The ordinary connection of ideas
between handcuffs and policemen does not
need very acute mental posers to grasp,
but there is a further connections, a
philological one, which is only evident at
first sight to those who have made a small
acquaintance with the science of words.
The word "handcuff" is a popular
corruption of the Anglo-Saxon "handcop,"
i.e., that which "cops" or catches" the
hands.
Now, one of the most common of the many
slag expressions used by their special
enemies towards the police is "Copper"-i.e.,
he who cops the offending member. Strange
as it may seem, handcuffs are by no means
the invention of these times, which insist
on making the life of a prisoner so devoid
of the picturesque and romantic.
We must go back, past the dark ages,
past the stirring times of Greek and Roman
antiquity, till we come to those blissful
mythological ages when every tree and
every stream was the home of some kindly
god.
In those olden days there dwelt in the
Carpathian Sea a wily old deity, known by
the name of Proteus, possessing the gift
of prophecy, the frutis of which he
selfishly denied to mankind.
Even if those who wished to consult him
were so fortunate as tofind him, all their
effort to force him to exert his givts of
prophecy were useless, for he was endowed
with tho power of changing himself into
all things, andhe eluded their grasp by
becoming a flame of fire or a drop of
water. There was one thing, however,
against which all the miracles of Proteus
were of no avail, and of this Arstaeus was
aware.
So Arstaeus came, as Virgil tells us,
from a distant land to consult the famous
prophet. He found him on the sea-shore
among his seals, basking in the afternoon
sun Quick as thought he fitted handcuffs
on him, and all struggles and devices were
now of no avail. Such was then the
efficacy of handcuffs even on the persons
of the immortal gods.
Having established this rmote and
honourable antiquity, we are not surprised
at the appearance of handcuffs in the
fourth centruy B.C., when the soldiers of
a conqurering Greek army found among the
baggage of the routed Carthaginians
several chariots full of handcuffs, which
had been held ready in confident
anticipation of a great victory and a
multitude of prisoneres.
The nearest approach to a mention that
we find after that is in the Book of
Psalms: "To gind their kings in chains and
their nobles in fetters of iron." But in
the Greek, the Latin, Wickliffe's and
Anglo-Saxon Bible we invariably find a
word of which handcuffs is the only real
translation. It is also interesting to
note that in the Anglo-Saxon version the
kings are bound in "footcops" and the
nobles in "handcops."
In the early Saxon times, therefore, we
find our instrument is familiar to all an
in general use, as it has continued to be
to this day, But during the fifteenth and
siteenth centureis there is no instance of
the use of the word "handcop"; is place is
taken by "swivel manacle" and "shackbold,"
the latter word being often used by
Elizabethan authors.
Handcuffs, like other things, have
improved with time, Up to 1850 there were
two kinds in general use in England. One
of the forms, most common in the earlier
part of this century, went under the name
of the "Figure 8." This instrument does
not allow the prisoner even that small
amount of liberty which is granted by its
modern counterpart. It was chiefly used
for refractory prisoners who resorted to
violence, for it had the advantage of
keeping the hands in a fixed position,
either before or on the back of the body.
The pain it inflicted made it partake of
the nature of a punishment rather than
merely a preventive against resistance or
attack. It was a punishment, too, which
was universally dreaded by prisoners of
all kinds, for there is no more unbearable
pain than that of having a limb immovably
confined.
The other kind of form known as the
"Flexible" (No. 1) resembled in general
the handcuffs used every day by
detectives.
Contrivances, chiefly the result of
American ingenuity for the rapid and
effectual securing of prisoners have not
been wanting, and among them the "Snap,"
the "Nippers" (No.3) and the "Twister"
must be mentioned.
The "Snap" (No. 2) is the one which
used to be the most approved of. It
consists of two loops, of which the small
is slipped on the wrists of the person to
be arrested, the bars are then closed with
a snap, and the larger loop is held by the
officer. The manner in which the "Twister"
(No. 4) was used savours very much of the
brutal, and, indeed, the injuries it
inflicted on those who were misguided
enough to struggle when in its grasp
caused its abolition in Great Britain.
Its simplicity and its efficacy,
together with the cruelty, have
recommended it for use in the wild parts
of South America where the upholder of the
laws literally travels with his life in
his hands. It consists of a chain with
handles at each end; the chain is put
around the wrists, the handles brought
together and twisted round until the chain
grips firmly. The torture inflicted by
inhuman or inconsiderate officers can
easily be imagined. When we see the
comparative facility with which the
detective slips the handcuffs of the
villain in the last act of Adelphi dramas,
we are apt to be misled as to the
difficulty which police officers meet with
in the execution of one of the most
arduous parts of their duty.
The English handcuffs (No. 1) are heavy
unwiedly, awkward machines, which at the
best of times, and under the most
favorable circumstances re extremely
difficult fo application. They weigh over
a pound, and have to be unlocked with a
key in a manner not greatly differing from
the operation of winding up the average
eight-day clock, and fastened on to the
prisoner's wrists, how, the fates and good
luck only know. This lengthy, difficult,
and particularly disagreeable operation,
with a prisoner struggling and fighting,
is to a degree almost incredible. The
prisoner practically has to be overpowered
or to submit before he can be finally and
certainly secured.
