How to... Handcuff Youth

Principles for Handcuffing Youth

Handcuffing Youth Applying handcuffs in the course of arrest and transport procedures can be used to restrain and protect youth, but the proper concepts and physical procedures must be applied with utmost care when arresting youth; otherwise, handcuffing will become dangerous for police and youth, as well as a liability for departments.

Major determinants in whether and when to use restraints are the size of the juvenile, as well as their age. Officers should not use a “one size fits all” approach when using restraints with juveniles. Instead, when working with children and teens, it is critically important to carefully consider and treat each case individually.

Handcuffs must NOT be used:

When youth will be left unsupervised
To detain
To punish
To coerce
To intimidate
To attach youth to a fixed object (such as a pole, fence, radiator, banister, etc.)

Proper Circumstances for the Use of Handcuffs on Youth:

For safety purposes when arresting and transporting youth
When the youth has demonstrated violence and risks harming others or themselves
When youths will be under constant supervision…basically, handcuffs are to be used to prevent the juvenile from hurting himself or others

Principles of Effective and Appropriate Handcuff Use on Children and Youth

Extreme care must be taken when handcuffing youth, in every situation, every time
Once handcuffed, youth must remain under constant supervision
An officer should have plastic “flex-cuffs” on hand to use if it is necessary to restrain a youth whose hands/wrists are too small for regular cuffs
Instead of using force, officers should use more effective physical techniques of cuffing and body language assessment which are far more effective and actually promote officer safety and reduce the risk of harm to the youth
Handcuffs must never be used for detention purposes, such as handcuffing a youth to a pole or fence. This is dangerous, ineffective, and opens the police officer to high liability.

Prepared by Robert Rail
(author of The Unspoken Dialogue: Custodial Cuffing & Restraint; and Reactive Handcuffing Tactics)