Milwaukee Area Police Stop Helping with Car Lockouts
Scott Berg
Milwaukee, Wisconsin area with respect to police unlocking cars for
free. I think the change is long overdue. I also find it amusing that
everyone has trouble unlocking cars except the thieves!
Scott
Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/nov01/lockout12111101a.asp
Police slamming the door on providing lockout service
By LAWRENCE SUSSMAN
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: Nov. 11, 2001
The days when a police officer would help a locked-out motorist get into a
car are going the way of Andy of Mayberry fetching Clara Edwards' cat from a
tree.
But even though Andy, of television sitcom legend, long ago hung up his
badge, rushed modern motorists still do absent-minded Barney-like things
with their car keys.
Now, the Mequon Police Department has become the latest law enforcement
agency to drop this aspect of community policing by abandoning the service
as of Dec. 1.
"We're here to provide the very best service that our community expects of
us," Mequon Police Chief E. Doyle Barker said. "But there are times when we
have to make decisions as to whether or not it is practical. And this just
doesn't seem to be practical or advisable for us to do this."
Mequon police helped in about 550 lockouts last year and are on about the
same pace this year, Barker said.
With the latest security devices built into vehicles, Barker said, "it's far
more difficult to get into them. We could do a significant amount of damage
to the cars by causing damage to the electrical system or by having the side
air bag discharge."
Officials from the Milwaukee, Brookfield, West Allis, Racine and Burlington
police departments echoed that reasoning. In emergencies, they said, their
officers will try to get into locked vehicles - such as when a child or dog
is trapped inside. Otherwise, the officers will direct motorists to a local
locksmith.
"They know that we're here to serve and protect, and we will respond and
assist in an emergency," Racine police Sgt. Al Days said. "But when it is
something that is routine, like locking their keys in their vehicle, they
can call the local locksmiths."
'Slim Jim' out of date
Racine officers used to employ a "Slim Jim" - a long, thin metal bar - to
open cars, Days said, as did officers from other local departments.
"The door jimmies worked beautifully on older cars up until 1984," Days
said. "But if a police officer can easily get into a car, so can a car
thief."
It used to take Racine officers as long as 45 minutes to get into a vehicle,
he said, "and I've seen locksmiths do it in five minutes, at most."
The Brookfield Police Department stopped helping resolve lockouts about five
years ago, Lt. Phil Horter said.
"It was, at the time, very overbearing - the number of calls that we would
get," Horter said. "And our success rate was falling due to security
improvements with the newer cars."
He acknowledged that by making it harder for car thieves to get into cars,
the automakers had done the same for officers.
The West Allis Police Department routinely refers lockouts to a West
Allis-based towing company, N & S Towing, whose employees are specially
trained and equipped to enter locked vehicles, Deputy Chief Austin Dunbar
said.
Police fear damage to cars
"It's better calling someone who knows what they are doing and who is a
professional at it," Dunbar said.
"We don't train the officers on how to do it. You hate to damage someone's
(Lincoln) 2001 Town Car or someone's sport utility vehicle," he added.
N & S normally charges between $20 and $40 to get into a locked car, company
owner-manager Danny Sancinati said. For West Allis residents, the fee is
$25.
His company spends about three weeks showing its drivers how to enter
vehicles. He pays $160 for a kit that has about 25 different tools, so his
drivers can enter vehicles without having to break into them.
"With all the power stuff, you have to be very careful in what you're
doing," Sancinati said. "But for a thief, it's often quicker for them to
break a window than it is to try to unlock a car."
In recent years, his drivers have averaged about 1,000 entries into locked
vehicles a year. Quite often, though, they find they were not needed.
Motorists will see that the driver's door is locked and lose their cool,
said Tony Sancinati, an N & S driver.
"We find many times that the window is down on the other side, and they
don't even know," he said. "It's a sense of panic."
The men urged people to always keep a spare car key in their wallet or
purse, or to hide keys somewhere on the outside of the car.
The Wisconsin American Automobile Association provided lockout service to
nearly 55,000 motorists last year - almost 16% of its 346,000-plus road
service calls, said Michael Bie, AAA spokesman.
Why so many lockouts?
"It happens," he explained.
Not all local departments have abandoned such jobs.
Spokesmen for the Brown Deer, River Hills and Fox Point police departments
said they still try to help locked-out motorists.
Brown Deer police Lt. Shawn Noel said his officers are able to use Slim Jims
even though many new vehicles have a security plate over their doors'
locking mechanisms.
But officers will not try to open cars with electric locks because, Noel
said, "there's a chance of shocking the officer as well as shorting out the
vehicle."
