Is it legal to carry handcuff keys concealed?

rebeltf said:
lol , that's what I was thinking while reading the posts , after I realized the thread was like 3 years old. :)


I carry what I want , when I want and that does include two handcuff keys , one on my truck keys and one in my wallet.
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assuming you are not in law enforcement, what is your reasoning in carrying handcuff keys?

just curious.
 
You would carry handcuff keys in order to be able to remove handcuffs. There are many people with no legal authority who have handcuffs; this includes vigilantes, "security guards", serial killers, rapists, terrorists and many violent sociopaths. Those of us who are philosophically paranoid think it is a prudent thing to carry a cuff key (or at least to know some of the tricks to removing handcuffs).
 
MORIMOTOM said:
assuming you are not in law enforcement, what is your reasoning in carrying handcuff keys?

just curious.
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I never did carry them until I managed a sports bar/night club a few years back , in that time my health was much better and I did my part to help the security and bouncers out on occassion , so I started carrying a set of cuffs in my back pocket just in case ( the club itself was very nice , it was the not in the best part of town though and attracted a lot of , characters , shall we say) so I made sure I always had one key on me at all times. They have not left the place I put them since then.
(if you saw my key ring you'd know what a lazybutt I am in taking off keys I no longer need)
The thing weighs like 2 pounds. :D

Don't get me wrong though , I harbor no aspirations that I am going to ninja my way out of handcuffs while cuffed to an old steam pipe waiting to get my leg cut off by some psycho who had a bad childhood.
 
rebeltf said:
I never did carry them until I managed a sports bar/night club a few years back , in that time my health was much better and I did my part to help the security and bouncers out on occassion , so I started carrying a set of cuffs in my back pocket just in case ( the club itself was very nice , it was the not in the best part of town though and attracted a lot of , characters , shall we say) so I made sure I always had one key on me at all times. They have not left the place I put them since then.
(if you saw my key ring you'd know what a lazybutt I am in taking off keys I no longer need)
The thing weighs like 2 pounds. :D

Don't get me wrong though , I harbor no aspirations that I am going to ninja my way out of handcuffs while cuffed to an old steam pipe waiting to get my leg cut off by some psycho who had a bad childhood.
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gotcha. pretty reasonable.

having been in law enforcement nearly ten years, i have obviously carried cuff keys for a while. never did before, though.

wondered what possible situations one might imagine or have encountered that leads a civilian/citizen to carry one.
 
Jeff Clark said:
You would carry handcuff keys in order to be able to remove handcuffs. There are many people with no legal authority who have handcuffs; this includes vigilantes, "security guards", serial killers, rapists, terrorists and many violent sociopaths. Those of us who are philosophically paranoid think it is a prudent thing to carry a cuff key (or at least to know some of the tricks to removing handcuffs).
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Or maybe they just like bondage...:whipsnchainsmiley:
 
zenheretic said:
Or maybe they just like bondage...:whipsnchainsmiley:
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I can't believe I'm actually saying this here, but SSC prefers bonds that either fail-safe or untie/unfasten with minimal effort: no fumbling for keys in an emergency. Besides, when was the last time a suspect in custody said "Hey Officer, these cuffs are pretty comfortable."?
 
DonTomas said:
I can't believe I'm actually saying this here, but SSC prefers bonds that either fail-safe or untie/unfasten with minimal effort: no fumbling for keys in an emergency. Besides, when was the last time a suspect in custody said "Hey Officer, these cuffs are pretty comfortable."?
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what is ssc?

and if applied properly, cuffs arent entirely uncomfortable, though my normal response is: "they arent built for comfort."

callous? maybe, but not much to be done about it. i dont apply them too tight or purposely in an improper manner. quite frequently i find myself loosening them to the appropriate "tightness" on suspects...


what the hell am i talking about? sorry for the tangent.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
what is ssc?

and if applied properly, cuffs arent entirely uncomfortable, though my normal response is: "they arent built for comfort."

callous? maybe, but not much to be done about it. i dont apply them too tight or purposely in an improper manner. quite frequently i find myself loosening them to the appropriate "tightness" on suspects...


what the hell am i talking about? sorry for the tangent.
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Sorry, "Safe, Sane & Consensual". Similar to the knife-nut's maxim "Don't run with more than 2 Sebenzas in your hand." Mostly practical common sense, but well, you know there are always people out there who need to be told "Don't whip your partner's face".

I'm just saying, when I meet someone who tells me they carry a key because they regularly use standard issue metal cuffs in the bedroom, I don't buy it right away. Not many remain in the mood after 30 minutes in metal cuffs (Doesn't mean I don't use the bedroom excuse to carry a key; it causes strait-laced inquirers to quickly change the subject :p).

Anyway, back to the legal aspect of the thread. I always find concealment to be pretty arbitrary (unless you tape something to the inside of your thigh). Is it concealed in your pocket? On your key ring with the other 47 keys you carry, but concealed because you failed to declare it to the arresting officer?

I actually remember using cuffs as a quick and dirty bicycle lock if I needed to pop into a store for a few minutes, instead of lugging around a 10lb bike lock which can be picked with a Bic.
 
yeah, i would think anyone using regulation metal handcuffs in the bedroom has some pretty sore and bloody wrists. they are intended to restrict movement, and constant shifting will result in pain compliance.

right, back to topic, concealment is only meaningful if someone is caught doing something illegal.

im not aware of a law prohibiting keys outside of a custody facility, but it does raise suspicions.

and at least in ca, security guards with guard cards are granted limited powers of arrest while on duty.
 
I was arrested once and the officer saw one on my keychain. Instead of telling the truth (had them when I carried cuffs as an infantryman in Iraq) I told him that I was into inky sex games. No way to dispute that one.
 
Shawn B. said:
Its back from the dead...the thread was almost 4 years old,
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Double necro thread. Died the first time in 2004, then again shortly after resurrection in 2007.

At this pace we should see it back around in 2016.
 
Charlie Mike said:
I was arrested once and the officer saw one on my keychain. Instead of telling the truth (had them when I carried cuffs as an infantryman in Iraq) I told him that I was into inky sex games. No way to dispute that one.
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having met and spent a little time with you (in public), i have a feeling both are true.

but "inky"? now that sounds kinky.
 
Well since it's back...

I worked at a gun store for awhile. We had a couple of S&W handcuff sets in the display case by the cash register. One day a new guy is playing with a set while things are slow. He cuffs himself, don't ask me why, and he's looking around in the box for the keys and can't find any. The store manager drops the news on him that for whatever reason, they sold all the keys and hadn't gotten in the replacements yet. The look on the kid's face was pretty classic when he realized the manager wasn't joking. Lucky for him, another employee had a handcuff key in his wallet. Just like some here, another employee asked him why he was carrying a handcuff key. The guy just said, "You ALWAYS carry a handcuff key" like you'd say: "The gun is ALWAYS loaded". It was pretty hard to argue with him that day.
 
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