Car Lockout in Phoenix, AZ

Summer sets the clock

The National Weather Service counted 143 days at or above 100°F in Phoenix during 2024, and the longest streak of 100-degree days ran 113 days, from May 27 through September 16. The all-time high is 122°F, recorded on June 26, 1990. That makes for a long season in which a locked car with a child or an animal inside is a 911 call first and a locksmith call second.

Arizona law treats the situation seriously. A.R.S. 13-2910 makes it a class 1 misdemeanor to intentionally or knowingly leave an animal unattended and confined in a vehicle when injury or death is likely, and lets a peace officer or animal control agent use reasonable force to open the vehicle. A.R.S. 12-558.02 protects a person who enters a locked car to remove a minor or a domestic animal from civil damages, but only when every condition applies, including a good-faith belief of imminent danger, notifying a peace officer, an emergency medical provider, a first responder or, where appropriate, an animal control agency before entering, and staying with the minor or animal until that responder arrives. That summary is for orientation only and is not legal advice.

Streets, avenues and permit blocks

Central Phoenix has both a 7th Street and a 7th Avenue, and the city defines Downtown as the area between them. A location given as "7th and McDowell" therefore leaves two possible places, so say whether it is a street or an avenue.

The city's Resident Permit Parking Program covers neighborhoods next to businesses, schools, religious institutions and other popular venues, and exists to keep out nonresident parking. Resident permits cost $10, visitor permits cost $5 with a limit of three per household, and every permit is renewed each year. Police issue tickets for violations, through routine patrol or on a complaint. If the car is locked on a block like that, name the block.

What to send

• whether a child, animal or person is inside, and whether 911 has been called
• the street or avenue, the cross street and which side of the road; for a garage, the level
• whether the spot is on a resident-permit block, at a meter or in a private lot
• the make, model and year
• where the keys are: on a seat, in the ignition or in the trunk, and whether the engine is running

If the keys are lost rather than locked inside, see car key replacement. The Phoenix page covers the wider city.