Government Access to Safes

You may have been following the recent murder of Gianni Versace and the subsequent suicide of his alleged murderer. One minor footnote that popped up in the news is a small safe located in the houseboat where the suicide was found. This safe uses a keypad lock (rather than a mechanical combination or physical key). Is this more secure than a regular safe lock? Does the government have an access key that would premit a law enforcement officer (with appropriate authority) to open any such lock? Should I be required to deposit the secret key to my safe with a government-mandated "escrow" agent? Martin Minow minow@apple.com