OCTOBER 1968 LAW ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN • FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE J. EDGAR HOOVER, DIRECTOR OCTOBER 1968 • VOL. 37, NO. 10 ­­­­­­­­­ THE COVER- A look at coin telephone burglary. S ee page 2. LAW ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN CONTENTS Message From Director]' Edgar Hoover 1 Big Business for Burglars, by James P. Hendrick, Jr., General Security Manager, South Central Bell Telephone Co., Birmingham, Ala. 2 Success of NCIC Systems . e . Cooperation on the Border, by Lt. Gerald O. Wil• liams, Training Officer, Alaska State Troopers, Juneau, Alaska . 12 J Investigators' Aids .... 18 • 1983 Today (Conclusion) . 19 Wanted by the FBI . 24 Published by the FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Washington, D.C. 20535 e ., UNITY IS A BASIC ELEMENT of our Nation's direct action with readymade remedies appeal to strength. The United States rise to a world power some rebellious­minded youths. has been possible because its people, who often We can be grateful for the responsible young disagree on the means to an end, have been uni- people who carefully weigh issues before com- l fied in a common cause­the cause of freedom, mitting themselves. They do not blindly follow liberty, and justice under the rule of law. Dissent, self­proclaimed do­gooders without checking discussion, and opposition are healthy and vigor- their credentials. The rational young man and ous components of our way of life. This is how woman today know the difference between con- democracy works. However, it is important that structive criticism and outright demagogy, be- we keep sight of our objective, that we preserve tween meaningful inquiry and undermining con- our system of self­government, and that we re- main united. spiracy, and between liberty and license. No right­thinking young American wants to forsake A Passing the heritage of unity from one gener- the proven principles of lawful, democratic free- ~ ion to the next is a crucial and vital step. Effec- dom for chaotic anarchy and disorder. tive communication is essential in this transition, I would say that we do not give sufficient atten- and it becomes more difficult as the complexities tion and credit to the responsible youth of our and challenges of our society increase. country. We are so concerned with the unlawful Without a doubt, our young people today are conduc't of a small segment that we fail to fully exposed to more extremists and radicals than ever appreciate and recognize the worthy ideals, as- before. These fanatics deal in bigotry, hate, and pirations, and achievements of the overwhelm- falsehoods, and their primary aim seems to be to ing majority of our young people. This is a grave turn young Americans against their country. injustice and, no doubt, is one reason we find it They preach theories overburdened with sim- difficult to effectively communicate with the plicity but with no depth in principle. Under- young age group. We must improve our com- standably, many young people are confused by munication with the younger generation and these agitators and their high­sounding dictums strengthen the chain of unity before it is too late. on love and peace. Logic and moderation are ob- Americans of all a~es, of all races, and of all scured and overrun by emotional causes which stations in life must face reality. The undeniable do not measure up under the scrutiny of truth and truth is that no nation, regardless how great or reason. Virulent extremists see only the black and strong, can survive when torn by internal discord white; for them, there are no shades of gray. They and strife. Unless we stand united­a free society act on impulse and have no patience with those ruled by supremacy of law­we shall fall prey to who question their motives. Their demands for the forces which seek to enslave the world. _ CTOBER 1, 1968 Big Business for Burglars By JAMES P. HENDR1CK, JR. General Security Manager, South Central Bell Telephone Birmingham, Ala. Professional lock pickers prefer daylight hours and sites where coin­operated telephones receive lots of business. Here, two telephone company security officers show how a team of lock pickers works. Coin telephones provide a vital ing great concern to telephone com­ Each burglary co ts the company ap­ communication link for million of panies and to law enforcement offi­ proximately $130. people every day. Pay telephones are cials. The burglaries result in revenue For the Bell ys tem as a whole, everywhere­in buildings, ga ta­ 10 for telephone companies, much lo ~ es from coin telephone burglaries tions, on treet corners, and even on work for law enforcement officials, and during recent year have been more i olated highway . They often make poorer el'vice for the public when the than $3 million annually. And with· the diITerence between life and death. phones are damaged. out the preventive mea ures carried trong public demand has increased In 1957 thieves burglarized 403 out by law enforcement and the Bell the number of pa) phone in outh· coin telephones in ou thern Bell's nine ystem, the annual 10 ses could easily ern BelI Telephone Company from tates for a los of $41.503, including have been many times that figure. 