Intern's Selfie With Keys Forces German Prison To Change Over 600 Locks, Costs Him His Job

A German prison was forced to change over 600 locks after an intern shared a photo holding prison keys with his friends on WhatsApp.

The security threat happened at JVA Heidering prison in Germany's Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region. The new intern posed for a selfie with a special key that locks all the cells and the passage doors to the prison and then shared it with his friends on WhatsApp, reported news outlet LAD Bible.

The trainee who remains unnamed, inadvertently shared the picture with his friends to brag about his new job, local media reported. The thoughtless action, however, caused a serious security threat to the prison that houses 657 inmates.

The mindlessness of the intern could have resulted in a mass break-out at the prison as anyone could have easily made replicas of the keys with the leaked image.

It is not clear how the authorities came to know about the incident. The prison authorities, however, decided to change the entire security system of the prison. They changed all the old locks, destroyed them and replaced those with 600 new locks. The incident was reported to judicial authorities Thursday.

“All cells and passage doors have therefore been changed,” prison spokesperson Sebastian Brux confirmed to the judicial authorities.

It took 20 staff members to install the new security set up in the prison. Even though officials have not given an update about the cost of the new security system, the experts have estimated that it would have cost $60,000.

The intern who reportedly tried to show off his new job in fact lost it. “The intern was banned from entering the house with immediate effect and the internship ended,” Brux said. He was also billed with the cost of replacement of the entire security system.

According to German law, a prison break is not punishable as the law considers freedom as a basic human instinct. A prisoner who damages the property or assaults a person during the attempt to escape will be guilty of those crimes. However, it is illegal to help someone escape prison.