blakstar: Maybe the time was spent a little more productively, like a 12 hour lockpicking course, for example. :-P
Sachys: why lockpick when you can pick up a brick and force and swap it as a "pet dog" with any potential jeremy kyle show guest passing for them sorting the lock?!
I guess the trouble is, in this day and age, you're more likely to spend hours trying to convince the police that, yes, it is your own place you're trying to break into, and, no, I haven't actually got any real proof of identity since it's currently locked in the place I'm trying to break into :-D