The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

Too many criminals seem to escape standard handcuffs without any problems

20 visible archived posts · 20 preserved total · topic ID 1826

larho01 22 Feb 2007

I watch Crime Night on Discovery Chanel from time to time. The cases shown are of course dramatized but as I understand all facts are authentically. Heavy criminals are caught and cuffed with standard issued handcuffs like Peerless, S&W and cuffs like them. In just too many cases the suspects manage to escape from the handcuffs. Many times they get their hands on firearms with following disaster and killing as a result. There are other cases when prisoners are moved from custody to court and the same things are happening.

I have no skills in handcuff escapes and when I first saw this I thought it was a part of the drama to make it more thrilling. Now, after visited the Escape Convention twice I have seen with my very eyes how easily skilled escape artists frees themselves from ordinary handcuffs. A paper clip will do the work. If I was a criminal I would of course train me how to escape handcuffs in case I need the ability in a critical situation. Professional criminals probably do.

My question is why the law enforcement still uses these toy handcuffs on dangerous criminals who cause sudden death to both officers and the general public. Why doesnt the lay enforcement invest in handcuffs with a higher security level on dangerous and professional criminals? That would be a very cheap life insurance. Maybe a police officer reading this can answer my question.

I guess criminals of yesteryear had much bigger problems to escape from Tower, Marlin, Caveney, Beans and other vintage restraints with more secure lock constructions.
Or am I wrong?

Lars

Steve Santini 22 Feb 2007

I myself have tried to add my skills to improve the security of existing restraints.

A number of years ago when I was creating the metal security cover for hinged handcuffs for Hiatt Thompson Corp, I also created many unique cuff mechanism variations that could be applied to Hiatt Thompson cuffs (both internally and externally).

During dicussions with Chuck Thompson, it became clear that the industry as a whole seemed more concerned with convienience than with pure security.

More recently I was in discussion with research and development over at Smith and Wesson about my modification to a standard D.L. slot S&W model 100 or 104 or leg iron that could be made extra secure by the addition of high security small padlocks to an enlarged double lock slot.

The verdict?

They thought the idea was cool but mentioned that it would not work because of the addition of padlocks that "did not take the standard key".

How foolish.

Certainly there are existing devices like the Blue Box 1 and 2 that increase the security of cuffs but in my opinion there are not enough models of restraints suited to pure high security for high risk offenders.

This is a pity and for it to change the industry as a whole is going to have to change the way it thinks about handcuffs and associated restraints.

In the field of law enforcement restraints it seems cops and correctional people are creatures of habit and are not ones to embrace new ideas readily.

Too bad because this reluctance will no doubt cost many more lives before it changes.

Yes, the Marlins and other cuffs of bygone eras were more secure and did the job very well indeed.

Steve Santini

Ian McColl 22 Feb 2007

Hi Lars, in Victoria Australia (no sure about the other sates), Chubb escort handcuffs are used for transportation to and from court. The SAF-LOK was standard issue until recently, but cost is the factor. Peerless and Hiatts are now being used by the Victorian police.

Steve is right, convenience and costs are the biggest problem and officer or the superiors don't want to change their mindset.

Several officers or former officers have mentioned on this site, in regard to handcuff security, "What about the safety and cost of an officers life" in this regard. Then you also get the occasional comment, "I have cheap handcuffs because I have to purchase my own or don't want good ones damaged."

Policing in my mind is all about keeping the general population feeling safe. No police force in history has ever removed the criminal element and never will. Therefore, if the general population feel safe even when their police force are in greater danger with poor or inadequate equipment, the average person won't care.

I have talked to many officers and some officials about handcuff security or lack of and it's always the same old story.

If people were serious, then more secure handcuffs would be made, invented and used, but it's unlikely.

