State law prohibits police from unlocking vehicles

If you lock your keys in your vehicle, you may or may not be able to get a police officer to open it for you.  A state law that prevents officers from responding to non-emergency locked-vehicle calls.  Police in Piedmont and Anniston announced Tuesday that they would no longer unlock vehicles except in emergencies.  In March a Memo was sent  to locksmiths from Lynne Taunton, executive secretary for the Alabama Electronics Security Board of Licensure, stating that law enforcement personnel are not exempt from state requirements to be licensed as locksmiths to unlock vehicles.  The state board licenses and regulates alarm system installers and locksmiths.  Locksmiths were already required to be licensed to work on residential locks, but an amendment to state law which went into effect Aug. 10, 2013, added the words “motor vehicles” to that requirement.  The law states that anyone who works on “the installation or service of locks for motor vehicles or for residential or commercial use” must be licensed.  Law enforcement personnel aren’t mentioned as exempt in state law, and that’s what’s causing the confusion.  Oxford police Capt. L.G. Owens said officers at his agency will continue to unlock vehicles, and not just in emergencies.  Owens said after calling the board of licensure this week he discovered that the practice would not result in fines for his department.