Even when handcuffed, we present to a
clever and muscular ruffian one of the
most formidable weapons of offence he
could possibly possess, as he can, and
frequently does, inflict the deadliest
blows upon his captor. Another great
drawback is the fact that these handcuffs
do not fit all wrists, and often the
officer is nonplussed by having a pair of
handcuffs which are too small or too
large; and when the latter is the case,
and the prisoner get the "bracelets" in
his hands instead of on his wrists, he is
then in possession of a knuckle-suster
from which the bravest would not care to
receive a blow.
On the occasion of my arresting one of
the Russian rouble note forgers, a ruffian
who would not hesitate to stick at
anything I had provided myself with
several sized pairs of handcuffs, and it
was not until I had obtained the very much
needed assistance that I was able to find
the suitable "darbies" for wrists. We
managed to force him into a four-wheeler
to take him to the police-station, when he
again renewed his efforts and savagely
attacked me, lifting his ironed wrists and
bringing them down heavily on my head,
completely crushing by bowler hat.
As the English handcuffs have only been
formed for criminals who submitted quietly
to necessity, it was considered expedient
to find an instrument applicable to all
cases. The perfected article comes from
America (Nos. 5 and 6), and, being
lighter, less clumsy, and more easily
concealed, finds general favour among the
officers of Scotland Yard. In fact, such
are its advantages that we must presume
that it differs considerably from the
Angl-Saxxon "Hancop" and the somewhat
primitive article used upon the unwilling
prophet of the Carpathian Sea, This and
the older kin, to which some of the more
conservative of our detectives still
adhere, are the only handcuffs used in
England.
The ingenious detective of France,
where crime and all its appurtenances have
reached such a state of perfection, is not
without his means of securing his man (No.
7) It is calle "La Ligote" or "Le
Cabriolet." There are two kinds: one is
composed of several steel piano strings,
and the other of whip cords twined
together, and they are used much in the
same way as the "Twister." Any attempt to
escape I quickly ended by the pain to
which the officer who holds the instrument
can inflict by a mere turn of his hand.
One wrist only is under control as the
slightest sign of a struggle is met by an
infliction of torture, the French system
is more effective than the English.
The Mexican handcuff (Nos. 8 and 9) is
a cumbersome and awkward article, quite
worthy of the retrograde country of its
origin.
My personal experience of handcuffs is
small, because I dislike them, for in
addition to their clumsiness, I know that
when I have laid my hands upon my man, it
will be difficult for him to escape.
My intimate knowledge of all kinds of
criminals in all kinds of plights
justifies me in saying that when they see
the game is up they do not attempt
resistance. The only trouble I have had
has been with desperadoes and old
offenders, men who have once tasted
prison-life and have a horror of returning
to captivity.
Expert thieves have been known to open
handcuffs without a key, by means of
knocking the part containing the spring on
a stone or hard substance. It will be
remembered that when the notorious
criminal "Charles Peace" was being taken
to London by train, he contrived, although
handcuffed, to make his escape through the
carriage window. When he was captured it
was noticed that he had freed on of his
hands.
I was once bringing from Leith an
Austrian sailor who was charged with
ripping open his mate, and as I considered
that I had a disagreeable character to
deal with, I handcuffed him. Naturally, he
found the confinement irksome, and on our
journey he repeatedly implored me to take
them off, promising that he would make no
attempt to escape. The sincerity of his
manner touched be and I released him, very
fortunately for myself, for I was taken
ill before reaching London, and, strange
as ti may appear, was nursed most tenderly
by the man who had ripped a fellow man.
In Belgium the use of handcuffs by
police officers is entirely forbidden.
Prisoners are handcuffed only on being
brought before the Juge d'Instuction or
Procureur du Roi, and when crossing from
court to court. Women are never handcuffed
in England, but on the Continent it is not
an uncommon occurrence.
Regarding handcuffs generally, in my
opinion not one of the inventions I have
mentioned now in use is sufficiently easy
of application. What every officer in the
detective force feels he wants is a light,
portable instrument by means of which he
can unaided secure his man, however
powerful he may be. I myself suggest an
application which would grip the criminal
tightly across the back, imprisoning the
arms just above the elbow joint. Such an
instrument would cause him no unnecessary
pain, while relieving officers from that
part of their duty which is particularly
obnoxious to the, viz., having a prolonged
struggle with low and savage ruffians.
I cannot refrain from relating a
piquant little anecdote told to be by a
French colleague, who had occasion to make
an arrest, and came unexpectedly on his
man. Unfortunately he was unprovided with
handcuffs and was somewhat at a
disadvantage, bu being a quick-witted
fellow, he bethought himself of an
effectual expedient. Taking out his knife
he severed the prisoner's buttons which
were attached to his braces, thus giving
the man occupation for his hands and
preventing a rapid flight. I am indebted
to M. Goron, Chief of the Detective
Department in Paris and other colleagues
for some of the specimens here reproduced
by me.
