Guy locked-up forever for forgetting his password.

[Minimalist]

Actually C/D I think your analogy was good but in the other direction.  Yes, with any sort of physical lock there are brute force methods to overcome it.  They may not want to be bothered but they can get in there without the suspect's help.  Here, so they claim, they are stymied by the encryption and cannot break it without compelling the assistance of the suspect.