Contrary to widespread myth, it is not a felony to possess lockpicks. Each state has its own laws with respect to such burglarious instruments. Here is the Massacusetts version quoted in entirety from the massachusetts general code:
Chapter 266 [...]
This appendix describes the design and construction of lock picking tools.
A.1 Pick Shapes
Picks come in several shapes and sizes. Figure A.1 shows the most common shapes. The handle and tang of a pick are the same for all picks. The handle must be comfortable and the tang must be thin enough to avoid bumping pins [...]
Lock picking is a craft, not a science. This document presents the knowledge and skills that are essential to lock picking, but more importantly it provides you with models and exercises that will help you study locks on your own. To excel at lock picking, You must practice and develop a style which fits you [...]
Real locks have a wide range of mechanical features and defects that help and hinder lock picking. If a lock doesn’t respond to scrubbing, then it probably has one of the traits discussed in this chapter. To open the lock, you must diagnose the trait and apply the recommended technique. The exercises will help you [...]
This chapter presents a series of exercises that will help you learn the basic skill of lock picking. Some exercises teach a single skill, while others stress the coordination of skills.
When you do these exercises, focus on the skills, not on opening the lock. If you focus on opening the lock, you will get frustrated [...]
Simple lock picking is a trade that anyone can learn. However, advanced lock picking is a craft that requires mechanical sensitivity, physical dexterity, visual concentration and analytic thinking. If you strive to excel at lock picking, you will grow in many ways.
7.1 Mechanical Skills
Learning how to pull the pick over the pins is surprisingly difficult. [...]
The flatland model highlights the basic defect that enables lock picking to work. This defect makes it possible to open a lock by lifting the pins one at a time, and thus you don’t need a key to lift all the pins at the same time. Figure 4.1-4.3 shows how the pins of a lock [...]
In order to become good at picking locks, you will need a detailed understanding of how locks works and what happens as it is picked. This document uses two models to help you understand the behavior of locks. This chapter presents a model that highlights interactions between pin positions. Chapter 4 uses this model to [...]
This chapter presents the basic workings of pin tumbler locks, and the vocabulary used in the rest of this booklet. The terms used to describe locks and lock parts vary from manufacture to manufacture and from city to city, so even if you already understand the basic workings of locks, you should look at figure [...]
Sex, Drugs and Public Hangings
A series by Spiralbound.net on social deviance and punishment in the United States and Europe
Design Limitations:
No research project is without its limitations, and even before the original research strategy had to be changed this one was no exception. In the end, the limitations of this study can best be broken down [...]
Sex, Drugs and Public Hangings
A series by Spiralbound.net on social deviance and punishment in the United States and Europe
Introduction to the study:
Since exploring the reasons for social deviance is, in many ways central to the discipline of sociology, it stands to reason that there already exists a relatively large amount of work surrounding the various [...]
Sex, Drugs and Public Hangings
A series by Spiralbound.net on social deviance and punishment in the United States and Europe
Abstract:
Whether walking down the sidewalk of a busy American city, or sitting in a cafe, all one has to do is listen for a short while to learn how many people in the United States feel about [...]
Sex, Drugs and Public Hangings
A series by Spiralbound.net on social deviance and punishment in the United States and Europe
References:
Hagan, Frank E. 1990 Introduction to Criminology
Chicago: Nelson-Hall
Heiner, Robert. 1996 Criminology A Cross Cultural Perspective
St. Paul, MN: West Publishing
Schabas, William A. 1997. The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law.
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press
Sparrow, Malcolm K. [...]
