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Tiny Inconspicuous Handcuff Key
- tedunangst 13y agoWorth noting that the courts are unlikely to agree with you regarding the "unlawful" nature of the restraints you find yourself in. In other words, this is a good way to escalate a bad situation to way, way worse.
- jessaustin 13y agoYeah if you thought the beat-down you got before and after the cuffs went on was bad, you're really not going to enjoy the one you get after they come off.
- tlrobinson 13y agoThe project doesn't suggest what types of scenarios are unlawful. Civilians can buy handcuffs too. What if you're kidnapped?! I imagine their customer base overlaps significantly with the "prepper" and "tactical" crowds who also have $100,000 bunkers in their backyards and full body SWAT gear, etc. I mean, three of the five sites that covered them have "tactical" in the name.
- Avshalom 13y agoI notice they capitalized "everyday carry"
- rurounijones 13y agoSounds like an excellent way to get tazed after resisting arrest by removing handcuffs.
- shire 13y agoOr perhaps shot at, cops are very very strict and power hungry nowadays is best to just follow the law to avoid confrontation.
- DanBC 13y agoSounds like a great way to get shot in the head. Does anyone have reliable stats for the number of people illegally held in handcuffs? Or what the best course of action is? I suspect (in the UK) you should stay calm, and polite, and cooperative up to a point, and say nothing without a lawyer, and then sort it out afterwards (and collect some money for wrongful arrest.)
- tedunangst 13y ago"Fix it later" is almost certainly the best course of action with the police. "Fix it now" (via force) is almost certainly among the worst courses of action.
- mahyarm 13y agoDon't they use large thick plastic zipties nowadays? And why would handcuffs use the same kind of keys?
- richo 13y agoBecause if you need to transfer someone who's in cuffs, you don't want to be pissfarting around exchanging keys. Thus most cuffs have the same key.
- stevewillows 13y agoWhy not just have a safe word?
- ozh 13y agoArmageddon! Armageddon!
- Cthulhu_ 13y agoOklahoma! Oklahoma!
- peterwwillis 13y ago(way too serious reply) If the person with the key suddenly has a seizure and you're shackled up and can't do anything to help them, you'll quickly wish you had a paper clip and had taken a locksport class, or had this clipped to your underwear.
- rmk2 13y ago> or had this clipped to your underwear But how are you going to pick it up off the floor?! ;)
- lightyrs 13y agoTo all the sarcastic commenters here, sounds like none of you have ever been unlawfully cuffed. I'm happy for you. If you or a loved one ever had been, you would be thankful that products like this exist.
- lightyrs 13y agoIt's very easy for bad people who are not law enforcement to purchase and/or acquire peerless cuffs.
- tedunangst 13y agoIt's very easy for bad people who are not law enforcement to purchase and/or acquire duct tape.
- lightyrs 13y agoSo your argument is that because this product does not help with every situation in which a person can be bound — it is useless? I don't understand. That's like saying that having a spare tire in your car is useless because you might overheat.
- PhasmaFelis 13y agoIt seems to me that there's not a lot of cases where removing the unlawful cuffs will actually improve your situation. It seems like it's more likely to get you beaten/tazed until you stop resisting. The "mitigating mass arrests" scenario I mentioned is one where it could help, though.
- lightyrs 13y agoYou're assuming that these cuffs are being applied by law enforcement. That's not the scenario I'm discussing.
- crystaln 13y agoPlease share your experience, or at least some hypothetical scenario where this would be useful.
- kostyk 13y ago"Unlawful" to me sounds just like a marketing gimmick.
- ygra 13y agoThey can't really advertise »Evade lawful handcuffing«, I guess ;-)
- dmckeon 13y agoFor the more stylish, white-collar, french-cuffed arrestee (or perhaps kidnap victim): http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/product_p/link.htm http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/product_p/link.htm
- s_q_b 13y agoThis is useful as a novelty for the modern activist, but nothing more. In practical terms it would make most arrest situations far worse. This tool only makes sense for hardcore criminals, with little to lose by running from the police, maybe some law enforcement or military application, and for activism fashionistas. As a hacker, such a simple tool defeating handcuffs is rather cool. Are they all on a single un-keyed unlock tool, like a cheap interior house lock? I'd expect specific keys matched with specific cuffs.
