Police equipment
It is important for an officer to be prepared. But preparation is nothing without the equipment and technology to back it up. Police equipment must be dependable and rigorously checked and rechecked before taken out to the field.
An officer will carry the most common and widely used police equipment. The officer will wear a duty belt when out on duty that will consist of the following items: Duty pistol, taser, radio, handcuffs, expandable baton, pepper spray, CS spray, flashlight, multi-tool, gloves, pen and keys. An officer will also carry extra cartridges for the taser and extra magazines for the duty pistol. All of this standard issue police equipment is carried on a duty belt. The overall weight of the duty belt can become quite heavy, and it is essential for the officer to try and adjust the duty belt and equipment to make the belt as comfortable as possible. Many officers will wear belt suspenders that transfer a portion of the weight of the duty belt to the shoulders, reducing the pressure on the lower back.
Protection is a concern out on the field. An officer needs to be protected from the unexpected that could arrive in the form of a dangerous individual in possession of a firearm, knife, or other concealed weapons. Soft body armor can be worn under the officers uniform and is constructed out of advanced woven fibers. An officer will wear soft body armor daily because it is lightweight, flexible and offers adequate protection from potential threats. When a threat is no longer potential and becomes a certainty, hard body armor is worn. Hard body armor offers more protection and as a result weighs more. The armor will push out a bullet at the same force with which the bullet pushes in. It is important to note that body armor is not referred to as bulletproof, the term “bullet resistant” is preferred.
Police surveillance equipment has evolved dramatically in the last decade. As technology has advanced and refined, police surveillance has also become more sophisticated. Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking has been invaluable in the pursuit and capture of assailants.
In the modern age, thankfully, it is practically impossible to escape the police force. Infrared cameras used in aerial pursuits have been responsible for the rise in the successful capture of fleeing assailants. We will explore the interesting world of police surveillance equipment in the other pages of this site.
Finally, a fully prepared officer needs to know where he or she can be put to the most use. A police scanner is an essential tool for affective communication between emergency service departments that works in a unique way to other types of radio and will be discussed in the next pages.