Are Bump Keys a Threat to
Locksmiths supplies?
The public knowledge of bump keys did not make
the locksmith industry happy. It opened up public scrutiny and
negative images for locksmiths because it spread open knowledge
of how vulnerable the public can be with the locks that are on
the market. Privacy was made insecure and uncertain.
Bump keys gained popularity and gave the
public a glance into the world of the locksmith. The glance,
however slight, made the job seem easy. A locksmith faces many
challenges aside from the types of locks that can be opened
with bump keys. But the public knowledge brought forth both
positive and negative attention to locksmiths. In some aspects
it showed that more credibility needed to be gained from those
legitimate in the business to ease public concern over those
who are not. It caused more work for locksmiths in some ways
because of the amateur criminals who adopted a belief that they
could get away with more wrong-doing in an easier way. It also
showed many ways our modern locks were failing
us.
Locks are designed by locksmiths, manufactured
in factories, sold for public and private use, and then worked
on by locksmiths who must pick the locks for people who lose
keys or leave them locked inside the building or vehicle. It's
somewhat of an amusing circle that moves from the locksmith and
back to the locksmith.
Not
everyone, of course, was willing to take the bump key attention
to heart. It lost popularity after the initial shock was over.
Locksmiths are still a respected group who are much needed; in
some ways, the attention brought by the bump key information
enhanced business for locksmiths.
Bump keys are certainly not the only way a
criminal can enter your home, business, or vehicle. If a person
is determined to enter and is persistent, there are many other
ways to accomplish unlawful entry. Not every criminal would
want to take the time to learn the proper way to make and use
the bump key.
Locksmiths will continue to flourish in their
trade, and if the truth be known, have had occasion to use the
bump key as well. The real threat to the public is in not
taking responsibility for their own safety and not taking
criminals seriously. Lock bumping is not new. The Dutch and
German locksmiths experimented with it many years ago. It's
just another form of lock picking that was put in the public
eye that people had not realized was a threat all
along.
So, even though the public and the
locksmiths frowned on the bump key knowledge becoming public,
it was only a matter of time before it surfaced. The interest
died down once the spotlight was removed. Life goes on.
Locksmiths are still respected in their field and will continue
to be such. Lock manufacturers didn't suffer enough for it to
affect them on a large basis.
The
bump keys are only a small part of the tools that fall into the
wrong hands. There is no way to keep every tool that could
possibly cause unlawful entry out of the criminal's hands.
Hence the job security of the locksmith will remain
secure!
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