Forensic Locksmith Strikes Again

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 founà a cou?le of euøpiaiouø looking øcralaheø anà oome àefinite inàentalionø arounà lhe eà6e of llhe aylinàer. 1. I an sal anl the ha.' Â 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 çäepare 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 àeliniü,e øignø of a wrenahing attack on thie cylinàer, toI The back door was an emergency exit del bet ma 116 . The National l¡cksmith 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 Photograþh 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 Photograþh 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 Photograþh 3). those tools matched the marks. As further proof that an /-lcylinder, S,fhere were markø left by what I believe lo be either a þair ot ahannel lockø or vice gripø, Â 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. I 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 ñ{ffiL mmd ñLLäNffi$$ Lffi#K ås everythåffi$ Veffi'ã8 ev$tr ffi##d åm ffi&tuT LffiCK$g WHAT DO YOU NEED? ILLINOIS LOCK quality. 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 deìermine 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 Rapíd Reply July 1997 . tL7 cylinder being forced past the set screw. As you can see in Photograþh 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,Íhere are àefinile lh aþ ø o m e o n e haà foraed lhe loak o?en. in ài a After all, isn't that the main purpose of our existence? Study, grow, expand and live a better life. Iß[ aþi o nø OUT OF FOCUS, BUT VISIBLE. SO THE LOCK WAS REPLACED AFTER THE BURGLAR LEFT? THE CYLINDER WAS NOT LOOSE??? tuf fÆ\l g L-{.Al-t @ p tuwffiffitræe g /\l f &&*cJq-r &ffiffi-4#ã-$#.$$ ü'-@ . ffi4?-54f -ffiffi4$. F&K ffie7-54"&-ßß6ffi P.û" Wox T38& ' Whee&ümg, Ëßtir"lots $ffit$ff ARROW LEVER LOCKS MAKE INSTALLATION SIMPLE WITH EITHER FIELD REVEBSIBLE ANSIGRADE 1 OR NON-HANDED ANSIcRADE 2; INTERCHANGEABLE CORE, COMPETITIVE KEYWAYS AND 15 FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE. ALSO AVAILABLE IN AN ECONOMICAL L SERIES FOR LIGHTER DUTY COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS. 118 . 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