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Many movies and series show people wearing handcuffs picking them using a small hidden peace of metal, like a bobby pin, paperclip, broken glasses, tweezers and more.

Can this be done in real life, with handcuffs that are used by police and other law enforcement agencies?

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Going solely by the profusion of instructional videos on YouTube, I'd say yes. – coleopterist Sep 22 '12 at 17:52
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I've seen it demonstrated in person by a police officer in "slow motion" (ie, no mirrors, "real" cuffs, etc) - yep. But I have no documented sources – warren Sep 26 '12 at 16:28

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Yes they can. I have seen it done before.
This will show you how. http://www.wikihow.com/Escape-from-Handcuffs

Also, fun fact for you. Most handcuffs use a generic key that you could buy so you would not need to pick them, just unlock them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handcuffs#Keys

Edit Edited to comply with site rules and to link for the key info.

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Needs some more references regarding the passepartout claim and you should remove the "my brother.." bit because we can't verify it (anecdotes are not acceptable) – Sklivvz♦ Sep 27 '12 at 17:34
I have added a link for the key info, and my point about my brother was that I have actually seen it done before. – Chris Sep 27 '12 at 19:02

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