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Police explain the use of handcuffs
BAME PIET
Staff Writer
4/13/2006 2:28:59 PM (GMT +2)
Botswana Police Spokesperson Superintendent Solomon Mantswe has said that police use handcuffs and leg irons on violent suspects. He was speaking in an interview after members of the public recently raised concern that female suspects were not handcuffed, even if they were suspects of the same offence as their male counterparts.
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 The most recent example was a case in which three suspects appeared before Broadhurst Magistrate court to answer charges of armed robbery and a male suspect was handcuffed, while his female counterparts were not. They were in court in connection with the recent armed robbery at First National Bank (FNB) Broadhurst Branch, where cash amounting to close to a million Pula was stolen but around P500,000 was recovered in an abandoned vehicle in Phase 4 in Gaborone West. Mantswe said they used handcuffs and leg irons on dangerous suspects who might escape while in their custody, most of whom were men. "Our statistics show that men have a history of escaping while in custody but women never do," he said. In many cases, handcuffs and leg irons are used on suspects who have committed violent crimes as well as to protect other people around them. Mantswe however said there were instances where handcuffs were not used on suspects of violent crimes because of their cooperation with the police and/or when they were out on bail. He added that the police had been subjected to heavy criticism from the public after suspects escaped from their custody. He said they had to be careful all the time. "The public criticises us when suspects in high profile cases escape from our custody and it is surprising that they also complain when we take measures to restrain suspects." He said the intention was not to discriminate against male suspects. Mantswe denied that people who had committed suicide were handcuffed as was a general belief.
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