Tue Jul 23, 2013 4:01 pm by MBI
Having both keyways on the same side is a security feature. Normally, you cuff someone with their hands behind the back, palms facing away from each other and the keyholes facing outward. Supposedly this makes it harder to get out of. You also shouldn't tighten the cuffs so they're snug, there should be a small amount of space between the wrist and the cuffs.
In reality though, you might be cuffing someone combative, in which case you get them cuffed any which way you can, palms facing in or out, keyways facing either way, just get the darn cuffs on them! Then once you have them restrained, and some backup on hand, you can put the suspect in a position which would make it hard for them to fight or flee, and you can get the cuffs on the right way before transporting them.
The cuffs are typically carried in the cuff case in a consistent way so that every time you grab them, they are in the same position relative to your hand so you can cuff by muscle memory without having to look for the keyhole. You also carry them in the case with the cuffs clicked the same number of clicks every time to put it in the best position for them to "snap" in place quickly and easily just about every time. You determine the number of clicks for proper carry with practice, it will just depend on your particular cuffs and how loose or tight they are. You also don't "swing" the cuffs against the wrist like you see in the movies, you can actually break one of their wrist bones doing that. You place it against their wrist and then press, which if you had it preset the right number of clicks closed, will give it exactly the right momentum to snap them closed just right. Sometimes it can look like cops are swinging the cuffs against the wrist, but usually it's just because they're used to doing it so many times that they get quick at it, so it can be hard to spot that they're first locating it in the right place, then pressing it in place.
Cheaper cuffs will often have the two halves of the cuffs be identical instead of mirror images of each other like on your Hiatt cuffs, which means if you cuff them the normal way then one keyhole will face out and one will face in. That's just done to save on production costs since you only need two different stamping templates for the outer pieces of steel instead of four. Cheaper cuffs are also frequently made of slightly thinner gauge of steel so sometimes the little "flag" on the tip of the key is a little smaller to fit in the narrower insides of the cuffs. Sometimes a standard cuff key won't work on cuffs like this because the end of the key is just a tiny bit wider than the key that came with the cheapie cuffs, even though the keys look almost identical.
With practice, it's possible to pick your way out of most standard cuffs, regardless of how you're cuffed, it's just that being cuffed in certain ways can make it a little more painful and time consuming. And yes, wearing hinged cuffs defnintely adds to the pain factor if you're trying to pick your way out of them.