When stories first began to crop up regarding bump key victimization, it opened up the locksmith industry to a great deal of public scrutiny. Many people wondered why they’d never been told exactly how vulnerable their homes and businesses actually were. Their locksmiths certainly should have known, right? Well, at this point it doesn’t really matter who knew what when–the challenge for us at this point in time is to overcome the tendency to underestimate the threat to life, limb and property. Just as people everywhere got all fired up and united after 9/11, only to drop the ball and to slip back into complacency further on down the road, once the TV stations slow down with reports on key bumping and it’s victims, the urgency of the potential threat will subside, and many of us will slide back into a blissful state of ignorance.  And I’m just like you– give me a little bit of time to rationalize, give me a minute to come up with some half-baked reason to ignore my instincts, and I guarantee you that the thing on my mind right now will slip my mind later. It’s a FACT!

For many people it’s a matter of plausibility, or feasibility. Some people will say, “Oh come on– yeah right, like someone’s really going to break into my house with just this bump key…”, or this rationale– “Alright, I see how someone could do it but, I can’t see it happening to me”. It’s almost as if they liken the odds of their being struck down by thieves to those of a cow’s being hit by lightning in a field–REMINDER: it may be true that the odds of a cow’s being hit by lightning are a billion to one, but the odds were 100% perfect for the cow who’s just been hit!

Anyway, it may take a while before numbers start to come up on the effects of this bump key phenomenon. In the meantime, it’s our job (yours and mine) to figure out what kind of a stand we want to take on this issue, and to address it proactively. All of you know where to find me, and all of you know that I’ll be there when you need me.

In my next newsletter, I hope to have assembled the most recent figures on crime statistics for this area, as well as a few other surprises for you all. Until then –

Stop and smell the roses. 

Val