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Nov. 12, 2001.
"Keyman"
> I thought this group might be interested in what is happening in the metro
> Milwaukee, Wisconsin area with respect to police unlocking cars for
> free. I think the change is long overdue. I also find it amusing that
> everyone has trouble unlocking cars except the thieves!
>
> Scott
>
>
> Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/nov01/lockout12111101a.asp
>
> Police slamming the door on providing lockout service
> By LAWRENCE SUSSMAN
> of the Journal Sentinel staff
> Last Updated: Nov. 11, 2001
>
Wonder how many times out of the 550 lockouts a year, they messed up something ?
Guess they got tired of ending up in court.
Thats what happened down here in the south.
Their little paper that they had one sign.
Wasn't worth the ink used to sign it when they were taken to court:-)
my2
--
"Keyman"
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rb...@fuse.net
wrote:
> I thought this group might be interested in what is happening in the =
>metro
>> Milwaukee, Wisconsin area with respect to police unlocking cars for
>> free. I think the change is long overdue. I also find it amusing =
>that
>> everyone has trouble unlocking cars except the thieves!
>
>Wonder how many times out of the 550 lockouts a year, they messed up =
>something ?
>Guess they got tired of ending up in court.
>Thats what happened down here in the south.
>Their little paper that they had one sign.
>Wasn't worth the ink used to sign it when they were taken to court:-)
>
More interesting is that the people that do lock themselves out want
something for nothing. Then they want to sue because they're too
cheap to pay.
Along a similar line but OT, about 20 years ago I came across a
driver that was stuck in a river bank. I offered to pull him out, and
handed him a chain to hook up to his pickup truck. He looked at
it like it was a snake, then asked who was going to pay the damages
it it was somehow hurt. I took the chain back, got in my truck, and
drove off. I don't know how he got out, and don't care. When
liablilty becomes an issue with a good samaritan, the person in a
non-life threatening situation needs to pay for their folly. Full
price isn't too much.
Dick Burg
Josh Sponenberg
Shocked? I think not, badly burned by a hot tool, more likely. Auto
lock systems use 12 volts (give or take). No pain, no gain... Pansies.
:-)
> Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Nov. 12, 2001.
--
|+| |-|
+========================+
| Josh Sponenberg |
| Battery Specialist |
| www.BatteryWorksPA.com |
+========================+
Bill
to pay to repair them after their officers "churned butter" with a Slim Jim.
Also a lot of people complained to the Chief that the officers should be on
the street protecting the public, not spending an hour or two wrecking
someone's car. And you can forget an officer (unless he knows you-real good)
giving your name as a referral.
Rob
services for free which a tax paying company within the same municipality
provides at a fee. Those municipalities understand that cutting into the
business sector only hurts tax revenues. The exception in the laws is for
those times when life or property is being directly threatened.
Rob
"Bill" <bi...@nospamsanctum.com> wrote in message
news:jdoK7.45463$lV4.6...@e420r-atl1.usenetserver.com...
"Keyman"
opening vehicles years ago.
A Law like you described had nothing to do with it.
What stopped them from opening was all the court cases that arose
because of their incapability.
Personally, I believe that it infringes on private enterprise.
My city was logging lockouts as emergency call. The more they
get, the more state $$$ they get to operate the following year.
my2
--
"Keyman"
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"Rob" <robs...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:70NP7.13041$Ga5.2...@typhoon.tampabay.rr.com...
Dan
doing this. I am an operational Battalion Chief for a decent sized
Fire District. I am also an industrial locksmith, maintaining the
agency's BEST system. I constantly get asked, "can you open this
car?" 'yes, I can', "will you?" 'no, I won't' The professional
locksmiths in this area don't fight fires, we don't open the public's
locks. If there is a kid or animal at imeadiate risk, we pop the
window right now, no questions asked (the glass guys love us).
An active, alert kid on a cool day can wait for the locksmith (we
stand by, of course).
I value the relationship we have with the area locksmiths. The trade
is competitive enough with out the public sector playing in an arena
in which they are poorly equiped and untrained.
Have a Merry and Safe Christmas
Dan Wills
On 6 Dec 2001 23:46:54 GMT, NO...@abuse.net (--Shiva--) wrote:
> 2-3 weeks ago, the local (9,000 pop.) police chief was given a
>choice, resign or be demoted...
> NEW temp chief decreed last week NO MORE car opening unless life
>threatening..
> He retired from a town of 165,000 people and they DID NOT open
>cars there.
>
>
>
>