Ian

Edward 22 Feb 2007

When properly applied & supervised, 99.9% of your prisoners will not escape a standard handcuff. Double locking, checking for small items & keys, & constant supervision will result in a safe arrest. Remember, handcuffs are only a TEMPORARY restraining device & supervision of a prisoner is necessary. Too many officers are lazy, don't double lock the cuffs, place them on too loose, don't conduct a proper search, etc. I have never seen anyone pick a standard set of cuffs. I've seen a cheap set break one time. This guy on PCP broke an old (and I mean old) set of HWC cuffs that one old time officer decided to use. Other than that, I like the cuffs that are offered by the manufacturers these days. I think Hiatts 2010's are one of the best on the market. The ASP cuffs I'm not sold on becase they are very easy to pick open with a small metal file (we've done it recently with the 'new improved' design). It's not as easy to do on a Hiatt or S&W cuff (same test we performed with the same tool). Believe it or not, one of our officers has a set of Chicago NIJ cuffs he just got recently. Not very easy for a novice to pick open either when properly applied & double locked. I would steer clear of ASP though, they still haven't fixed their problem.

Edward

Steve Santini 22 Feb 2007

I think the issue Lars was maybe addressing were the cuffs used on very serious offenders for more long term periods of confinement, i.e. court tranfers, etc.

To use standard cuffs on a serious and violent offender who is going to be wearing them for any length of time is asking for serious if not fatal trouble.

I agree with what you said about handcuffs being a temporary restraint but even here this is NO excuse for the industry at large to be making handcuffs that contain a locking mechanism that is simply laughable.

The mere fact that standard duty cuffs CAN be picked open with a paper clip or bit of wire is worries me a great deal and it should also worry the people who use them and trust thier lives to them.

Would you lock your house at night and protect your loved ones with a locking device that can be defeated by a bit of bent wire?

I think not.

So why would any duty officer entrust thier personal safety and that of the general public to a locking device with this weakness.

If something is to be used as a security device then by all means make it secure for all levels of Goverment and servants who must use it.

That is my way of thinking.

Steve Santini

Lars Holst 23 Feb 2007

Steve, Ian and Edward; thanks a lot for your thoughts and opinions. I just had to post this since I became upset that vicious criminals with skills in escaping handcuffs sets themselves free and kill people just because standard issued handcuffs are not good enough to stop them. We save some money and let innocent people pay the price.

Lars

Edward 23 Feb 2007

I think the main issue for the industry is the fact that no one want's cuffs that take a different key. Gotcha has their brand & my Chief is certainly not interested in them no matter how secure they are. This is due to the fact that it uses a different key. Now, the corrections systems have the blue boxes & the S&W high security models but for your standard street officer, the standard cuffs are issued equipement. I couldn't carry a pair of Gotcha cuffs, for example, even if I paid for them, they are not allowed as approved equipment. If a prisoner escaped from my cuffs, I'd get written up for not doing a proper search. My Chief just allowed the ASP cuffs as approved equipment which floors me because I think they're worse than the stantard chain cuffs we are issued. I don't think the industry is going to change too much any time soon. Again, we were not able to pick a double locked pair of S&W, Hiatts, Peerless, or even the new Chicago chain models. Hinged are even harder to pick because of the limited movement. ASP however, needs to get on the ball & stop saying their model has been 'improved' because it hasn't. They are the easiest to pick open.

Edward

Steve Santini 23 Feb 2007

Hi Edward,

I can certainly see where you are coming from.

Thing is, even though you or your buddies have not been able to pick open a double locked pair of S&W or Hiatts, there are many people out there who CAN.

And, sad to say, many of these are not escape artists but instead people take escapes a bit more seriously if you get my meaning

The worst thing in my mind next to simple mechanisms that can be opened with any bit of wire is the total lack of key control the universal handcuff key provides.

How do you really feel knowing that any criminal can go on Ebay or walk into a joke, novelty, or magic shop and buy a cheap knock off pair of Asian copy cuffs that also take the universal key.

The SAME universal key that will open not only the crap cuffs they just bought but also YOUR Smith and Wesson, your Peerless, or your Hiatt.

So, now the issue is not just "can he pick the double lock when the cuffs are properly applied?", but instead, "did I search him well enough to make 100% certain he is not hiding a handcuff key somewhere?".

You may think you did but what if you missed somewhere or if he has thought of a hiding place you have not?

The results could be fatal for you.

At least with a higher security cuff with a more restricted mechanism that is sold only to law enforcement the keys and duplicates of same would not be so readilly available.