95,289 to 144,946 in the past 12 years. damage to equipment. In 1961 almost What about the risk thieve take? Ye , coin telephone service is big nine thousand burglaries in the outh­ The risk of detection, apprehension, busine for telephone compallies. But ern Bell ) stem resulted in 10 ses of and conviction up to now has not it i al 0 big busine s- too big- for about $1 million. Losse since 1961 been great enough to be a significant coin telephone burglars. This i" cau ­ have totaled more than $5 million. deterrent. ince January 1, 1962, in 2 FBI Law Enforcement Bullee Mr. Hendrick. Southern Bell, the arrest rate has been one offender arrested for every 4S burglaries committed, and the oonvic- tion rate has been about one for every 60 burglaries committed. Every day new adult professional . inals join the swelling army of • telephone burglars. Techniques Used The wheel puller MO is the newest technique of coin telephone burglars. At one time the modus operandi of most coin telephone burglars was the use of strong­arm techniques­fre- "shoot­out," the burglar places the Following are some basic similari- quently the rip,. pry, peel, and punch muzzle of a stud gun or some other ties of most lock­pick operations. ­ techniques of the oommon safe bur- high­powered sawed­off rifle directly Lock­pick burglars usually: glar. The thief would rip the whole in front of the lock cylinder, fires (1) Operate in pairs and sometimes in sets ~ instrument off the wall, carry it away, the weapon, and shatters the lock of pairs with an auto driver acting as and break into it in some secluded mechanism. a lookout for those working simul- To discourage strong­arm tech- taneously. location. Our initial preventative- (2) Operate in broad daylight and even stronger mounting of the telephone niques, our preventive measures, in with many people around. They feel instrument­forced the thief to make addition to stronger mounting instal- they attract less attention in a crowded too much noise and spend too much lations, were better locations, more place, and also the coin telephones in time for what he expected to gain from and better lighting, and, in general, such an area produce the largest use of those devices designed to pre- yields. the burglary. (3) Carry several sets of lock­pick tools in The thieves then began to concen- vent crimes against property. their car and/or on their person and trate their burglary attempts on the dispose of the tools they are using at phone cash compartments and con- Lock Pickers the slightest sign of suspicion or tinued to use common burglary tech- detection. (4) Take up temporary residence in a niques, such as punch.pin, drilling and With the containment of the strong- motel or hotel during the several days cutting with a torch, and an innova- arm burglar, a new MO emerged- that they will hit telephones in a tion known as the "shoot­out." In the lock picking. particular city or area. A search of eober 1968 3 such locations generally will yield and third­degree burglary statutes to Possession of any of the three coin lock­pick tools and material to make coin telephone burglary, making it a telephone keys or a coin receptaclef them­ grinders, files, hacksaw blades other than authorized telephone steak knive, piano wire, and ke; felony. In such cases the prosecutors blanks_ argued and the courts held that coin ployees would constitute the basis or (5) Have hank deposit bags in their cars telephone booths are buildings within a charge of possessing stolen proper- or at th eir residence and almost al- the purview of such statutes­­hence ty. Possession of a homemade version ways carry money wrappers_ entering such " buildings" with intent of the keys would warrant a charge - (Ii ) Cl aim to be coin collectors if caup:ht of possession of burglary tools or • in possession of quantities of coin s. to commit a crime would come under (7) Durinp: lor k­picking forays, hide burglary statutes. a similar violation. coins in the car­heater hose, in the In Colorado the Supreme Court On the charge of possession of bur- hoIlo" part of the car armrests, be- held that "while a telephone booth glary tools, Southern Bell has recent- hind the back seat, in the p:as tank, may be only a closet when within an- ly prosecuted two gangs operating in and under the dash.