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68 Police J. 178 (1995)
Handcuffs

handle is hein.journals/policejl68 and id is 182 raw text is: ELIZABETH CLAY HANDCUFFS We forced him into a four-wheeler to go to the police station. He savagely attacked me, lifting his ironed wrists and bringing them down heavily on my head, completely crushing my bowler hat. Writing 100 years ago, Inspector Maurice Moser, of Scotland Yard, gives this account of his difficulty in handcuffing one of the Russian rouble note forgers. The types of handcuffs in use at that time were primitive. Up to 1850, two types were in general use in England. The earlier model was the Figure 8, which kept the hands fixed immovably before or behind the body. The fixed position caused so much pain that it was used more as a punishment than for preventing resistance. In more general use was The Flexible (Fig.1). Although an improvement, it was heavy, awkward and unwieldy, with no adjustment to allow for differing wrist sizes. Too big, it slipped off; too small and it would not go on. So several pairs had tobe carried and the appropriate size judged on the spot. Locking was with akey, as though winding up an eight- day clock. With some under-statement, the Inspector says: This is a lengthy, difficult and disagreeable operation, with the prisoner struggling and fighting. Experienced prisoners could sometimes open the handcuffs without a key, by knocking the part containing the spring on a hard surface. The notorious cat-burglar, Charlie Peace, certainly had the knack. Despite a limp, three fingers missing and ape-like features, his mastery of disguise enabled him to move from town to town, thieving as he went. His luck finally ran out when a girlfriend cashed him in for £100 reward. While travelling to face trial for the fatal shooting of a policeman, he managed, although handcuffed, to escape through the window of the moving train. When caught, he had already freed one of his hands. But it did him no good. Aged 47, he was hanged at Armley Prison, Leeds on February 25, 1879. New, improved American handcuffs came into use. The Snap (Fig.2) was a rigid double loop. The smaller was slipped over the wrists and closed with a snap. The bigger loop was held by an officer. Far better than all the others was the American Handcuff' (Fig.3). It was a greatly improved version of the English Flexible, being lighter and less clumsy to use. As the wrist size was adjustable, it was no longer necessary to carry several pairs of varying size. The Twister (Fig.4) was a highly effective restraint, but if harshly used, could inflict injuries, particularly if the prisoner struggled. Consisting of a chain, with handles at each end, it went round the wrists and the handles were brought together and twisted until the chain gripped firmly. It came to be judged as too brutal and its use was abolished in Great Britain although it continued to be used in other parts of the world, particularly in South America. The Police Journal April 1995

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