Date: Sat, 9 Jul 88 23:45:42 EDT
From: mnetor!utzoo!henry@uunet.UU.NET
Subject: Re: Lockpicking

> Should I spend a fortune replacing the locks on my house, or are the risks
> low that a burglar will pick the locks?

A local insurance outfit might be able to tell you what the incidence of
such things is locally.  Do beware of one complication:  since picking
leaves no major physical traces, it is a convenient scapegoat for cases
where the *real* problem was the owner's carelessness.  Orthodox wisdom
is that most "burglar picked the lock" cases are really "burglar had a key"
or "door was not locked".

My understanding is that picking is perceived as difficult and possession
of lockpicks (aka "burglary tools") is perceived as too likely to be
incriminating.  I would be surprised if Arizona didn't have a possession-
of-burglary-tools law; before spending a fortune on locks, spend a
little asking a lawyer about this.  (Local officials are notorious for
being uninformed about the laws they are supposed to enforce, so I wouldn't
put too much faith in the negative results you got by asking them.)

Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology  {ihnp4,decvax,uunet!mnetor}!utzoo!henry