by Larry Lemmons
NewsChannel 10
Amarillo, Texas - Car locks are growing more sophisticated but car thieves are finding ways around protections.
Police want to stress this kind of thing occurs very rarely in Amarillo, but it does indicate a national crime trend. So police are asking folks to be vigilant, especially in parking lots.
New car dealers are confident in the security their products offer consumers. Chris Roberts of Southwest Honda says, "Anybody that's trying to break into the vehicle cannot get in without a key code or a radio code or unless they break a window or windshield."
And traditional key makers say it's become much more complicated to make duplicates to new keys. Rusty Coker of Ace Lock & Key Service says, "Just a duplicate key we have to have the vehicle to program it. What we do is duplicate the key and then program the vehicle just the same as, you know, the same as a mechanic would use a diagnostic tool, and program it into the computer."
But last week, thieves in a parking lot targeted a new car and used a device not commonly seen. Sgt. Brent Barbee of the Amarillo Police Department says, "We found that under some circumstances you can reshape or make a key or key like object that will fit into the ignition of a car and start it. And it happens more commonly with some cars and with more makes than others. It's not something we've had to deal with a lot in Amarillo, that's not to say it won't continue to show."
As technology advances, car manufacturers use what's available to make their cars more secure, but it may be inevitable that despite advances thieves continue to find ways to steal.
Police caught the thieves last week because officers staking out the parking lot observed the thieves prowling the lot and stealing the car.
