Glass for security: how glass can help protect people and property

Simon Edward • 28 November 2025

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Need extra security in your home or business premises? Find out the essential role that security glass can play.

Once upon a time, glass was far from synonymous with strength. Sure, it did the job of erecting a visible barrier between inside and out. But if you wanted protection against intruders or other impacts, you could think again.

These days, glass is tougher than ever. Offices are fitted with glass walkways and glass elevators. Around the world, people walk across glass bridges. It can sometimes seem as though there's no limit to the load-bearing capacities of glass.

This level of toughness matters for two reasons: safety and security.

"Um", we hear you um. "Aren't they the same thing?" Well, yes and no. In the context of glass, safety glass is about protecting you from unintended impacts – a flying bit of debris, say. Security glass, on the other hand, is there to protect against the three Bs: bandits, bombs and bullets.

This is all thanks to innovations in modern glazing. Glass can be toughened, laminated and multi-laminated, sometimes with acrylic as well as PVB, to provide extra protection.

If you're a homeowner, an architect or a branch manager, security glass can make a big difference to the overall security of your building. Let's find out more about these powerful types of glass.

What is security glass?

Security glass is a category of safety glass that's specifically designed to withstand deliberate attack. This could take the form of forced entry, vandalism, bullets or bomb blasts.

It's typically made from layers of glass bonded with an interlayer. This means the glass fragments hold together even when the glass is shattered. And because the glass is typically toughened too, it's exceptionally hard to shatter in the first place.

Sometimes, as in the case of bullet-resistant glass, acrylic is laminated between the layers of glass as an extra layer of defence.

Security glass comes in different categories. It can be designed to withstand manual attacks, ballistics or explosions. To qualify as security glass, it has to pass rigorous testing procedures. These usually involve simulated attacks.

What are the applications of security glass?

Security glass is used in a wide range of applications – from the domestic to the commercial. In domestic settings, it's sometimes used for windows and doors. In commercial settings, it's used for storefronts, cabinets, partitions, windows, doors and more.

Everyone from banks to governments uses security glass to protect themselves against burglary, ballistic attacks and bomb blasts.

Sometimes, security glass is mandated by building regulations. In the UK, for instance, Part Q of the building regulations cover the resistance of windows and doors to forced entry.

H3: What is security glass made from?

Security glass is made from laminated glass. This is a glass unit that consists of two or more glass sheets bonded with a plastic interlayer. Sometimes, the unit will contain an acrylic layer for added resistance against projectiles.

The plastic interlayer means that when the glass unit breaks, the fragments stay in place. This is especially useful in overhead installations – and, more generally, in installations where extra security is required.

On top of this, the plastic interlayer can enhance the aesthetic of the glass. Glass manufacturers and processors can provide you with security glass that has a coloured or textured interlayer. As so often these days, there's no trade-off between aesthetics and functionality.

For added durability, the sheets of glass used in security glass are often toughened. This is a manufacturing process that involves heating sheets of standard annealed glass at a high temperature and then cooling or "quenching" them rapidly.

This sudden change in temperature does something special to the glass – something that makes it ideal for safety and security applications.

The molecules are excited in such a way that the glass, when shattered, breaks into smooth smithereens. This makes it much safer than annealed glass, which breaks into jagged chunks.

Many security glass products, then, give you all the advantages of toughened glass and laminated glass. There's a reason why it's used in government facilities and other locations where security is all-important.

What are the main security glass products?

There are three main types of security glass. Each one is designed to provide extra protection against specific threats.

First, there's anti-bandit glass. As the name suggests, this is built to withstand physical attacks from hammers, axes and other implements.

Secondly, there's bullet-resistant glass, sometimes incorrectly marketed as "bulletproof" glass. It absorbs the shock of a bullet's impact and reduces the chance of breakage. No glass, however, can be truly bulletproof.

The same goes for the third category of security glass. This is bomb-resistant glass, sometimes known as anti-ballistic glass. It's typically used in settings where bomb threats are not unheard of – government facilities, for instance.

How we can help

Here at ToughGlaze, we supply two types of security glass. In our product range, they're called TG SECURE (bandit-resistant) and TG BOMB BLAST (blast-resistant).

So why, you might be wondering, should you choose our products? The answer is that they're among the most lightweight and secure glass composites you'll find today. And like all our glass products, they're manufactured in accordance with strict industry standards.

What's more, they're cut, processed and fired all at our state-of-the-art facilities. This means our customers can expect a fast turnaround, clear lines of communication and clear accountability in the rare event that something goes wrong.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between safety glass and security glass?
Safety glass is built to withstand accidental breakage and break safely if enough force is applied. It does this either by breaking into small, smooth smithereens (toughened glass) or by maintaining structural stability when broken (laminated glass).
Security glass, meanwhile, is designed to withstand deliberate attack, whether from bullets, bandits or bandits.
Can glass really be bulletproof?
"Bulletproof" is a misnomer. Glass can be bullet-resistant but not truly proof against all bullets. It's manufactured to withstand specific levels of ballistic force, not to be entirely impenetrable to bullets.