Window Security Guide for Civil Unrest

Understanding Window Vulnerabilities During Civil Unrest

The sound of shattering glass carries a particular urgency during civil unrest. In the 2020 urban disturbances across multiple American cities, property owners learned a harsh lesson: their standard residential windows provided virtually no meaningful barrier against determined intrusion. Security footage from Minneapolis, Portland, and other affected cities revealed the same pattern repeating across hundreds of incidents—a single strike with a brick, a skateboard, or even a heavy flashlight, and the window gave way completely. The time from first contact to full breach averaged just 22 seconds according to analysis compiled by the National Institute of Justice [2].

Standard residential windows represent the architectural equivalent of leaving your front door unlocked during a home invasion. The typical single-pane window found in most American homes consists of annealed glass measuring 3/32 to 1/8 inch thick—barely thicker than two credit cards stacked together. This glass fractures into large, sharp shards upon impact, creating an immediate entry point that requires no special tools or expertise to exploit. Even dual-pane windows, while offering better insulation, provide minimal security advantage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Civil Unrest Preparedness Guide notes that dual-pane windows delay breach attempts by only 8-12 seconds on average compared to single-pane alternatives [1].