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friend Jim.

Jim works for a major


company in a responsible position and

tlI I

was sitting in my shop relaxing

and doing nothing

when I was paid a visit from an old

I wish

Jim had a problem. He explained to me that some valuable computer equipment had disappeared from a locked office. There were only two keys to the lock on the door and his insurance company would not settle the claim because, to put it bluntly, they suspected him of having
removed the equipment.

Jim was quite distraught, not only


because of the financial loss he had

suffered, but also because of the unstated suspicion he felt he was


under by senior magagement. As Jim and I talked, I asked him if the police had investigated the burglary and he told me that they had. When I began

to question him about professional examination of the lock and locking devices, he replied that the police had only checked for signs offorced
entry.
One of my major pet peeves is the

ob'
SOI

Sul

str
de

lack of knowledge on the part of law

enforcement agencies as to the forensic examination of locks and security devices. Unfortunately, this is a field which is sadly lacking in trained, professional investigators. In most cases the field investigator has little knowledge of forensics as a science and no understanding of
locksmithing as a field of expertise.

re

un we

ar(

eVr

Unl

As locksmiths, we too are not always sufficiently trained to recognize the signs of what I call "covert" entry versus "forced entry." Covert entry is when the perpetrator has entered a locked or controlled
area without leaving any obvious signs

foun a cou?le of eupiaiou looking cralahe an oome efinite inentalion aroun lhe e6e of llhe ayliner.
1. I

an sal
anl the

ha.'

s Jim finished telling me his tale /-lof woe, I felt sorry for him, not
only as a friend but as a person who felt he had nowhere to turn to resolve his problem. I explained to him the

furnished with

a push bar panic device and no external lock. This door was an

emergency exit only.

for kn
ma

pol

of entrance, and in fact has left signs


that can only be detected by a trained forensics person. Forced entry to most police officers is when someone has kicked the door in by using their size
12 boots.

principles behind forensic


an examination of the area in question.

Ir
all

locksmithing and offered to conduct

I believe we need to better epare ourselves by learning as much as we can about the forensic locksmithing field or "investigative locksmithing" if
you prefer that term. We can then sell

lVe made an appointment for the following morning and he left a little happier than when he arrived. I told him not to get his hopes too high, because I couldn't guarantee I would find anything. However, it wouldn't
hurt to look. Early the next morning we met for breakfast and then he took me to the building where the loss had occurred. Quite simply, it was a relatively small

1
loc
to<

ma nol

wi
col

ber

our services to various

enforcement agencies and to


business. If you have never done insurance work, I can tell you they pay well, and one job generally leads to
another.

1aw

tha

insurance companies and expand our

Jol

office in a modern building. There were no windows which could be opened and only two doors through which a person could gain entrance.

ve1

2.There were elini,e ign of a wrenahing attack on thie cyliner,

toI

The back door was an emergency exit

del bet ma

116 . The National lcksmith

anyone had opened or attempted to open the door in that manner. The door hinges were mounted on the
inside

it closely on all sides. As you can see in Photograh 2, there were definite
signs of a wrenching attack on this cylinder. At two different places around the rim there were marks left by what I believe to be either a pair of

, thatavenue ofapproachwas out. I finally examined the entire face of


the mortise cylinder lock using hand-held microscope and found
a
a

the way they should be

so

couple of suspicious looking scratches and some definite indentations around the edge of the cylinder (see
Photograh 1).

channel locks or vice grips (see If a suspect with tools was ever found, we could do a comparison to determine if any of
Photograh 3).
those tools matched the marks.

As further proof that

an

/-lcylinder,
S,fhere were mark left by what I believe lo be either a air ot
ahannel lock or vice grip,

fter photographing the face of the

I then removed

the

unauthorized attack had been made, I checked the sides of the cylinder for

cylinder from the door and'examined

marks.left by the threads of the

A quick visual check revealed no obvious signs of bypass to this door, such as drilled holes through which someone could have inserted a wire or string and opened the exit push-bar
undamaged paint on them and there were no "jimmy" or shove knife marks

device. The hinges had not been removed as evidenced by the

around the perimeter of the door. I

even used a mirror to check the

underside of the door for marks left by

an "under-the-door type tool." After satisfying myself that no-one could


have entered through that door using any technique of which I was aware, I then went to the front door.

for last for two reasons; first, I didn't know what kind of examination the police might have conducted and the
marks they might have made, second, I wanted to be sure t had eliminated all other possibilities first.

saved the most obvious entrance

{ffiL mmd LLNffi$$ Lffi#K s everythffi$ Veffi'8 ev$tr ffi##d m ffi&tuT LffiCK$g
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ry_

fhe first thing I examined was the I door and jamb. I looked for pry
lock for pick, rake or other by-pass tool marks. The lock was clean. Without disassembling the lock I couldn't be 100% certain there had been no aLtack, but I decided to save
that for the last resort.

marks around the strike. There were none. I examined the keyway of the

iertical portion of the jamb met the top cross-Piece' tn an attempt to deermine if a,,Jamb Spreader" had

I checked the door jamb and the ioints at the juncture where the

INSTITUTIONAL, ELEVATOR, ESCALATOR, LOCKER and MARINE (nonCOTTOSiVE) LOCKS. ..AND OTHERS.

been used. There were absolutely no marks or indications of any kind that
Circle 422 on Rapd Reply

July 1997

. tL7

cylinder being forced past the set


screw. As you can see in Photograh 4,

there are definite indications that


someone had forced the lock open.

me to feel comfortable in putting that into a report. However, first we had to contact the building manager

sufficient indication of a break-in for

I told Jim that there

was

to determine if there had ,been any locksmith work done on that particular lock in the recent past. I could tell it was a recent attack because the brass, which had been scratched, had not tarnished or oxidized in any manner. After
determining that there had been no known service performed on that lock, we made an appointment to
see Jim's boss.

"good guys." If the police had investigated as I did, found the evidence and understood its

significance, they would have initiated an investigation and


possibly caught the person who had broken in.

You and I have knowledge and understanding of locks, their weaknesses and the by-pass techniques which can be used
against them. What we have to do is

what

I had done and what the results indicated and showed him the photographs. In a short period of time, Jim received an apology for the unspoken suspicion. The fact remains that there was sufficient evidence to prove a break-in had
company has been introduced to the

I im and I went to his office and I Ll made a presentation explaining

learn to recognize the indications that these techniques leave behind, replicate them in a laboratory situation and establish our

occurred and one done by a relatively competent thief, not a "smash and grab" guy, This
concept of forensic locksmithing and is now aware of some of the things that can be done. While this case did not result in the capturing of a "bad guy" it did remove suspicion from one of the

found. There is a need for our rve are the only ones services

credentials so we can legally testify in courts of law about what we have

perform them who can - so why aren't we making use of these skills and earning money from helping the
good guys and beating the bad ones.

4,here are efinile


lh a o m e o n e ha foraed lhe loak o?en.
in i
a

After all, isn't that the main purpose of our existence? Study, grow, expand and live a better life. I[

ai o n

OUT OF FOCUS, BUT VISIBLE.

SO THE LOCK WAS REPLACED AFTER THE BURGLAR LEFT? THE CYLINDER WAS NOT LOOSE???

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ffi4?-54f -ffiffi4$. F&K ffie7-54"&-6ffi

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118 . The National Icksmith

Circle 475 on Rapid Reply

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