Handcuffs

Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists close together.[1] They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each half has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist. Without the key, the handcuffs cannot be removed and so the handcuffed person is unable to move his or her wrists more than a few centimetres/inches apart, making many tasks difficult or impossible. This is usually done to prevent suspected criminals from escaping police custody.

Styles
There are three main types of contemporary metal handcuffs: chain (cuffs are held together by a short chain), hinged (since hinged handcuffs permit less movement than a chain cuff, they are generally considered to be more secure), and rigid solid bar handcuffs. While bulkier to carry, rigid handcuffs permit several variations in cuffing. Hiatts Speedcuffs are rigid handcuffs used by most police forces in the United Kingdom. Both rigid and hinged cuffs can be used one-handed to apply pain-compliance/control techniques that are not workable with the chain type of cuff. Various accessories are available to improve the security or increase the rigidity of handcuffs, including boxes that fit over the chain or hinge and can themselves be locked with a padlock.

In 1933 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used a type called "Mitten Handcuffs" to prevent criminals from being able to grab an object like the officer's gun. While used by some in law enforcement it was never popular.[2]

Handcuffs may be manufactured from various metals, including carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminium, or from synthetic polymers.

Sometimes two pairs of handcuffs are needed to restrain a person with an exceptionally large waistline because the hands cannot be brought close enough together; in this case, one cuff on one pair of handcuffs is handcuffed to one of the cuffs on the other pair, and then the remaining open handcuff on each pair is applied to the person's wrists. Oversized handcuffs are available from a number of manufacturers.

The National Museum of Australia has a number of handcuffs in its collection dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These include'T'-type 'Come Along', 'D'-type and 'Figure-8' handcuffs.[3]

See also: Heffy handcuffs

Legcuffs
Legcuffs are similar to handcuffs, but have a larger inner perimeter so that they fit around a person's ankles. Some models consist of elliptically contoured cuffs so that they widely adapt to the anatomy of the ankle, minimizing pressure on the Achilles' tendon. Standard-type leg irons have a longer chain connecting the two cuffs compared to handcuffs.

On occasions when a suspect exhibits extremely aggressive behavior, leg irons may be used in addition to handcuffs; sometimes the chain connecting the leg irons to one another is looped around the chain of the handcuffs, and then the leg irons are applied, resulting in the person being "hog-tied". In a few rare cases, hog-tied persons lying on their stomachs have died from positional asphyxia, making the practice highly controversial, and leading to its being severely restricted, or even completely banned, in many localities.

Legcuffs are also used when transporting prisoners outside of a secure area to prevent attempts to escape. When being placed in standard legcuffs, the prisoner will still have the possibility to manage normal steps and can therefore walk independently, but is prevented from running. When the connecting chain between the legcuffs is shortened, the prisoner will have even difficulties to walk so that the flight risk is further minimzed. In this case, the prisoner will have to be carried by the transporting officers or has to be moved in a wheelchair.

In some countries, prisoners are permanently shackled with legcuffs even when they are held in their cells. Such a long term use of leg shackles may soon result in pressure marks on the prisoner's ankles and will cause serious harm. Therefore, such a treatment of prisoners has to be considered cruel and unusual punishment.