LOCKSMITH INTEGRITY INITIATIVE 1

LOCKSMITH INTEGRITY INITIATIVE:

A Formal Proposal for Undercover Operations to Combat Illegal Activity

Friday, 1 April 2016

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Purpose

The purpose of this instrument is to provide a problem statement regarding illegal

locksmith operators and vendors, provide applicable legal statutes, and posit a new enforcement

paradigm that could be employed in which to combat criminal activity. The information

presented hereafter is intended to provide the reader sufficient prima facie evidence that there is

a criminal element afoot in large cities in Texas with individuals and businesses conducting

locksmith activity without the mandatory licensing and proposes a way to help mitigate this

problem at the local level using Texas peace officers.

Problem Statement

There have been several incidents involving people, acting alone or as part of a business,

who have been representing themselves as licensed locksmiths, performing locksmith-related

activities, and issuing a bill for these activities. These incidents are criminal in nature and are

not victimless because the consumer who is defrauded through deceptive trade practices are

paying for professional services when, in fact, these “locksmiths” may not have any skills, have

not undergone the mandated training or background investigations, and are not part of a

legitimate business.

One such example is an adult female who called a person who advertised himself as a

professional locksmith in the phone book to replace all the locks inside her home. The person

arrived, changed the locks as requested, issued a bill for services rendered, took payment by

credit card, and departed. Shortly thereafter, the female had called another locksmith to come to

her house because none of the keys worked in the locks. Upon arrival, it was found the locks

were useless and not legitimate work was performed. In fact, the receipt issued to the

homeowner had no individual or business name, did not have the required locksmith license
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number printed, or any other identifying information. Had it not been for the fact the

homeowner paid for the services by credit card and was reported as fraud, she would not have

recovered her money.

Unfortunately, this scenario (or variations thereof) is occurring throughout Texas on a

regular basis according to a plethora of licensed locksmiths who are bearing the frustration and

negativity of those victims affected by these criminals. This poses a clear and present danger to

public safety in a variety of ways, including (but not limited to) being defrauded monetarily and

allowing people acting under the false pretense of being a licensed locksmith into their homes,

apartments, and building who might be gathering intelligence on the security measures and

layout of these structures for possible criminal activity at a later time (such as burglary, sexual

assault, robbery, etc.). Additionally, these victims may be reluctant to report these incidents to

law enforcement because they might be embarrassed or believing the crime will go unsolved.

Further, the elderly is especially prone to being victims as they may not be able to determine they

have been victims of crime.

Applicable State Statutes

The Texas Private Security Board (PSB) (a division of the Department of Public Safety) is

the government entity which oversees licensing of locksmiths in Texas. The Texas Occupations

Code (TOC), §1702 and the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), §35 articulate the requirements

and regulations for licensing. In order to become a licensed locksmith in Texas, a person must

complete one of the following components:

A. Find a locksmith company that is reputable and belongs to a trade association,

such as the Greater Houston Locksmith’s Association, work as an apprentice

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for at least two years as a full-time, and successfully pass the Private

Security Board’s Qualified Managers exam, or,

B. Take a basic locksmith course, which is usually 48 hours in length, attend and

successfully graduate from a trade school with specific curriculum of 600

hours in length, work as a full-time employee with a locksmith shop for a one-

year period, and successfully pass the Private Security Board’s Qualified

Managers exam.

Additionally, applicants must pass a federal background check and have sufficient insurance on

their business at all times. Further, once licensed, continuing education (with certain criteria) is

required per TAC §35.291.

Those operating without a license from the PSB are in violation of the statutes

aforementioned, but are committing crimes against persons and are negatively affecting public

safety as articulated in the Texas Penal Code (TPC). These charges include TPC §16.01

“Unlawful Use of Criminal Instrument or Mechanical Security Device”, TPC §32.22 “Criminal

Simulation”, TPC §32.42 “Deceptive Trade Practices” and TPC §32.51 “Fraudulent Use or

Possession of Identifying Information”.

Enforcement Proposal

A pilot program to combat these illegal activities could be employed in one of the several

DPS Regions throughout the state, starting with Regions I (Dallas/Ft. Worth areas) and II

(Houston area). Undercover “sting” operations would be conducted by DPS troopers whereby

one trooper would pose as a homeowner or business owner, contact people claiming to be

locksmiths, have them come to the house or building, and arrest them for the appropriate

applicable charges. Prior research would be conducted before the “stings” to identify those who
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do not have a locksmith license and communication and cooperation with the local District

Attorney’s Office would be paramount.

These “sting” operations would be paid to the troopers as overtime as it would be in

addition to their regular duties. For example, according to the DPS pay scale, a Trooper II

ranking is paid $7,438.64 each month for a 50 hour work week, which breaks down to $38.19

per hour. For these operations, they would be paid 1.5x this rate, or $55.79 per hour. Each

“sting” operation requires a minimum of three troopers for officer safety, evidence gathering, etc.

These operations would be five hours in length, bringing the estimated man-power cost to

$836.85 per operation. In addition to the man-power cost, meal costs would be reimbursed to

each trooper for each operation at the maximum amount of $25, so $75 total each operation.

Also, undercover vehicles need to be utilized, which could be state-owned or privately rented; if

they are rented, there would be an associated cost as well, estimated to be approximately $75

each operation. For the initial pilot program in the next fiscal year, $300,000 is being requested

to conduct these undercover operations in Region I and Region II ($150,000 for each region).

These operations would be developed with the assistance of the Texas Attorney General,

DPS administrators, and local District Attorney Offices similar to other undercover operations

currently in place throughout the state. The program success would be measured and analyzed

through legitimate statistical tests, both quantitative and qualitative. If the program is shown to

be successful to improve public safety and reduce or prevent these illegal activities, then it is

reasonable that more money may be requested in future fiscal years to expand operations to other

regions throughout the state.

Conclusion
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There is a clear and present danger to citizens throughout Texas which are negatively

affecting public safety by people performing locksmith activities without a license, defrauding

citizens, and allowing them access to homes, apartments, and buildings for the purpose of

gathering intelligence on security measures and getting paid for services they are neither

competent nor licensed to perform. Without intervention from Texas peace officers, these

crimes will continue, knowing there are some members of society that will either not know they

were defrauded or be embarrassed to report being a victim of crime. Currently, the frequency of

these illegal activities is unknown and more research needs to be conducted. However, through

the implementation of this pilot program, it is expected that a positive impact can be affected on

public safety by arresting those who involved in these criminal schemes.