Tiny Inconspicuous Handcuff Key
indiegogo.com
indiegogo.com
I imagine their customer base overlaps significantly with the "prepper" and "tactical" crowds who also have $100,000 bunkers in their backyards and full body SWAT gear, etc.
I mean, three of the five sites that covered them have "tactical" in the name.
There was a presentation on "The Ultimate Handcuff Key" at CarolinaCon 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjfGwRE_DF8&t=29m30s where they demo and give data and measurements for all the handcuffs and keys they could find. They show a calculated 'universal key', and how to make it. Notably it has a notch down the center of the blade.
Looking at the TIHK, they are very obviously NOT using this design.
You can, however, watch the talk and learn how to make one of these keys yourself with a specific handcuff key, a file, and a dremel tool.
Slides: http://deviating.net/lockpicking/slides/cuff_stuff.ppt
http://www.policemag.com/_Images/articles/PO1202ties-7-2.jpg
But why isn't the lock placed on the up side rather than down?
It's fairly difficult to use a key while properly cuffed, but not impossible however, if you're caught trying to escape you'll be adding another charge to whatever you're being detained for...
But how are you going to pick it up off the floor?! ;)
Does anyone have reliable stats for the number of people illegally held in handcuffs?
Or what the best course of action is? I suspect (in the UK) you should stay calm, and polite, and cooperative up to a point, and say nothing without a lawyer, and then sort it out afterwards (and collect some money for wrongful arrest.)
The "mitigating mass arrests" scenario I mentioned is one where it could help, though.
% of rapes involving handcuffs * % of rapes standard handcuffs used in such a way that both the keyhole and key are accessible to the hands * % of rapes where the victim is left unattended and fully clothed (presumably the key is in the clothes or keys) long enough to unlock the handcuffs * % chance of victim remembering to clip the handcuff key to their clothing * % chance escaping from handcuffs will result in a better outcome for the victim * % chance victim is not under constant intimidation and control of the perpetrator
Given that the first number - rapes that involve handcuffs - seems almost undetectable and the chances of a successful beneficial escape are quite low, I'm going to say handcuff keys are the equivalent of a tin foil hat as a rape prevention tool.
This tool only makes sense for hardcore criminals, with little to lose by running from the police, maybe some law enforcement or military application, and for activism fashionistas.
As a hacker, such a simple tool defeating handcuffs is rather cool. Are they all on a single un-keyed unlock tool, like a cheap interior house lock? I'd expect specific keys matched with specific cuffs.
Almost all handcuffs in the US use the same key (peerless). You can buy them at a uniform store for about a buck, or $4 on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Peerless-Handcuff-Company-Standard-Key...
I see it more as a statement. For example, in high school I used to carry around a bootable USB stick on my keychain with a little Linux distro that would automatically remove the root/administrator password on any Windows/Mac/Linux box at which I could sit at the console. It was never used for harm, but it just seemed like a cool thing to have.
This tool would be of negative value to them, as it would only hurt their position if it was found in a search. Getting arrested, on the other hand, can prove to be beneficial, as the event can be set inside a narrative of police excess, driving public sympathy to their cause.
One of my mother's former law partners used to help get Martin Sheen out of jail whenever he arrested protesting. He actually has a quick cameo in the first season of the West Wing. He's a state judge now, but still has a bit of that radical streak in him.
He once described the whole elaborate choreography of activist arrest and release. You want the media to be present, both at arrest and release. You want the use of force by the police to be both disproportionate and highly visible.
There are a whole series of elaborate rules to make the state's use of force work for you. Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals is the traditional primer in this sort of thing, but it's always interesting to hear the stories of those that lived that type of life.
Since the indiegogo site will have been added to the 'criminal intelligence' database, every paranoid cop will take extra care.
You would be horrified at the number of snopes.com myths cops believe in, so something with the potential to be real will have them in a frenzy.
Expect lots of people to be beaten and tazer'd over the next week or two as a direct result of the hysteria this creates in cops all over the place believing people have a hidden super secret magic handcuff key.
On somewhat of a tangent, this reminds me of the German guy who 3D printed keys for some of the more high-tech handcuffs awhile back.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/07/16/hacker-...
I imagine that instead of abusing detainees the more respectable law enforcement officers will conduct more thorough searches.
These guys know very well who their target market is, and it's not "law enforcement, military, and security professionals...restrained with their own cuffs".
Be a nice thing to pass on to your friendly neighborhood activists, though. I've known a couple of guys who always kept a lighter in their back pocket to melt through those plastic zip-tie cuffs. When there's mass arrests at a protest, it's good to be able to help a bunch of hastily-cuffed peaceniks get loose and melt away into the crowd before the paddy wagon shows up. You probably won't get everybody, but you'll do a lot of good if you can keep the pigs from getting their hands on women and openly gay/transgender people.