Your Urban Survival Plan should have method planned on dealing with prisoners or people you detain. Where you will keep them. How they will be secured. How you plan on releasing them or otherwise getting the burden of controlling these prisoners off your hands. There may be a case where you need to restrain someone who claims to be someone until you can verify their claims or what we call "bonafides".
You may also be required to safely restrain a member of your Urban Survival Group if they "go nuts" during what has got to be the exceptionally trying times after a collapse.
The U.S. Army's method for Prisoner Handling: Search, Segregate, Silence, Speed and Safeguard. Are a good starting point to develop you and your Urban Survival Group's operating procedure for handling detainees or prisoners.
Before the 5 "S's" are implemented, the subjects must be restrained. Do not ever search an non-restrained prisoner. Other than field expedient wire ties, rope, cable or chain, the best way to restrain someone is with Commercial Flex Cuffs or Handcuffs. You must buy quality items here. I prefer Smith & Wesson cuffs - carried them for years without any problems. The cuffs must be double locking to be shim proof.
ASP-USA makes good flex cuffs, the version shown in the picture are probably the best for novice users and provide good restraint on prisoners.
Search . Search for weapons head to toe. Search with one person while another observes ready to intercede if a problem occurs. Search the clothing items, footwear, hair,....everywhere. Almost made a Doctor Suess Rhyme.
Segregate. This means to separate the prisoners. This is so you can interview/interrogate each one without the group of prisoners getting their story straight.
Silence. Do not allow the prisoners to talk to each other. Do not allow for members of your Urban Survival Group to talk to the prisoners. Well trained people can elicit critical and sensitive information from your people.
Speed. Refers to the military's priority on "speeding" the prisoners to a detention facility for the safety for all and the exploitation of any information the prisoners may have. Speed to your Urban Survival Group may mean speeding these prisoners to be a better or secure location so that chances of escape or damage to your group is lessened.
Safeguard. Safeguard means keeping the prisoners safe - you have a morale obligation to do so, however it also means safeguarding information about your Urban Survival Group, Survival Gear and Equipment you have on hand, how your defenses are arrayed, etc.
The scope of this post is not to develop a protocol for handling prisoners after this. As far as how they are released or turned over to competent authority is up to you. Our suggestion is to wargame the options and choose the one with the least amount risk to your Urban Survival Group.