- sheelu 13y agoAgree, it's only of use as novelty. Almost all handcuffs in the US use the same key (peerless). You can buy them at a uniform store for about a buck, or $4 on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Peerless-Handcuff-Company-Standard-Key/dp/B0051EOHGI/ http://www.amazon.com/Peerless-Handcuff-Company-Standard-Key...
- ygra 13y agoAt least around here (Germany) it probably wouldn't be as useful to activists. From what I noticed they just use large cable ties instead of handcuffs. Faster to apply, you can carry a lot of them and the key would be rather useless.
- s_q_b 13y agoI'm not suggesting that activists here could actually use them, as that would lead to very bad consequences. I see it more as a statement. For example, in high school I used to carry around a bootable USB stick on my keychain with a little Linux distro that would automatically remove the root/administrator password on any Windows/Mac/Linux box at which I could sit at the console. It was never used for harm, but it just seemed like a cool thing to have.
- vinceguidry 13y agoSerious activists are prepared for the possibility of arrest. This involves having the proper phone numbers memorized, not carrying anything of value while protesting, and knowing what to say to law enforcement. This tool would be of negative value to them, as it would only hurt their position if it was found in a search. Getting arrested, on the other hand, can prove to be beneficial, as the event can be set inside a narrative of police excess, driving public sympathy to their cause.
- PhasmaFelis 13y ago"Evade Unlawful Handcuff Restraint", indeed. I suppose the order form requires you to pinky-promise that you won't use it if lawfully restrained, cross your heart. These guys know very well who their target market is, and it's not "law enforcement, military, and security professionals...restrained with their own cuffs". Be a nice thing to pass on to your friendly neighborhood activists, though. I've known a couple of guys who always kept a lighter in their back pocket to melt through those plastic zip-tie cuffs. When there's mass arrests at a protest, it's good to be able to help a bunch of hastily-cuffed peaceniks get loose and melt away into the crowd before the paddy wagon shows up. You probably won't get everybody, but you'll do a lot of good if you can keep the pigs from getting their hands on women and openly gay/transgender people.
- shire 13y agoWell I could see this escalating into something more serious than it ought to be. This could how ever be useful for a criminal with nothing to lose which in that case this product could be helping criminals escape.
- narfquat 13y agoDid I just watch a video of a series of pictures? Why not just have a 3-5 second motion video?
- xophe 13y agoWithout sarcasm, a great way to prompt cops to start using zip-ties, which is just a lot more dangerous for everyone.
- D9u 13y agoThere are ways to break free from zip ties.
- anigbrowl 13y agoI foresee a lot of people being surprised to realize that correct handcuff technique has the lock at the back of the hand where itchy fingers won't be able to reach. http://www.policemag.com/_Images/articles/PO1202ties-7-2.jpg http://www.policemag.com/_Images/articles/PO1202ties-7-2.jpg
- seszett 13y agoI wasn't under the impression that handcuffs prevent rotation of the hands inside? But why isn't the lock placed on the up side rather than down?
- D9u 13y agoHandcuffs are placed so that the lock is away from the hands, as well as double-locked in order to thwart shims. It's fairly difficult to use a key while properly cuffed, but not impossible however, if you're caught trying to escape you'll be adding another charge to whatever you're being detained for...
- fvrghl 13y agoTo everyone talking about law enforcement: I think that the use of the key is implied for being arrested, but by 'unlawful restraint' they just mean some random person restraining you (kiddnapping?). Some random person probably wouldn't use proper handcuffing technique.
- anigbrowl 13y agoThat's true. But there are already tough ABS plastic keys for this very purpose which are sold in bulk to military/law enforcement for cheap.
