Police are rolling out new handcuffs for plus-sized criminals.
The new cuffs will replace the existing, smaller cuffs and will be issued to recruits mid-year.
Police said most front-line officers had experienced a situation where they had tried to arrest someone but the handcuffs simply wouldn't fit because of the offender's size.
Bigger handcuffs are to replace the existing, smaller ones. Photo: 123RF
According to the Ministry of Health's annual health survey, 31 percent of adults are obese and more than 5.3 percent of the adult population are morbidly obese.
In the police magazine Ten One, Sergeant Graham Gubb said moving to the larger handcuffs would accommodate people whose wrists are too big for the ones currently used.
The handcuffs will be made by the firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson and police wouldn't need any new training, keys or other equipment to use them.