I spent many, many years in jail. It was fascinating to look at all the types and styles of locks used and try to figure out how to defeat them. The locks on th

I spent many, many years in jail. It was fascinating to look at all the types and styles of locks used and try to figure out how to defeat them. The locks on the cells are practically impossible to pick with anything available, IMO, but the bolt itself was easy to defeat. Every cell I've been in has been insanely simple to open once the secret was known, and the knowledge was passed between all the inmates over the years. It is so common for people to let themselves out of their cells whenever they want that I almost never saw anyone disciplined for the infraction unless you did something dumb like walked up to a sleeping guard and spooked them. Handcuffs are hilarious. The tiny little bendable pens they sold in the jail were the best way to open the handcuffs - you can just push the nib in and turn it. Tons of people would pop the locks on their cuffs as soon as a guard wasn't looking, but you'd generally need to keep them loose on your wrists so that they would visibly look secure. Again, the guards would just grumble if you took your cuffs off, not write you up for it.