Surrey Police handcuffs through the ages

Handcuffs from across the decades

The image above shows different types of handcuffs from over the decades.

Each has been kept in Surrey Police’s archives.

The oldest handcuffs, pictured on the left of the image, are American style and feature key-tightening wrist restrains.

This style was used from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Force history

Beside them are Hiatt Pattern handcuffs, from the 1960s.

The third and fourth sets are Hiatt Quick Cuff Style ratchet handcuffs, pictured both in and out of the holster, used in 2003.

Handcuffs became standard issue in police forces in the 1850s.

Their initial design was rigid with no ability to adjust them.

The American style handcuffs formed the origins of the modern-day design. With adjustable wrist restraints, often using a key to tighten the cuff, these handcuffs were lighter than their predecessors, and were used up until the 1960s.

‘Speedcuff’

The Hiatt handcuffs was used from the 1960s.

A ratchet-style restraint, they became known as the ‘speedcuff’ due to the time it took to put them onto a person.

This ratchet style has been used since, updating to have a plastic cover over the chain, with the aim to improve an officer’s control of the detainee.

The use of handcuffs is overseen by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 which outlines the legal powers and requirements for their use.

Police officers can use handcuffs when the incident warrants restraint but the level of force must be proportionate and there are no less restrictive alternatives.

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