Handcuffing Considerations

Handcuffing Considerations

Handcuffing is a controversial issue. It is a routine and frequent practice amongst law enforcement officers, but formal handcuff training is frequently overlooked in police training. For instance, in a recent class New Jersey instructor class, a nine year veteran of a local police force had never had handcuff training and did not know the term “loading” handcuffs. There have been medical reports of serious injuries to suspects’ wrists from overzealous handcuffing. These injuries have included fractures of wrist bones, lacerations and permanent nerve damage.[1]

Despite the occurrence of injuries during handcuffing, it is necessary for law enforcement officials to restrain suspects. The youngest person to kill a police officer was seven years old, the oldest was 97 years old. You can never know who will present a danger or when. For this reason, all people in custody should be handcuffed for their own and officer safety. Issues arise when handcuffing is not performed correctly, there is lack of training, lack of documentation of training and lack of regular retraining. Current and sound departmental policies should also be in place, which should be periodically reviewed by the department’s attorney to ensure compliance with federal and state guidelines. Responsible handcuffing instructors for police departments and security agencies should constantly monitor case rulings regarding handcuffing in order to keep their students and department policies up to date.

In most states, handcuffing is covered in a defensive tactics course. A separate handcuffing course is recommended to mitigate handcuffing injuries, civil complaints and lawsuits related to handcuffing. It is also advisable to have refresher training regarding the fourth amendment so that officers are aware of when and under what circumstance they may handcuff a suspect. Additionally, all officers and security personnel should be aware that any injury that occurs during handcuffing should be documented and treated by a physician. Hiding or minimizing injuries will not help the officer in the long term.

[1] Haddad FS, NJ Goddard, RN Kanvinde, F Burke. Complaints of Pain After Use of Handcuffs Should Not be Dismissed. British Medical Journal 1999; 318:55.

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