It was just in the news here: Dutch Police forces are on the lookout for new handcuffs. According to Gerrit van de Kamp of Dutch Police association ACP the current cuffs are ‘worn out’ after twenty five years of service. No link was made anywhere to a small little incident that happened last year …
And not just any handcuff will do to become the new standard … there is a huge list of requirements. For instance: they must be ‘comfortable’ (designed with ergonomics in mind). And the material used should of course be strong and durable, must be resistant against corrosion and not cause allergic contact rashes. And because “the Netherlands finest” already carry quite some tools on their belt the cuffs should not weigh more then 340 gram. The color is also specified: black. This is because shiny silver cuffs might trigger aggressive reactions. and talking about color: the tender includes one thousand ‘training cuffs’ in a light blue color.
But the funniest of all requirements is the one that specifies that they can only be opened with the correct key! Not a word if this key should me made out of metal or if a printed plastic copy will do. And most important: the cuffs should resist fifteen minutes of manipulation against someone who can use ‘tools’ like a paperclip, business card, screwdrivers or a split pin. Interestingly, normal household locks have a ten minute time limit against manipulation in the highest SKG 3 star certification. My free advise to the Dutch police: If you are even halfway clever you should invite Ray and ask his opinion about the various handcuffs that you currently have in consideration … it could save you some embarrassment later down the road …
And anyone wants to place a bet how long it takes before someone takes a picture of the key and makes a working copy out of it?
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And then on a personal level: I will start again with my ‘post on blackbag once a week’ policy. Meaning that around the weekends there will be a post here on blackbag. Next one will be about … LockCon, the ELF conference and the European lockpick championships …