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Online Sales of Police Handcuff Master Keys Prompt Reviews in Bavaria and NRW

Authorities have treated the public sale as a security risk requiring immediate guidance to officers.

Overview

  • North Rhine–Westphalia uses the same Clejuso Nr. 9 model as Bavaria, and the LZPD in Duisburg is conferring with Bavarian police to assess impacts.
  • Bavaria has issued intranet alerts instructing thorough searches of detainees that explicitly check for keys and is examining legal, organizational and tactical measures.
  • The manufacturer has engaged a law firm to try to stop public sales of matching keys that multiple reports found offered online for roughly €4 to €13.
  • The reviews follow a confirmed November case in Mittelfranken in which a detainee briefly escaped; when recaptured, the handcuffs were missing and a key is considered possible.
  • Police union leaders call the situation a major safety risk and urge moves toward police‑specific or individually keyed restraints, with NRW’s GdP seeking talks with the maker.