourne eclipsed all other capital cities combined<\/a>, and Victoria Police are now urging people to purchase simple crime-prevention tools for their vehicles.<\/p>\n Over the past five years, Google searches for \u201csteering wheel lock\u201d have increased by more than 5000 per cent nationwide.<\/p>\n Sallmann has gone all-out with his security system.<\/p>\n High fences ring his front yard, with spikes set along the corners. The windows along the side of his home are deliberately slim to prevent intruders crawling through. Two bollards buttress his driveway, paired with steering wheel and on-board diagnostics port locks, and a signal-blocking Faraday key pouch to safeguard his cars.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n There are two front doors to the property. The outermost, made of steel with tungsten frames and complete with three locks, fits flush into the doorway to prevent it being levered open with a crowbar. The second door, made of heavy wood, also sits snugly in the frame and has a solid brass deadlock.<\/p>\n The front windows are double-glazed and smash-proof. At the side of his home, the large, sliding glass door which opens to his small garden is a centimetre thick and bulletproof. At $7,000, this was his most expensive renovation, and even Sallmann admits it may be overkill.<\/p>\n But experiencing a break-in some years ago and a spate of attempted burglaries along his street changed him from a comfortable retiree to \u201csomeone that lives on the edge\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are things that you could do that will … protect you, and make you feel better,\u201d Sallmann said.<\/p>\n James Strachan, of Melbourne-based Shug Bollards, said more Victorians were now buying bollards for residential use.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with a security camera is they can still steal your car, where with a bollard it\u2019s going to take a little bit of effort at least,\u201d Strachan said. He estimated about half his customers were now residential property owners.<\/p>\n Sales for bollards at Safety Xpress, a workplace safety retailer with an office in Keysborough, have grown by 23 per cent year-on-year, as residential demand grows.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve definitely seen people wanting to invest in physical security as more of a physical deterrent, but also a visual deterrent,\u201d said its operations and people manager Alisha Dopper.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Get alerts on breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a8e8484bdf66e8a2188430540280e4226e9632a9.jpeg\")
Chris Sallmann has spent $20,000 upgrading security at his home to protect his assets. Joe Armao<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bfdebeabdd857c837c463378f022daba42bbc6e5.jpeg\")
Chris Sallmann said fears over crime had put him on edge. Joe Armao<\/p>\n![\"Alisha](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/710ac1978f47c1f8336a5e66feebddfccb392bd0.jpeg\")
Alisha Dopper, of Safety Xpress, said there was growing demand for bollards for residential use. Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n![\"Angus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768742719_841_9074e55c39477e8cc871ddc5bc231809f9f522a3.png\")
Angus Delaney<\/a> is a reporter at The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-738821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}