Most law enforcement and corrections people have told me that most escapes from cuffs they knew of or had seen later turned out to have been accomplished with a duplicate key.

Some factory made keys and some home made keys but keys all the same.

If the key were more controlled and more difficult to fabricate these escapes would drop a good degree.

Sure, some escapes are from picking, some are from damage to the restraint itself, but most are from duplicates of the ever so handy "universal key".

Since department policy dictates that each officer must be able to open the others cuffs, why not switch to something with a better mechanism and where the units for one entire force are all keyed alike?

This way you would have the best of both worlds.

Interchange of keys within your department and a better degree of life saving security.

Such a thing is not only much needed but it an absolute MUST if law enforcement wishes to cut down on escapes and officer injury.

Steve Santini

Jack 23 Feb 2007

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/ind ... 1#0843.021

k. Emden 23 Feb 2007

#10

Thanks for the great, well written reply Edward!

As a 30 year police veteran, academy instructor and commander of a section that moves high risk prisoners, I totally agree with Edwards reply. Also consider that moving prisoners is not a glamorous assignment like undercover drug work or S.W.A.T. Often officers assigned prisoner transportation become complacent, disgruntled, or are poorly trained, and make tragic mistakes. Hundreds of thousands of movements and extraditions however, are made with no problem. The few tragic escapes are the ones heard on the news. My research into many of these cases often reveals tragic oversights on the part of the officers.

In one well documented escape, the escape was caused by inattention on the part of the transporting officers. The story was changed and the escape was blamed on the handcuffs. The major handuff company was forced to redesign the product and watched sales plummet.

For the street officer, the standard hancuff design, about a century old, is fine. The most dangerous part of street policing, as pointed out in an earlier thread, involves the immediate application of cuffs to a resisting suspect, more than likely intoxicated or drugged.

For the officer transporting high risk prisoners to court or a correctional center, I agree that a better design is possible. We have some Gotcha cuffs and they show potential. Taper, Intl. has stopped production and is re-designing the cuff, so it remains to be seen what the final product will be. Although recent models have a reduced price, they still are more expensive than other brands.

Hiatt has a high security hinged model, Smith and Wesson the model 104 and a high security modified cuff with a Medico lock is available. These have been around a few years yet are rarely seen. Again, too expensive.

The bottom line is that the criminal justice system rarely has adequate funding. What funding is available goes first to the high profile, glamorous fields mentioned above. What trickles down to prisoner transportation, coupled with the expectation to buy from the lowest bider, leaves many agencies with a poorer assortment of restraints, in worse condition than the worst collection featured on this site.

For prisoner movements, we utilize S&W hinged cuffs, with a push-pin double lock, specially manufactured by S&W with a model 104, high security lockwork. We have a few high security leg irons with medico locks and a few Gotcha leg irons. A Smith and Wesson waist chain and Hiatt blue box II, (invented by Steve Santini, thank you), completes the ensamble. That is the best we can do with the funding we have and what we have been able to find.

With an unlimited budget, I believe I would like a quantity of special stainless steel, hinged Saf-Lok handcuffs with the exposed head rivets installed and additional locking teeth to engage the ratchets and waist chains designed to accept the larger cuff. Oh well, just dreaming again.

Incidentally, this forum has provided valuable officer safety information for law enforcement officers moving prisoners. I extend special thanks to Joe Lauer, Steve Santini and Ian McColl, as well as everyone else whose posts when viewed from a law enforement perspective are useful.

An ancient bit of wisdom from an old training video on prisoner transportation is "Handcuffs don't prevent escapes, only you prevent escapes."

Edward 24 Feb 2007

#11

I'm on 100% of the same page as everyone else here. It seems though, just like a new computer virus defeating all software, a criminal will defeat any lock eventually. Look at the old S&W model 94 cuffs. What a great, strong cuff design that was. The criminals found a way to defeat that lock too. I really liked the model 94's, they worked really well for someone who doesn't know how to defeat the lock. I think the current hinged models, when properly applied, will not offer a very easy chance for escape even with a key. I am not counting the ASP hinged which place the keyholes on both sides. Like most street officers will agree, hinged are great for transports & chain's are the easiest to apply in a fight. It would be nice if the industry could change for the better but we all have to deal with the equipment we're issued for now. Maybe someday??

