Using a Key Box Will Stop Your Car Keys Being a Target for Thieves
My name is Mark and I joined our local Neighbourhood Watch for two reasons. One was that I believe that, in general, we should all look out for each other. That’s what makes a good society work. The other is that my local area had had a spate of car robberies over a six-month period and I wanted to be involved in doing something about it.
Embracing Neighbourhood Watch
As I started to go to meetings, I really embraced what Neighbourhood Watch was all about. I completely agree with their mantra, ‘Building safe and healthy neighbourhoods with the help of our active communities.’
It got to the point where some parents were afraid to let their kids play outside because of the possible danger. Part of being an ‘active community’ is being active about stopping elements that pose a danger to our safety and health.
In the first meeting I attended, I listened to the experiences my neighbours had suffered. While I hadn’t had anything stolen myself, I heard that many members hadn’t been as lucky as me.
Car Thieves Becoming More Brazen
Car thieves had become more brazen about sneaking into homes looking for car keys. Alarmingly, break-ins occurred when families were at home asleep and were unaware of the presence of intruders.
We all decided to work harder at being an extra set of eyes and ears for our neighbours and being more aware and alert to suspicious activities. We also decided that if anyone could find a specific and concrete strategy or tactic that could stop this danger in its tracks, we should share it.
I Wanted to do Something Meaningful
I decided to do some research online. One study conducted by the RACQ showed that one in four home break-ins are for the purpose of stealing cars. I also found that there are several reasons why homes, especially driveways and garages, are the number one location for cars being stolen:
- Public areas are less attractive to thieves due to improvements in video surveillance, increased security patrols and more public awareness with regard to the need to report crime.
- Using physical force to gain access to homes can easily go unnoticed.
- Improvements in anti-theft technology like immobilisers in late-model cars have increased their security, making them harder to steal without a key.
- Even when cars are not deliberate theft targets, they can be an opportunistic find when burglars discover car keys in a home.
With this worrying trend on the rise, I could see it’s very important for car owners to be careful with their car keys and keep them in a secure place.
Some security advice out there suggests that you should keep car keys out of sight from door entrances and windows, and far away from your vehicle. This means never leaving your car with the keys in the ignition.
Not Going Far Enough
While this is all well and good, I thought it doesn’t go far enough. The question I asked myself was, ‘What’s the most secure way possible to keep my car keys out of the hands of potential intruders?’ And the best solution I could find was the KeepControl Smart Key Box. It has several impressive features:
- Some competitors have a non-digital interface, with four code lock numbers on metal dials. The KeepControl Smart Key Box has a ten-digit electronic key pad, with a six-digit PIN code, making it harder to open. A four-digit pin has 10,000 different combinations, whereas a six-digit pin has one million. Also, the metal dials looked a little flimsy, making them possible to manipulate.
- The body is made of zinc alloy, making it extremely strong. Trying to break it open would make so much noise, any burglar would never risk trying it.
- It’s water proof and anti-corrosion, and able to withstand extremely high and low temperatures. This gives me peace of mind about the quality and longevity of the product.
- It can hold 5-7 keys, which meant I was able to keep my wife’s car keys safe, as well as my own.
Sharing My Findings
I shared my findings about the KeepControl Smart Key Box with the other members of my Neighbourhood Watch Group. They liked what they heard so much, it became our ‘official’ car theft prevention device. As far as I know, every member installed this key box in a suitable location in their homes.
In the six months before I told my group about the KeepControl Smart Key Box, there were 15 car thefts in our neighbourhood. In the six months after I shared my findings, the number of thefts had been reduced to just one.
My Neighbourhood Watch group wanted to try to organise some kind of reward for me. But for me, the real reward was being able to find an effective solution to our car theft problem.
Why Choose a KeepControl Smart Key Box?
KeepControl has the best security solutions. We offer Australia wide delivery to your door. Contact us today on 1800 654 919 or at info@keepcontrol.au.