- anigbrowl 13y agoUnless you have very small wrists, they're quite good at this. I do have small wrists, but it's quite easy to make a handcuff tight enough that I can't wiggle around to it. The lock isn't placed on a particular side, it's up to the person putting the handcuffs on to turn them the right way up. And they do - police officers train in and practice this, because their lives may depend on it.
- kennywinker 13y agoAnyone else think of Y: The Last Man? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y:_The_Last_Man https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y:_The_Last_Man
- codezero 13y agoWhy would they make this out of metal versus some other solid material? As it stands, it would be detected by a metal detector, right?
- brohee 13y agoSome metal detector only work on ferromagnetic metals, which wouldn't be the case for the alloys they are going for. In any case at under one gram they are likely under the threshold of detection and are easy to store near legitimate metal, like a zipper.
- cranklin 13y agoCounty jail inmates uncuff themselves all the time (in a matter of seconds) with an industrial-sized staple.
- fosfori 13y agoIn my country the security professionals are taught to prefer cuffs with locks only on one side and always to place them away from the target's fingers. This usually prevents lock picking or jamming it with something. I mean, the target is already cuffed and not in any hurry anymore - usually - so why rush opening them?
- sachingulaya 13y agoThat's a great way to get yourself shot by law enforcement.
- mortov 13y agoHowever Police long ago started to switch to rigid handcuffs to stop people being able to move their hands and manipulate their way out : http://www.police-supplies.co.uk/handcuffs-keys-pouches/handcuffs/tch-rigid-handcuffs-black-finish/prod_456.html http://www.police-supplies.co.uk/handcuffs-keys-pouches/hand... Since the indiegogo site will have been added to the 'criminal intelligence' database, every paranoid cop will take extra care. You would be horrified at the number of snopes.com myths cops believe in, so something with the potential to be real will have them in a frenzy. Expect lots of people to be beaten and tazer'd over the next week or two as a direct result of the hysteria this creates in cops all over the place believing people have a hidden super secret magic handcuff key.
- D9u 13y agoTrue that regarding rigid handcuffs... The ones with a chain connecting the pair are susceptible to manipulation which can break one of the swivels. (SERE) On somewhat of a tangent, this reminds me of the German guy who 3D printed keys for some of the more high-tech handcuffs awhile back. http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/07/16/hacker-opens-high-security-handcuffs-with-3d-printed-and-laser-cut-keys/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/07/16/hacker-... I imagine that instead of abusing detainees the more respectable law enforcement officers will conduct more thorough searches.
- tlrobinson 13y agoNote: my internet sleuthing skills suggest it is illegal in some states to carry a handcuff key (Florida?)
- Tichy 13y agoYeah, and along with that I'd like a course in kicking the gun pointed at my head out of the holder's hand, then using it to shoot the three other guards watching over me. They do it on TV all the time, can't be that hard.
- aray 13y agoI wouldn't support this because: the campaign project members are anonymous (and thus cannot be held accountable), the project is flexibly funded (meaning they get the money either way), and the key IS NOT A UNIVERSAL HANDCUFF KEY. There was a presentation on "The Ultimate Handcuff Key" at CarolinaCon 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjfGwRE_DF8&t=29m30s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjfGwRE_DF8&t=29m30s where they demo and give data and measurements for all the handcuffs and keys they could find. They show a calculated 'universal key', and how to make it. Notably it has a notch down the center of the blade. Looking at the TIHK, they are very obviously NOT using this design. You can, however, watch the talk and learn how to make one of these keys yourself with a specific handcuff key, a file, and a dremel tool. Slides: http://deviating.net/lockpicking/slides/cuff_stuff.ppt http://deviating.net/lockpicking/slides/cuff_stuff.ppt
- jack-r-abbit 13y agoEvade Unlawful Handcuff Restraint... Right. And their follow-up product will be a tool to open a car door in case you are accidentally trapped in the caged back seat of a car with no internal door handles.