Overview
- The NRW Justice Ministry told the Landtag legal committee that a Generalschlüssel has gone missing from an unnamed closed‑custody prison and that the loss was reported in its latest briefing.
- The ministry says current evidence points to the key being misplaced rather than stolen and that the key only grants access to office doors and not to cells or security passageways.
- The affected prison initially told authorities all keys were present but the head of the security and order unit rechecked and later discovered the missing key, exposing gaps in inventory reporting.
- Officials say there are no signs so far of intentional theft or misuse, and they have launched searches and immediate security and organisational measures to reduce risks.
- The incident follows raids and an ongoing probe at JVA Euskirchen where staff face allegations of offering inmates advantages for money and parts of electronic master keys were removed, increasing scrutiny of controls and staff oversight across NRW prisons.