Editorial: Palm Beach is not crime-free; lock cars to reduce risk of theft

One can never be too careful.

Though Palm Beach is a safe town to live in thanks to its top-notch police department, it is not immune to crime.

So, while it is not surprising to hear about cars being stolen, what is baffling is that police say most of the stolen vehicles were left unlocked, with their key fobs inside.

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Six vehicles were stolen over a recent two-week period. In the first three months of this year, nine vehicles have been stolen, Maj. John Scanlan of the Palm Beach Police Department said. That puts the town on pace to surpass last year’s total of 17 stolen cars. In 2021, 16 vehicles were stolen, he said.

“People are leaving their cars unlocked and their keys in the car,” he said.

Unlike earlier ignitions when you had to insert a physical key to start a car, as long as an electronic key fob is in the car when someone wants to start the engine, it will start.

Perhaps the owner used a valet parking, where keys fobs are sometimes placed in the middle console by an attendant and forgotten. Perhaps it's attached to a bulky key chain that's left in the car when the driver is in a hurry. Perhaps some people just have a false sense of security that their vehicle can’t be stolen from their property.

Whatever the reason, leaving your car unlocked with the key fob inside is serving your vehicle up for car thieves to steal. And they come to Palm Beach because they know that's where the high-end cars are. While the police will do everything possible to get your stolen vehicle back, do yourself a favor and make sure your vehicle is locked, even if it’s in your driveway.

“We very much appreciate the community feeling safe,” he said. “That’s our goal 100% of the time. But we could use the help on this.”

Helping the police is super-easy in this instance: Lock your car.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Editorial: Lock your cars to stymie would-be thieves in Palm Beach