28573/3NEW equipment being used by Bradford on Avon police will help make life easier for officers, PC Gary Jones told the Wiltshire Times.

Kwick-cuffs, made of rigid plastic, have replaced old-style chained handcuffs and are easier to put on when somebody is struggling. They give the officer more control and if the suspect struggles then the handcuffs will hurt.

PC Jones, who was driving Bradford on Avon police station's new 2.2-litre turbo Honda Accord response car on the Friday night shift, said: "It's all about control. It's not a weapon, it's a restraint device."

PC Jones also has a new baton, an expandable metal rod, which extends at a flick of the wrist, and is best used on the back of the legs, thighs or upper arms.

Officers also carry CS spray which stings, irritates, and incapacitates the suspect.

New radios give 98 per cent coverage of west Wiltshire, compared to six per cent coverage given by the old ones, strengthening communications between different stations.

PC Jones wears body armour, a stiff plastic jacket strong enough to protect him against low-speed bullets and weapons such as knives. Unlike some police officers he always wears the armour. After being stabbed at the scene of a murder in 1992 he knows the risks.

PC Jones, who is 41, has been a police officer in Bradford for three-and-a-half years, after spending 15 years in Melksham and five years in Trowbridge.

He said Bradford is by far his favourite station. His beat includes Winsley, Limpley Stoke, Westwood, Avoncliff, parts of Freshford and Turley.

He said: "Most of the problems we get are with juveniles. Every town has its little hard core of naughty children."

I accompanied PC Jones on his Friday night shift and the evening's first incident was in the railway station car park. PC Jones gave a verbal warning to some teenage boys who were driving too fast.

At 11pm news came over the radio that about 20 people had been thrown out of Chicago Rock, in Trowbridge, but no back-up was required.

Instead PC Jones carried out a spot check on a central Bradford pub. There was no trouble, but as we were leaving he received an urgent call to an incident at another pub in the town where a man had been slashed across the hand.

After providing first aid, PC Jones interviewed the victim and some of the people involved but decided they were drunk and refused to take statements until the morning.

He said: "There are two experts in law in drunkenness. One is a doctor and the other is a police officer."

PC Jones returned to the police station at midnight, did his paperwork and prepared to go home.