| 10 Apr '04 |
SCOTTISH NATIONAL STANDARD BEARER: Peter Dow
As I've said on another page, the police are issued with rigid handcuffs - a rigid bar (not a chain) connects the wrist braces and police officers can exert excruciating bruising force on the arrested person's wrists, and cut off the blood supply to the hands. I've considered this problem and here's my latest design for something that protesters can wear to help to counter these very dangerous handcuffs.
Suggested design for wrist protector cuffs
Using 82mm diameter plastic plumbing pipe, I have made light-weight, discreet wrist protector cuffs (weighing around half a kilogram per pair) that should take the "speed" out of the police's speedcuffs in a police-arrest-protester situation. I am detailing here how to make such wrist protector cuffs so that you or anyone can copy my design and produce your own wrist protector cuffs - for your own use or for sale to protester colleagues or to the public. No patent or copyright is involved here folks; it is my design and you are welcome to it. So get busy and, as we used to say in the cub scouts, "be prepared".
82mm outer diameter plastic plumbing pipe
This light-weight pipe can be obtained from some specialist Plumbers' Merchants (see Yellow Pages or do a web search) in 3 metre lengths - I paid £41 for a 3m length but I didn't shop around so you can possibly get a much better deal. Anyway, 3m is enough to make 6 pairs of wrist protector cuffs so the pipe cost per pair is less than £7. Unfortunately, this less common size of plastic pipe is not stocked by the big DIY stores it seems and the more common DIY sizes are either too big or too small.
I suppose that someone with big enough hands would not be able to get their hand through a 82mm diameter pipe so the next biggest diameter pipe would need to be used in that case.
For those with small hands and thin arms and who nevertheless are still determined to protest, don't be tempted to use a pipe with a diameter smaller than 75mm as there is a risk that the handcuffs might fit around that giving the police a grip on you. It's better to use the 82mm diameter pipe and get a fit that is not too loose inside the pipe by padding your hand and arm with plenty of gloves, shirts, jerseys etc.
The slightly built might be better advised to fight police brutality away from the front line where there are other vital tasks to be done and where "big" does not mean "better".
Meantime, consider undertaking a body-building or strength training programme with weights to build up your muscle strength. There are books and websites that can advise you on that but it does take time and effort to make progress.
Two common portable power tools are needed to cut and finish the plastic pipe effortlessly, both tools are available quite cheaply from your local DIY super-store. A vice or clamp to hold the pipe while cutting it is probably advisable but experts can probably manage without.
Jigsaw: I used a 320W jigsaw to cut the plastic pipe to its basic shape using a wood-cutting blade. It cuts easily and the 320W was more than enough power to cut the pipe with ease.
Rotary tool: I used a 140W light-weight rotary tool with a grinding tip to finish the ends of the pipe after it was cut. The light tool was handy because I could hold the pipe in one hand and the rotary tool in the other. The tool struggled a wee bit and the motor seemed to be over-heating a bit as the tool got hot and started to run less smoothly after a hour or so. I preferred to have a break and let the tool cool down rather than get my heavy-duty 700W two-handed drill out as the extra power and weight is less easy to control. I suppose that another way would be to use a drill stand or clamp such a heavy-duty tool, fit a grinding tip and bring the pipe to the drill by hand while running the tool's motor at a low speed. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Please yourself.
Safety: When using power tools, always wear safety glasses and gloves. Having said that, the plastic pipe cuts and grinds with no sharp edges and is generally an easy material to work with. However, if you are inexperienced with power tools, maybe it is better to get an experienced friend to help you out.
Ideally, the wrist protector cuffs should extend as far up your forearm as the plastic pipe will comfortably go. To get the pipe that little bit further up your forearm in comfort it is worth chamfering the inside edge of the pipe end that will be closest to your elbow.
(1) Starting with the pipe as supplied or as cut at the Plumbers' Merchants (I bought mine cut roughly into 3 parts so that I could carry it home in my rucksack on my bicycle), ensure that the end of the pipe is cut to a circle rather than at some angled ellipse. Use the jigsaw to cut the end to a circular shape if necessary.
(2) Chamfer the inside edge of the pipe using the rotary tool with a grinding tip fitted. Aim for a slope extending maybe one or two centimetres from the end of the pipe. This is where my rotary tool worked its hardest so watch your tool doesn't over-heat and if it does then let it cool down before proceeding.
(3) With the pipe end nice and smooth now, put your hand and bare forearm as far into pipe as it will comfortably go (without forcibly jamming the pipe onto your forearm) and then mark your arm at the pipe end with a felt or marker pen. Measure the distance between the mark on your arm and your knuckles - that is the approximate length of pipe to cut off using the jigsaw - a circular cut to give a cylindrical piece of pipe of that measured length initially.
