Day 267 - 21 Jun 96 - Page 48
1 Q. So you are an expert at it are you?
2 A. No.
3
4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, no. I do not accept that. Anyone who
5 has been involved in one or two burglary trials knows how
6 to use a plastic card, even to get into their own house
7 when they have locked themselves out, if you happen to have
8 a slack lock. By all means ask him if he is an expert of
9 it but I should think quite a high proportion of the public
10 might know how to get into their house with one of their
11 credit cards.
12
13 MS. STEEL: They might know it in theory but whether they can do
14 in it practice is another matter.
15
16 MR. JUSTICE BELL: They have probably done it--
17
18 MS. STEEL: Pardon, Mr. Rampton?
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: By all means ask him if he is an expert in
21 it if you think it goes to his credit, but do not assume
22 because he has done it I will think he is an expert in it.
23
24 MS. STEEL: Had you done it many times before?
25 A. No, I had not.
26
27 Q. Never?
28 A. I do not recall.
29
30 Q. You do not remember, so you might have done it before?
31 A. I do not remember.
32
33 MR. MORRIS: How long in total were you a private investigator?
34 A. In total?
35
36 Q. Yes?
37 A. It would probably be about 6 or 7 years.
38
39 Q. Six or seven years, and you cannot recall a single occasion
40 of entering someone's premises uninvited?
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, is that what you really mean to put,
43 slipping a lock, because there can be a world of
44 difference?
45
46 MR. MORRIS: You have never slipped a lock before as part of
47 your professional duty?
48 A. I cannot recall.
49
50 Q. Does that mean you cannot recall or you just don't
51 remember?
52 A. It means, I may but I do not recall.
53
54 Q. But you remember doing it on this occasion?
55 A. Yes.
56
57 MS. STEEL: Was it something you were trained to do when you
58 became a private investigator?
59 A. No, I was not.
60
