Belly chain (restraint)

A belly chain (or "waist chain") is a physical restraint worn by , consisting of a chain around the waist, to which the prisoner's hands may be chained or cuffed. Sometimes the ankles are also connected by means of longer chains.

Such restraints are often used in the United States in courtrooms, or for transporting prisoners, or in other public situations as a safeguard against escape. They are used above all when detainees are to be restrained over a longer period of time, for example during transport or at court hearings. The reason for the use of belly chains is that there still remains a relatively large freedom of movement to the detainee when his hands are cuffed in front of the body. As an alternative, the hands could be cuffed behind the detainee's back, but this will soon inflict discomfort and even pain when being handcuffed like this for a longer period of time. Therefore, as a more gentle but almost equally secure alternative to cuffing the detainee's hands behind his back, the hands are cuffed to a belly chain and thus shackled to the detainee's waist.

Basically, one can distinguish two types:

Leather or nylon belts are often used instead of belly chains. These restraint belts have a metal ring on the front, through which the handcuffs are plugged and then put on the detainee's wrists. The belt is then placed around the detainee's waist and secured with a buckle; some models can also be locked with a padlock.

The following pictures illustrate the different types of restraints and their application:

Detainee in belly chain with the arms cuffed parallel at the side

Detainee in belly chain with the arms crossed (high security restraint)

Detainee in "full harness" transport restraints

Detainee in belly chain with martin link

Detainee in belly chain with a handcuff cover (parallel position)

Detainee in belly chain with a handcuff cover (front stack position)

Detainee in hinged handcuffs attached to a leather restraint belt

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Wikipedia