The police should always be permitted to handcuff a suspect, because they’re a suspect to a crime. An officer never knows who this person may be or what they’re capable of. The bottom line is the officer must think of his/her safety first. From the first day of the police academy, it’s drilled into a recruits head that there are people out there who will kill them for something as minor as a speeding ticket, let alone arrest them for a crime. Too many times has an officer who thought he was being kind to a suspect by not handcuffing them, only to be turned on and killed. As everyone knows, police officers are sworn in and given the powers to arrest someone. What officers also have is the power to un-arrest someone. This means that as easily as they handcuffed someone, once it’s determined they are no longer a suspect or are back in the booking room, those cuffs come off just as easily.
There are many shows on television like; COPS, World’s Scariest Police Chases and To Catch A Predator, that shows everyone who is being arrested put in handcuffs. In most cases, the individuals may be taken into custody for different crimes. Some may seem like non-violent situations where it doesn’t appear that the person should be handcuffed because they may have made a bad decision, but the thing to remember is that put in a certain situation, people can change. It becomes a matter of personal integrity, the realization of shame comes in, the costs associated with bail and court fines adds up, etc. It’s been shown, also in these television programs, the most likeable of people just lose it because they had a bad day and just couldn’t take the aggravation of being pulled over. There are many factors that build up in a persons mind that contribute to their behavior, it’s just human nature.
Just think if you’re husband, son, wife or daughter were a police officer and something happened to them because they didn’t handcuff a suspect who at first seemed like the nicest person in the world, then became a coldblooded killer in an instant. It sounds drastic but it does happen more often than the population knows about. It isn’t broadcast as much as when regular citizens are killed or injured. Some people even go through elaborate plans just to set up an ambush and kill a police officer, this shows that anyone is capable of anything. Where firefighters are beloved because they save people, police officers are hated because they write people tickets, arrest them and cost them money. To many, police officers are the enemy and not to be trusted. This is why suspects must always be handcuffed, no matter what the crime is or their criminal history.