Can a Thief Cut Tempered Glass with a Glass Cutter?

No, a thief cannot cut tempered glass with a glass cutter. Tempered glass is prepared in such a way that it will shatter into small crystals immediately upon being broken or cut. An intruder would not be able to cut tempered glass with a glass cutter and gain easy access into a building.

Cleanly cutting tempered glass is not possible. If a person wanted to cut tempered glass, they would have to perform a very lengthy and complicated annealing process that would essentially change the entire composition of the glass. This would simply not be feasible to perform on an outside window by a thief. Additionally, tempered glass is considerably stronger than ordinary glass. This makes it very difficult for an intruder to break into a tempered glass window. And even if they did, they would certainly not leave a clean scene behind.

That doesn't mean it's impossible for an intruder to break into a tempered glass window. Even if an intruder can't cleanly cut the window, they can still shatter it by using enough force. But luckily, there are many ways to protect a building and its tempered glass windows. The most obvious is to use a glass break detector. These devices actively listen for the sound of breaking glass, and they send an alert to a security system upon detecting this type of sound. With the large amount of force needed to break tempered glass and the heavy shattering involved, a glass break detector would definitely activate in this type of situation.

Shock sensors could also be used for monitoring breaking glass. These devices are designed to detect the physical shockwaves associated with breaking glass. Once the tempered glass has been shattered, it will create a large shockwave across the glass that will cause the shock sensor to activate. However, most security experts agree that shock sensors aren't as effective as sound-based glass break detectors. But they are still a viable option for monitoring tempered glass. And in the highly unlikely event that an intruder was able to "beat" a glass break detector or shock sensor, a user could just simply install a motion sensor directly inside the tempered glass window to detect any movement. This added redundancy would make it all but impossible for an intruder to infiltrate the property without setting off the alarm system.