Open Organisation of Lockpickers

I always run into situations where lockpicks would be super useful, but have never wanted to risk carrying them and getting a felony warrant for possession of burglary tools with what would otherwise be just another trespass.
 
How does the idea of burglary tools actually manifest? If I'm caught with a squirt gun I go down because I'm a felon - no knives or cutting devices. But, what if I'm on a job-site and I have snips? Fine to LE. Walking home from the same job-site with my snips and it's possession of burglary tools?!

EDIT - I need to learn to carry an Oxford Dictionary with me at all times....
 
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tacopirate said:
How does the idea of burglary tools actually manifest? If I'm caught with a squirt gun I go down because I'm a felon - no knives or cutting devices. But, what if I'm on a job-site and I have snips? Fine to LE. Walking home from the same job-site with my snips and it's possession of burglary tools?!

EDIT - I need to learn to carry an Oxford Dictionary with me at all times....
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the guidelines for the police charging you with burglary tools are pretty liberal..I keep all my scrapping tools at my scrapping camp.
 
^^Yeah, no kidding. When I was in MDOC custody last time there were a lot of guys in for possessing burglary tools. Granted they had extensive criminal histories but I find it hard to believe that having bolt cutters is deserving of many years in prison....
 
Their website gives a breakdown of the states (most) where possession of lock picks is legal as long as you're not committing another crime. They're also super easy to stash on your person, or toss discretely if need be. I've been to this group in SF. Is it still happening at Noise Bridge? I thought they stopped meeting there. Thanks for showing me there's a chapter up here, I thought it was just a local group down there. Picking locks isn't usually the easiest way into a place, tho. It takes such a delicate touch that it's affected by your emotional state. If you're looking over your shoulder nervously, your skill goes way down. It's still been a cool skill to have learned.
 
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Here's the deal with burglery tool. To get the charge you have to be commuting a crime with them in your possession. Cops may arrest you for them in a simple traffic stop. Take it to trial and win. If you have burglery/auto theft priors you may not have gloves, flash lights, screw drivers, pry bars etc etc On your person and at night for no excusable reason. If you're on your way to your third shift maintenance job you good, if you ridin your bmx with a flat bar in your hoodie you're an idiot. The exception is altered keys. That will get you busted with no priors. But the average Joe can walk down the street at 3 a.m. in a mask carrying bolt cutters and while the cops will probly flay him alive he hasn't committed a crime and any cages brought (in theory if not practice) should be thrown out by the courts. This is my personal experience on the matter as a former professional criminal
 
here is a funny true story, when being put into the VA nut house in Las Vegas, I had my lockpicking kit with me. the cops gave me a talk about how I wasn't suppose to have those and they had to confiscate them, they searched my backpack, took my knife too. Too bad I couldn't, i could of flew out of the cuckoos nest.
 

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Love picking locks for fun. Pretty successful at it except for one. I have been working at it for about 20 years on and off. It is a Verdon from Hungary and has six pins. Made a jig for it with 6 long screws that I can turn ever so slightly but still to no avail. Finding the correct pattern as well as depth of each. Never seen a padlock like it and one day I'm gonna open it. ~ peace and one day....
 
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