Stay Safe!
Edward

Ian McColl 24 Feb 2007

#12

Hi Edward, do you have any info on criminals escaping from the S&W 94? I haven't ever seen any but would like to. The cuff was moderately difficult to shim but really not a problem. If the cuff was deadlocked I couldn't see many criminals getting out of the cuff.

I have seen many articles on how to pick the S&W 94, all written by locksmiths or escape artists but this is not what I am talking about.

According to the info I have, the cuff was discontinued due to cost.

regards

Ian

Steve Santini 24 Feb 2007

#13

Hi Ian,

I was talking about 20 years ago to the head of a correctional facility in Canada that used the 94 for transport.

The warden told me that inmates were no longer allowed to smoke a particular brand of cigarillos that had a plastic filter tip.

According to him, they were removing this plastic filter, which was the same size tube as a 94 key, and were biting notches into it to make a "pick key" that was opening the cuffs.

Cheers, Steve

Robert 24 Feb 2007

#14

No, it wasn't a cigarette butt (a Doral).

It was a 19 cent BIC pen, sold in all the commisaries.

You pulled the little blue plug out of the top, chewed on the orange body of the pen a little bit until it fit and with a little bit of wiggling around, any damned fool could open a Model 94.

And, with proper instruction, you could readily open a jail door with one of those damned BIC pens.

Stomp one of them on concrete so it would shatter, and you had the best shim in the world to do lots of odd things with.

Of course, that was nearly some forty years ago.

But, learning the lessons the hard way, if those prisoners couldn't write home with a number 2 pencil, then they didn't write home.

Ian McColl 24 Feb 2007

#15

Thanks for the info. Can anyone offer any photos of the pens used? I would like to try it on my pair of S&W 94s

Ian

patrick-handboeienfreak 24 Feb 2007

#16

hi to all

Here in holland we use the lips hinged (hagge) these cuffs have a big keyhole but are not easy to pick cause they use a multi bit key
and if double locked they are very secure
also we cuff with the hands cross one arm left to right and the other right to left
it is almost impossible to get to the keyhole
so if you use a hinged cuff like the lips or hagge or s&w peerless or name it what you want and you cross the hands you are very secure even if you have a key it is almost impossible to open the cuffs and if you are cuffed on your back with cross hands it is almost impossible to get your hands in front of you

regards

Patrick-handboeienfreak

Monica 24 Feb 2007

#17

Double-locked behind the back, palms and keyholes away. Waist chain as needed. Proper frisk and throw in a dose of supervision. I say it's not the cuffs, but poor cuffing procedures and a "cuff and forget" attitude that lead to escapes.

Mikeintightpants 25 Feb 2007

#18

This subject has already been well aired here, and I'm sorry not to have been in on it at the beginning.The facts are that adequate officer training is of paramount importance, resulting in the correct application of cuffs of a sufficient quality. Thereafter, adequate search and constant supervison of the prisoner is essential. The fact that so many cuffs use the "universal" key is something that we're stuck with, but proper application, initial searching and supervision should overcome most of the problems.
There are a number of 'high security' cuffs on the market, so if they're approved by your department - use 'em!
And Edward, it's interesting that you've mentioned Gotchas - is your department one of those that was chosen to trial them? If there's a chance of getting your department to give them approval, go for 'em! The way that the manufacturers are restricting their supply right now means that only legitimate LE officers will have access to them, and therefore only legitimate LEOs who will have keys - well, for the time being anyway!

Edward 26 Feb 2007

#19

Mike,

My Chief want's nothing to do with them. We are only approved to use standard NIJ approved cuffs.

Edward

Mikeintightpants 28 Feb 2007

#20

Edward - we've got to be careful not to get off-topic on this one, but as far as Gotchas are concerned I came across the following statement on the manufacturer's website:

"Gotcha Handcuffs are designed and tested to exceed the NIJ Standard for Metallic Handcuffs, Standard-0307.01 Sections 4.7 and 4.9."

I'd always thought from that that their cuffs were NIJ approved - but a careful re-reading of the above statement makes it clear that they are just designed and tested, without saying they are actually approved. But I guess that will come?
Mike