78 Years Ago
The April 15, 1948 Colorado Transcript reported on a survey the reporters had done in cooperation with the Chief of Police. They wanted to know how many people left keys in their cars when they parked downtown.
Their conclusion was, “if you want to steal a car, you won’t have to look far because one in every four of the cars examined last week had the keys in the ignition switch.” Of the 94 cars they checked, 22 had keys in the switch. One truck was parked with the engine running.
The Transcript was less concerned for the safety of the cars than they were for the future of the people (mostly boys, apparently) who might be tempted to steal them.
It proves that a lot of people are careless. These careless persons are deliberately placing temptation before young people—especially young boys— to commit a crime—a crime which will put them on record as having broken the law. We think it a lot safer to take the keys out of your car and spend the time looking for them in your pocket book or your pants pocket rather than risk the destruction of your property and the destruction of a young fellow’s reputation. Don’t deliberately provide keys for culprits.
Colorado Transcript – April 15, 1948
