OK… so I was looking at Duluth Trading tools and such and found a lockpick. And they made a good point to have it for when you lock yourself out of something. But I was thinking of using it for EDC as well for those times and any other times it might come in handy. So what I want to know is, would having a lockpick make me a suspicious person and brand me as someone up to no good or would it not give any impression at all when thrown in with the other gear I hope to collect for EDC?
Hmmm… I’m of two minds about it. I’d see it more as a suspicious person type thing. I highly suggest talking with your local law enforcement about it, @luke_ouellette
You said you’re of two minds on it, and you’ve stated on part. What’s your other thoughts about it?
I keep forgetting that LE is there to answer such questions. Though each one would have a different answer so wouldn’t it just depend on what LEO you speak to @Dawn? (and the only LE place I know the number of is the local sheriff’s dept.)
Tall to your state and local police. Regulations in different areas of the state change. Personal opinion from each individual officer also. I’ve had numerous different officers agreed it would be a good idea to had a flash light attached to my firearm while I also had numerous officers that said no, nothing good could come from it if I ever had to use it.
There’s regulations on lockpicks @ShawnT? I’ve never heard of that before, nor did I know that everything was so heavily regulated.
Each county has their own regulations on everything. In my home city if you were stopped or confronted and has a lock pick you would automatically be intent on one thing. Each city/county has their own outlook on what someone should be carrying and not carrying.
Wow. I didn’t know this. Thanks for the info, though I think that that’s kinda crazy to automatically assume you’re a burglar if you have a lockpick.
You’d be surprised. It all depends on the officer I guess.
Well, I guess that would help if I finished my other thoughts 
It’s a useful tool, but it can be misconstrued.
Local LEOs and the district attorney will be able to give you an idea of what would be considered in different situations and their recommendations as to if you should carry it or not.
2 Likes
What I do instead of a lock pick is I keep a spare set of keys burried at the bottom of the glovebox in my car and, a AAA card in my wallet. If I lock myself out of the car I have AAA and, if I loose a key for anything else I have a spare in the car.
2 Likes
I keep my spare car key in my wallet the house in the glovebox everything else I need a key for in a combination safe
1 Like
there are a lot of good tools to have. Just don’t advertise you have them and don’t disrespect or PO a cop. They can get you for having burglary tools for a screw driver and hammer if they want to. If you want you can ask your local LEO’s if they’re legal to own if your not a locksmith.
1 Like
That’s a good idea. And I’ve always been respectful to LE and military, thanking them for their service. So upsetting a cop is the last thing I want to do because of my respect of them and the fact that I don’t want to get into trouble.
(Though most of the time I see cops about doing their business and not in a store for anything personal.)
I like the idea of having an emergency way into something I’ve locked myself out of, however a court trial is really more of a popularity contest then about facts. I would be worried should the worst ever happen and it got entered into evidence no the prosecution can make the argument that your intent was less then honorable. There are other means of bypassing locks. (Most) pad locks can be shimmed or defeated with a pair of wrenches. Most residential quality electronic deadbolts can be reprogrammed from the exterior and most low end mechanical deadbolts can be picked with improvised picks.
1 Like
You know a lot about locks. Wow.
The part of the lockpick being entered into evidence did cross my mind. But I also figured it depended on the reason why you’re in court.
I study a great many things when I have time and get board, never know what skill will come in handy. But as far as court battles go the more I looked into legal matters the more apparent it became that 70% of the battle is perception. All of the evidence may not stack up against a person but if a jury (mostly people who dont want to be there and have no vested interest in the person they are judging) believes them to be capable of said crime can go a long way. A lot of cases have been lost on the premise of intent. It’s almost impossible to prove anyone’s mindset but if the evidence supports a narrative it can sway a decision.
2 Likes
Lock picks are something that you should keep in your bug out bag… if you get pulled over and search or stopped walking down the street with them, they can be classified as burglar tools in alot of states… regardless of reason for having them… (at least where I live that’s the loop hole)
3 Likes
Hm. I haven’t really thought of that. From what I’ve found it’s not illegal to carry a lockpick in AL and not be a locksmith but I still have yet to check that with local LE.
I’d check with sheriffs and state police… if you go out of your county, statutes may change…
1 Like
Great. I don’t travel out of county much anyways. Except into the neighboring county occasionally for work and grocery shopping… and then occasionally out of that… but yeah I get your point. How do you find the local statutes for these things when traveling without making a billion phone calls to the county sheriff’s dept?