Name/Title
Chubb Prison Escort handcuffs 1985 - 1990Entry/Object ID
271Description
A pair of heavyweight high security handcuffs shaped like padlocks with chrome plated "U" shaped arms and black painted lock cases. Marked in bottom "Chubb".Use
To secure prison detainees as they are moved between prisons or from prison to appear in court.Context
The model 1K52 handcuff was produced from 1966 in response to a request from HM Prison Service for a comfortable and pick resistant handcuff to use on prisoners when they were moved locations. Standard British handcuffs at the time only hand simple locks where as these have proper disc locks and are effectively a large padlock. This model can be adjusted to 3 different sizes and came with 3 different metal inserts that could be used for those detainees with small wrists. They were originally made by Chubb under licence to a Finnish design. Chubb are a famous British company, based in Wolverhampton and have made locks and safes since 1818.
This particular pair can be dated to between 1985 and 1990 because they have the company name stamped on the bottom of the lock case.
This type of handcuff was not standard issue among police in Sussex (though they came from Sussex Police) and most likely they were used by officers whose responsibility it was to collect detainees who had been remanded into custody by a court and escort them to HMP Lewes. Until the mid to late 1990s it was the responsibility of the Police, to not only take prisoners to prison but also, to take them to court from police custody and be responsible for them whilst at court. The officers whose job is was to guard prisoners in court and police cells were called by the old fashioned word "gaoler". At the end of each court day, a dedicated team of officers would drive around the courts and collect any prisoners to be transported to prison. This practice ended when private security companies were contracted to provide court cell security, to collect prisoners from police custody and transport remanded court prisoners to prison.