“
...law enforcement
personnel...are guaranteed to make multiple arrests during their career; aircrew... are extremely unlikely ever to put into use the restraint techniques they have been taught...”
long sentence to illustrate that you don’t just grab the person’s arm and click them on! For readers who have used speed cuffs in a real restraint/ arrest situation, you will not argue against the fact that experience and frequent training are vital. So, whilst the speed cuff is a great piece of kit, airlines should only consider their deployment if they are prepared to invest in a significant amount of initial and recurrent training; significant training is not something
The speed cuff
that can be measured in minutes or a few hours. Used by undertrained personnel, speed cuffs can cause more damage than the plastic ones and provide a much greater chance of being used as a weapon against the crew if unsuccessfully applied. Imagine a situation where one wrist is secured but the passenger breaks free with a heavy metal handcuff attached to one flailing arm! Whilst we do not want to consider the possibility of a passenger breaking
free from a restraint, we have to be realistic. A flailing arm with a plastic cuff applied is far less dangerous. The standard double Monadnock handcuff is a popular choice for airlines, even though they can, being plastic, become brittle or otherwise degrade over a period of time and, if applied, cannot be reused. The same issues are encountered with the single industrial cable ties that many airlines loop together and use as a double handcuff. As far as reuse is concerned, one would hope that, training aside, the kits are there for emergency use only and the minimal cost of each kit lost through ‘live’ application would be considered an insignificant factor. There is a problem with cost in respect of training; amazingly, many airlines never actually allow their crewmembers to properly apply a plastic handcuff of any kind during training as they then have to be cut off and disposed of. Unlike the speed cuffs which can be used properly in the classroom, this might result in a flight attendant only applying the plastic handcuff for the first time in-flight! However, cable ties are so cheap that airlines can, and should, purchase additional stock for training purposes.
“
...imagine a situation where one wrist is secured but the passenger breaks free with a heavy metal handcuff attached to one flailing arm...”
Once the speed cuff is on, it can be double locked to prevent over-tightening. This requires complex motor skills to be performed in a high stress environment.
As far as degradation is concerned, I know of one carrier that has disposed of its entire stock of plastic handcuffs as they had become too stiff to use over a period of time. As the age of the stock is unlikely to be known by either the airline or, potentially, even by the restraint kit supplier, carriers do need to carry out periodic checks of the kits deployed and need to be prepared to replace older kits should they show signs of brittleness. It is the atmosphere of the aircraft cabin and the constant changes in temperature that can have the greatest effect on the plastic.
The main selling point for plastic handcuffs is their simplicity. In terms of preparation for use, there are two words embossed in English on either side of two holes (through which the cables are inserted to
30 Download your FREE ASI "iPad/iPhone APP" NOW December 2012 Aviationsecurityinternational
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48