Hinged vs. Chain cuffs?

[sparty]

I never had a problem with cuffs being hinged during a fight. In fact I find there is greater leverage and torque with them. Much easier to control. The chained cuffs are always facing the wrong direction or get twisted around and are tough to control.

I nver had any more trouble getting hinged on than chain, but once on they were much more effective when hinged. In a fight, if you can get one hinged on, you can twist it (slightly) to apply pain compliance a lot easier than with chain.

That's why I like hinged cuffs. Pain compliance is a wonderful thing.

Two things that are slightly off tangent. One, do you cuff with the key holes up or down? At FLETC they teach us feds to cuff with the key holes down. Advantages/disadvantages to up or down?

Two, does anyone know of cuffs made specifically for those with small wrists/hands? I've seen oversized cuffs but never small cuffs. I've dealt with some Asians whose wrists/hands were simply too small for standard sized cuffs. I ended up having to put both wrists through one end of a set of leg irons.

[Aussie George]

We were taught to cuff with key hole down with the fixed.

If done right, you place your cuffs in their pouch/holder the right way so that when you pull them out with one hand, they just go straight on the correct way.

The logic I was told to cuffing that way (key hole down) was that it didn't matter so much when you put them on, but when they came off, it meant that the crook had to bend over forward a long way for you to get them off easily. This meant that they were in a very weak stance while you were taking the cuffs off.

If it was a totally compliant cuff and I expected absolutely no probs, then I might put them on the other way so they were easier to get off, but that was very rare. In fact I can only recall one offender I did that for. Also by varying your style you affect your muscle memory and usual technique. Best to practice a certain way to the point that you can do it blindfolded.

Also our hinged cuffs had a small hole to push in to double lock them. They cuff key had a small spike on the back of it that was desgned to be used for this purpose. I never used it. I always pulled out a pen and stuck that in there. If the crook decides to resist at that moment, I am not dropping my cuff key, but a 50 cent pen instead (that the dept paid for). A lot easier to find if dropped, and a lot easier to replace if not found.

[stewie]

Technically they aren't allowed at mine either. :cool:

Nice :cool:

[Valor55]

I was taught to cuff key hole up. They are much more difficult to pick if the suspect can't get to the key hole. I would only be taking the cuffs off in jail so if I had a suspect who I thought was at risk for trying to assault me I'd have plenty of backup standing right there. The really bad ones I let the deputies unhandcuff anyway since they have much better rules for going hands on and controlling suspects.

[Sierra]

At FLETC they teach us feds to cuff with the key holes down. Advantages/disadvantages to up or down?

My instructor at FLETC taught us to cuff with the keyhole down as it was easier to remove during training. However, he also said that those of us with prior experience should continue cuffing in the manner we were accustomed to. I learned to cuff keyhole up for the same reason Valor stated: it is harder for the suspect to pick the lock.

[Aussie George]

I was taught to cuff key hole up. They are much more difficult to pick if the suspect can't get to the key hole. I would only be taking the cuffs off in jail so if I had a suspect who I thought was at risk for trying to assault me I'd have plenty of backup standing right there. The really bad ones I let the deputies unhandcuff anyway since they have much better rules for going hands on and controlling suspects.

I agree with what you are saying about the back-up. That is why we did it down. We had no backup. In the last town I worked at, you would be lucky if there was two of you in the cells at the station. Sometimes two of you and the charging SGT, other times, just you and no-one else.

But I guess, if they were really playing up we would take them to the cells at the nearby HQ (about 50 kms away)

[SgtJJ]

Hinged are better for contol, if a wrist gets broken most likely the suspect was resisting to much. I would not recommend cuffs with keyholes on both sides as it is safest to keep the key holes up when ever possible.

[operator_no1]

Like Aussie George I was trained to have keyholes down and lean the suspect forward for removal.

Hey, if you think hinged cuffs are easier to break wrists with, have a look at the Hiatts rigid cuffs they use in the UK!

I'm issued with, and use chain. In other threads I've heard of officers carrying one of each and choosing which to use dependant on the perps level of compliance. Is this true??

Up to now I've only carried one set of cuffs, but I regularly end up with more than one prisoner so I'm going to re-shuffle my belt & add a 2nd set of cuffs.

I'm wondering if I shoud make that 2nd set hinged!