Speedcuffs are a rigid handcuff. Two ratchet cuffs are joined by a stiff bar, and the bar wears a molded plastic grip. In a restraint scene the set is a limit and also a handle. People who study real restraint hardware put Speedcuffs in the same family as hinged cuffs, with more control than chain-linked cuffs: the wrists’ position is easy to see, and the bar can steer someone who is struggling. They became standard issue for most police forces in the United Kingdom. That design logic still shows up in adult-market restraints. What follows is the published construction and the position names from open training, not a guide to arresting someone or getting out of cuffs. The part to keep for a negotiated scene is the double lock: once the cuffs are set, lock them so they cannot keep tightening. The people involved are adults.
Each pair is two ordinary ratchet cuffs and one rigid metal bar. The bar sits inside a plastic grip, and the grip is bolted on, so the set is more comfortable to hold. Taking the grip off does not help an escape. The pair weighs about 390 grams (13.75 ounces). Maximum dilation is 23.2 centimeters (9.13 inches), a bit larger than earlier Hiatt chain and hinged models, so it fits a wider range of wrists. Inside, Hiatt’s back-loading design remains: the ratchet can be pulled backward several clicks through the lock casing and parked where it will catch quickly. The lock takes a standard handcuff key and has a double lock, started by a small pin on the back of the cuff. You press that pin with something pointed, such as the nub on the end of the key. After the double lock, the cuff cannot tighten further, by accident or on purpose, which is how the design reduces numbness and other injury from over-cinching. In an adult negotiated scene, that detail stays.
Like other modern swing-through cuffs, the moving arm is pressed against the wrist, swings around it, and engages the lock. The cuff is then snugged, the other wrist is locked, and both sides are double-locked. Because the link is rigid, Speedcuffs can be applied in four positions that chain cuffs cannot do: front stack, rear stack, palm to palm, and back to back. Hinged cuffs share those four. On a standing person, a stack holds the cuffs vertical, with the wrists passing through in opposite directions, so one hand sits on each side of the set. A front stack is treated as the more secure of the forward options, because the cuffed person has a hard time striking the person controlling them. Palm to palm is in front of the body. It is more comfortable and a little less secure. Back to back is behind the body, the backs of the hands toward each other, and it is usually more secure than palm to palm done at the rear. Other combinations — palm to palm behind, back to back in front — are possible and rarely used, for comfort or for security. Keyholes are usually turned toward the side the cuffed person’s hands cannot reach, so a smuggled key does not help. If the keyholes face the hands, a hidden key can reach them. In a struggle, the finish people want is often back to back, but the first lock that actually gets both wrists closed is often what they have to accept.
Traditional rigid cuffs control well, and officers complained that they were bulky and awkward to carry. Hiatt answered with Rigid Folding Handcuffs: they click open into a rigid set when needed, and fold onto a belt or into a pocket when not. British undercover officers have been known to carry that model out of sight. It cost about one and a half times a normal pair. After Hiatt closed, Total Control Handcuffs (TCH) kept making it as the TCH 850 Folding Rigid Handcuffs. Chain cuffs flex. The rigid bar is why Speedcuffs became standard for many British forces and why training spends time on stack geometry. A bar turns one closed cuff into a handle that can steer a wrist. With both sides locked, hitting and pulling free get harder. Keyhole direction does the same job: holes toward the hands, a stolen key works; holes away from the hands, control stays outside. About 390 grams and 23.2 centimeters of opening are why the set fits more wrists than the earlier models, which is a real difference from fashion cuffs built only for a small decorative wrist. The Speedcuff idea outlived a single brand. A lot of police-style cuffs on the adult market are chasing the outline and the control of that bar. In serious restraint, the double lock is not optional.
