Proven, Not Tested - How We Certify Tactical Lock Picking Operators in Our Special Forces Training Courses

So...why doesn't UTAC utilize pass/fail tests in order for our top-tier operational students to obtain Tactical Lock Picking certifications from us?

When operators sign up to attend high-level tactical training courses that offer professional certifications and they learn that the course requires a "pass/fail" test in order to certify, most operators get those exciting butterflies in their stomach at the chance to prove themselves in a new area. I've been there as one of those students many times, and yes, pass/fail events are certainly an exciting aspect of professional development courses.

Pass/Fail, in and of itself is not a bad or a negative thing. I think it is fair to say that Pass/Fail is designed to do a few things: to prove that operators have retained some information; to prove that they can accomplish certain tasks; and to provide them with a stressor while they perform these proofs.

However, at UTAC we often describe Tactical Lock Picking (and our other associated curriculum courses) as "Non-Linear Skills." We just recently published a short article HERE explaining an introduction to this non-linear craft in which TLP and other Non-Destructive Entry courses can often see world class operators fail to open a simple lock while a brand new student right next to them can open a difficult lock immediately and on accident.

People unfamiliar with lock picking are warned to be slow to judgement when it comes to lock picking successes and failures.

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In the tactical shooting world, a linear skill, firearms are designed intentionally to operate in accordance with their engineering design:

"Correct Input (technique/aiming/timing/etc) + Correct Machine (Gun/Ammo) = Correct Output (Shots On Target)"

In UTAC's Tactical Lock Picking curriculum for our Special Forces and Special Operations students, a non-linear skill, operators are taught a foundation way outside of simply how to use certain tools within their engineering design:

"Wrong Input (bypass or pick tool/technique) + Correct Machine (Lock) = Correct Output (Lock Opened)"

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It is this non-linear engineering, "hacking," which is the reason that an oversimplified pass/fail test would actually serve more harm than good in our Tactical Lock Picking courses. In hacking, and in our Tactical Lock Picking courses, we want a machine to do something that it is NOT engineered to do!

A highly trained expert might use an incredibly well-informed method to find out a four-digit code for a mechanical or digital lock, and an untrained child might walk up and simply guess a four-digit number correctly, and this would not make the expert a failure and does not make the child an expert.

So what does UTAC do in order to ensure our top-tier operators are fully prepared to implement the best possible methods of entry during operations? The solution is stated quite clearly within the problem. "...best possible methods of entry during operations."

Instead of focusing on writing down a number of openings as a "proof," and instead of writing down a time result as a measure of "speed capability," UTAC closely monitors the progress of every single student's THOUGHT PROCESS as the students worth through many different types of locks within many different types of environments.

From the first few minutes that class begins, all the way through to the end of our 5-day courses, our students quickly become expert not just at "doing a technique" but at knowing how, why, and when to apply their craft, as well as when their craft is more likely to succeed and where their craft has expected limitations.

"If one of our students opens a lock on accident and doesn't know why their chosen technique worked, we count that as a failure. If a student can't get a lock open but they know exactly why their technique is limited in its likelihood of success and they know how to follow-up their non-opening, that is a huge success." -Pat

This is one of the reasons that Uncensored Tactical Certifications are held in such high esteem by our alumni. Our graduates are guided through many different nuanced coaching experiences, peer-teaching events, drills, scenarios, and operations, with a focus on the students being able to explain exactly why something works, why it doesn't, and as a field application MUST our students are taught to start developing their percentages of likely success for all of their tool and technique pairings.

If you want to add Non-Destructive Entry, Tactical Lock Picking, Rapid Safe Opening, Vehicle Snatching, Lock Forensics, or any other custom courses within the field of unique operational entry methods into your operator's capabilities set, please email: Pat@utac.io so that we can start the quote process for you and your unit/agency.

Pat Watson

June 2025