Years ago, a good friend of mine asked her neighbor to house-sit while she made the long journey back home to England for a visit. The neighbor was a sweet elderly woman who also lived alone in the house a stones throw away. Seemed a perfect arraignment at the time. What my friend didn't realize was that her neighbor's son was being released from prison during her absence.
The lady next door had an adult son who had been in and out of trouble the bulk of his years cycling between jail and life at home with his mother. The 40 something man had a problem with drug abuse which he funded by committing a series of petty thefts. Unfortunately for my friend, he had also developed a bit of a crush on her and though she often felt like he had been peeping in on her from time to time, she never had any real proof until...
Seems that spare key wound up in the wrong hands. Arriving home from her long trip back to Oregon, my friend was greeted with an unpleasant surprise. While her plants had been watered and the cat had a fresh bowl of food and water, it was the large missing appliances that first grabbed her attention. A quick look in each room revealed televisions were gone along with evidence of other missing valuables. However, it was what the thief had left behind in her bedroom that was the most disturbing part of the crime.
A formerly made up bed was now in complete disarray, beneath the covers a pair of her underwear had been left behind. A call to the local police and a subsequent DNA test revealed that the fluid inside her panties was that of her neighbor's son. Unfortunately, since her home showed no signs of forced entry the police buried the file away. There was no proof that a crime had been committed except the word of the homeowner so they took a report and the case was set aside. A number of years later the file resurfaced and the culprit was revealed, but by now the statute of limitation had lapsed and there was still no evidence of any criminal activity. For all the cops knew, the homeowner and the alleged intruder were in a relationship and he had entered the home with permission using a spare key.
The moral of this story is that we don't really know our neighbors, heck sometimes it turns out we don't really know our spouses or even our parents for that matter. While there is something to be said for giving trust freely, giving it with reckless abandon can be a very slippery slope. People you are friends with today may not be so down the road and even if they are, it is hard to know who they also have relationships with. The convenience of keeping a spare key with a trusted neighbor or nearby friend is a practice many home owners subscribe to. We all need someone to stop by and water the plants, feed our pets and keep an eye on our homes when we go out-of-town from time to time. Many parents like to give a key to the neighbor in case a member of their family looses their set unexpectedly. The theory is a good one, but the unfortunate truth is that it could place you and your family in unexpected danger.
The better alternative to relying on those closest to you is to proactively store a set of spare keys safely outside on your property. Keys left outside should also be stored in a locking style device. Hiding the lock box will further prevent drawing unwanted attention to your hidden keys. Choose a lock box that is discrete enough to hide easily, but also has a large key storage compartment, as there is nothing worse than discovering you that your spare key wasn't returned the last time it was used. Taping one to the inside of the box will make sure you always have an extra.
Looking for a safer way to store a spare key outside? Check out the RocLok, the only lock box that hides in plain sight disguised as a rock. http://www.roclok.com/
For more tips to maintaining a safe home join the Secure Surroundings blog at: http://www.roclok.com/blog - Please be sure to subscribe for the latest news.
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