Physical restraint

Handcuffs and chains from wrought iron as formerly used on prisoners; Wales 19th century (museum exhibit)
Modern chain handcuffs made of hardened steel; Hiatt 2010
Modern steel legcuffs
Iron wrist shackles with chains and padlock; Germany ca. 17th century

Physical restraint refers to means of purposefully limiting or obstructing the freedom of a person's bodily movement.

Basic methods

Usually binding objects such as handcuffs, legcuffs, ropes, chains, straps or straitjackets are used for this purpose. Alternatively different kinds of arm locks deriving from unarmed combat methods or martial arts are frequently used to restrain a person, which are predominantly used by trained police or correctional officers. This less commonly also extends to joint locks and pinning techniques.

The freedom of movement in terms of locomotion is usually limited by locking a person into an enclosed space, such as a prison cell and by chaining or binding someone to a heavy or immobile object. This effect can also be achieved by seizing and withholding specific items of clothing, that are normally used for protection against common adversities of the environment. Examples can be protective clothing against temperature, hereby factually constraining the individual to remain in a sheltered spot. This also refers to taking away a person's shoes in a situation of captivity and forcing the individual to remain barefoot. The freedom of movement is practically restricted in many everyday situations without the protection offered by conventional footwear. Various ground textures in urban as well as natural areas can cause substantial physical distress for a shoeless person and hinder the locomotion. Ground textures consisting of crushed stone or similar construction aggregate can be practically impossible for a person to walk or run over without wearing shoes. Aside from extreme circumstances, an unshod person is steadily compromised by the usual imponderabilities of most surroundings and localities. Controlling the free movement of detainees by keeping them barefoot is therefore common practice in many countries. A main motive can be seen in the fact, that the principal effects of frustrating prison escape and curbing acts of resistance are obtained without cost and with only minimal effort. Further it is an effective complementation of binding restraints. [1][2][3][4][3][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

British police use

British Police officers are authorised to use leg and arm restraints, if they have been instructed in their use. Guidelines set out by the Association of Chief Police Officers dictate that restraints are only to be used on subjects who are violent while being transported, restraining the use of their arms and legs, minimising the risk of punching and kicking. Pouches carrying restraints are usually carried on the duty belt, and in some cases carried in police vans.

For restraint for medical or psychiatric purposes, see medical restraint.

Purpose

Modern prison restraints including steel handcuffs and ankle shackles
Leather restraint straps as part of a punishment bench for bastonade; German prison during Third Reich era

Physical restraints are used:

  1. approximately 70 % of teachers who work with students with behavioral disabilities use a type of physical restraint (Goldstein & Brooks, 2007)
  2. often used in emergency situations or for de-escalation purposes (Ryan & Peterson, 2004)
  3. many educators believe restraints are used to maintain the safety and order of the classroom and students, while those who oppose their use believe they are dangerous to the physical and mental health of children and may result in death (McAfee, Schwilk & Miltruski, 2006) and (Kutz, 2009).
  4. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has stated that "Restraints may not be used as an alternative to adequate staff" (McAfee, Schwilk & Miltruski, 2006, p. 713). Also, "restraint may be used only when aggressive behavior interferes with an individual's own ability to benefit from programming or poses physical threat to others" (McAfee, Schwilk & Miltruski, 2006, p. 713)
  1. restraints were developed during the 1700s by Philippe Pinel and performed with his assistant, Jean-Baptiste Pussin in hospitals in France

Misuse and risks of physical restraints

Restraining someone against their will is generally a crime in most jurisdictions, unless it is explicitly sanctioned by law. (See false arrest, false imprisonment).

The misuse of physical restraint has resulted in many deaths. Physical restraint can be dangerous, sometimes in unexpected ways. Examples include:

For these and many other reasons, extreme caution is needed in the use of physical restraint.

Gagging a restrained person is highly risky, as it involves a substantial risk of asphyxia, both from the gag itself, and also from choking or vomiting and being unable to clear the airway. In practice, simple gags do not restrict communication much; however, this means that gags that are effective enough to prevent communication are generally also potentially effective at restricting breathing. Gags that prevent communication may also prevent the communication of distress that might otherwise prevent injury.

References

  1. ↑ A Falun Dafa practitioner in Guangxi Province of China. "The Chinese Prison System I Know". clearharmony.net.
  2. ↑ "Long hours in a Harare jail.". BBC News. 1 June 2002. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  3. 1 2 Andrew Meldrum. "Andrew Meldrum: My night in Mugabe's stinking jail". the Guardian.
  4. ↑ "Zimbabwe's jails: full of human kindness?". GlobalPost.
  5. ↑ "Foreign Prisoners Support Service". phaseloop.com.
  6. ↑ http://phuketwan.com/tourism/trip-inside-phuket-prison-photo-special/
  7. ↑ "Open Minds, Closed Doors: Prison Education in Uganda". DI News.
  8. ↑ "Barefoot prisoners bury Uganda cult bodies". DeseretNews.com. 20 March 2000.
  9. ↑ https://www.byliner.com/robert-j-rosenthal/stories/inside-a-ugandan-prison-a-nightmare-comes-to-life
  10. ↑ "American Pastor Saeed Facing "Hell on Earth" in Iran's Evin Prison - American Center for Law and Justice". American Center for Law and Justice.
  11. ↑ "Prison conditions in Pakistan". YouTube. 31 December 1969.
  12. ↑ "How One Woman Helped Reform a Notorious Indian Prison". YouTube. 31 December 1969.
  13. ↑ "allAfrica.com: Congo-Kinshasa: Meet 'Mr Human Rights'". allAfrica.com.
  14. ↑ "I Live Here -- Introducing the Boys of Kachere Juvenile Prison - Erica Solomon". The Huffington Post.
  15. ↑ "World's Toughest Prisons". The Voice of Russia's Global Discussion.
  16. ↑ "IRIN Africa - COTE D'IVOIRE: When a sentence to jail can be a sentence to death - Cote d'Ivoire - Droits de l'homme". IRINnews.
  17. ↑ "Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, an NGO". northkoreanrefugees.com.
  18. ↑ "Australian addict welcomes 31-year prison term". smh.com.au.
  19. ↑ "Irish Australian man facing jail in Thailand - Irish Echo". irishecho.com.au.
  20. ↑ "A Foreigner in a Thai Court". Thai Prison Life - ชีวิตในเรือนจำ.
  21. ↑ "B.C. pedophile, homeward bound after Thai prison term, arrested at Vancouver airport". The Globe and Mail.
  22. ↑ Kocha Olarn, CNN (23 January 2013). "Thai court sentences activist to 10 years in prison for insulting king - CNN.com". CNN.
  23. ↑ "theage.com.au - The Age". theage.com.au.
  24. ↑ "Extradition hearing for arms dealer postponed". taipeitimes.com.
  25. ↑ DeMello, Margo (2009). Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Macmillan. pp. 30–32. ISBN 978-0-313-35714-5.
  26. ↑ Saidel, Rochelle G. The Jewish Women of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  27. ↑ Schulte, Jan Erik. Konzentrationslager im Rheinland und in Westfalen 1933-1945. Zwischen zentraler Steuerung und regionaler Initiative.
  28. ↑ "Brandenburgische Landeszentrale für politische Bildung" (PDf).
  29. ↑ Maggie Riepl (10 March 2012). "DDR-Gefängnis Hoheneck: "Das Unrecht verfolgt mich - bis an mein Lebensende" - Familie - Berliner Morgenpost". Berliner Morgenpost - Berlin.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.