Having done that put your hand through the pipe piece again and check that the pipe piece does not extend beyond your knuckles and also that it does not dig into your upper-forearm at the elbow end. If the pipe piece is too long then trim it to size using the jigsaw. My pipe pieces were about 23.5 cm long but the correct length for you depends on the thickness and length of your forearm. Your left and right forearms might be slightly different so watch out for that.
In order so that you can still use your hands with the pieces of pipe on, it will be necessary to cut out a section to give space for your thumb to move and to enable you to grasp things. Here are a couple of links to pages that if printed out should produce patterns that can be used to mark up the pipe pieces for the sections to be cut out.
(4) Click on the following links in turn and print out the web pages.
Use scissors to cut the patterns along the lines indicated and wrap the paper around the pipe pieces at its "hand" end and, following the profile of the paper, mark the pipe with a marker pen.
Check that your marks correspond to a shape that looks something like the same as the shape of the wrist protector cuffs shown in the photographs. If it looks right then cut out the hand-space section from the pipe piece using the jigsaw.
(5) Smooth the pipe edge at the hand end with the rotary tool with grinding tip. Try the wrist protector on for size over a light glove and see if you can use your hand without pain. If the pipe is digging in somewhere then cut and grind the pipe back to make it more comfortable. When your hand is relaxed, the wrist protector cuff should be quite slack; when you clench your fist tightly, the wrist protector cuff should fit snugly without either digging in to the base of your thumb or too tightly squeezing your forearm muscles at the elbow end of the wrist protector cuff. When you've achieved that fit then that's the power tool work done now.
Well done on your DIY but here are some tips on how to use the wrist protector cuffs in practice.
(1) Wear light gloves with the finger ends cut off under the wrist protector cuffs to protect your skin from chaffing while allowing you to do dexterous tasks with the wrist protector cuffs on.
(2) For the best protection, wear thick clothing on your arms, over the wrist protector cuffs, in order to obstruct any attempt to apply the handcuffs above the wrist protector cuffs near your elbow. A thick jacket or two is ideal. Close fitting or elasticated clothing is better than loose sleeves that could be easily pushed up to expose the vulnerable bare parts of your arm.
Hose clips - are available from DIY superstores or from some Plumbers' Merchants; size - for diameter 70-90mm; cost less than £1 each, as does the screw-driver to tighten them up with. These metal clips are handy for firmly attaching the wrist protector cuffs to your thick clothing. The picture shows me holding a hose clip and also shows a hose clip clamping the sleeve of a leather jacket on to the wrist protector cuff worn underneath.
(3) Wear a jacket, jersey or coat with long sleeves with elasticated cuffs which are long enough to go over the ends of the wrist protector cuffs. You may wish to extend the sleeves of a favourite jacket by adding longer elasticated cuffs just for this purpose. There is no advantage in advertising to the police when you are wearing wrist protector cuffs, as that may simply serve to provoke the police who otherwise may leave you alone.
(4) Finally, wear a heavy pair of gloves over the wrist protector cuffs for the best protection. I use welder's gloves available from DIY stores but motor-cycle over-gauntlets or gardening gloves might be worth trying for size.
(1) Avoid provoking the police and comply with police and protest/demonstration stewards' requests if you possibly can. Watch out for hot-heads or agent provocateurs behind you who might try to push you into the police to try to start trouble (for you). If you don't have a friend there to watch your back then stand with your back to a wall or something equally solid - railings, tree, post-box, parked vehicle and so on.
A non-violent protest is best but if the police won't allow that and if the protesters are also ready and equipped to stand up to the police then you've now got a better chance of standing your ground than you had before.
(2) If the police move towards you with intent, make it more difficult for them suddenly to handcuff you by tensing your forearm and arm muscles - by clenching your fist or by gripping on tightly to something - this will help to keep the wrist protector cuffs in position as well. Try not to get surrounded by the police. Move so that there are more protesters near you than police but don't get so jammed in to a dense crowd of protesters that you can't move easily when you want to.
(3) For dealing with violent police officers, other protective items such as helmets, CS Spray neutralising solution, groin protectors and so on should be available as a backup. In the event of a battle with the police, protesters would also need to be armed to defend themselves against the police with similar type weapons as the police are deploying against protesters. For example, if the police are using their truncheons then it is only fair that protesters can avail themselves of similar type weapons - baseball bats, crowbars etc.
(4) As I've already said, but it is worth reiterating, if the police are going to use firearms against protesters then the only option is to withdraw and hand the battle for freedom over to the military and the paramilitaries.
A tip to delete the advertisement appearing on these pages.
CLICK TWICE in the top right hand corner of the ad.
First, click on the 'up' triangle and then click on the x.