PICKING A LOCK

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 August 1929, Page 8

PICKING A LOCK

DEMONSTRATION IN COURT. Although he had had a lot to say about locks in general and skeleton keys in particular, an expert ’ock- ■ smith witness in the Supreme Court at - New Plymouth thought it was too much of a good thing when he was ■ asked to give a practical demonstra- ■ tion of picking a Yale lock with house- ■ breaking tools. It was more or less L of a trade secret, he said. On being pressed, the locksmith stat- ■ ed that he would give a demonstration ■ before the Crown .Prosecutor and coun- • sei for the accused, in the presence :of an umpire. The Chief Justice, ' however, was not satisfied with any- • tiling less than a. demonstration in front of the jury. The operation was ■ entirely successful, and was performed so quickly that those who saw it looked with astonishment at the picked ■ lock. “It looks as though Yale locks are not guaranteed, then,” observed his Honor. So upset were the police about the matter that Inspector Fraser suggest- ' ed to his Honor, through th© Crown Prosecutor, that the Press be asked to ignore the affair. The police force had (heir hands full already, he said, and did not want an encouragement to make the burden heavier. His Honor replied that he did not think it mattered much, especially as the expert assured them that the man in the street could not perform a similar operation on the lock if he were given from now till Christmas to do it in. Anyway, said the Chief Justice, the Press could not show the public how to do it.