Equipment Police duty belt

1 equipment

1.1 handgun holster
1.2 radio pouch
1.3 handcuffs

1.3.1 chain link or hinged
1.3.2 rigid
1.3.3 others


1.4 chemical sprays (aka pepper spray or mace)
1.5 taser
1.6 portable lighting

1.6.1 primary flashlights
1.6.2 secondary flashlights
1.6.3 auxiliary flashlights
1.6.4 weapon lights
1.6.5 special purpose lights


1.7 magazine pouch
1.8 baton holder
1.9 key holder
1.10 disposable gloves
1.11 knife pouch
1.12 first aid kit

equipment


the duty belt of dutch policeman.

equipment commonly carried on belt includes: handcuff, radios, baton, hand-held protection devices such pepper spray, firearms , ammunition, taser, flashlights, batteries, gloves, pens, pencils, keys, multi-tool, window punch etc. equipment carried largely differs country country, , between areas in same country not because of choice natural hazards — e.g. pepper spray freeze in cold climates. in countries officers carry knife.

handgun holster

a handgun holster securely holds officer s firearm. has between 1 , 3 locking points keep gun in place , may have cord attached firearm prevent theft of weapon.

radio pouch

german policemen subdue offender. both officers have nightsticks, sidearms, handcuffs , radios clipped onto duty belts.

the radio pouch securely holds officer s portable personal radio or handheld transceiver (ht).

there 2 popular radio pouch designs. first consists of l-shaped bar radio rests on, , secured loop around middle of radio.

the second two-piece design consisting of radio pouch , swivel. radio held in pouch loop on top, pouch attached belt swivel. design allows radio removed belt handheld use.

often, external speaker microphone attached radio, clipped officer s uniform shirt.

recently, in-ear monitoring has become more common, smaller lapel microphone clipped shirt. in-ear system supplements or replaces older lapel microphone. push talk button located @ radio, or extended separate switch located elsewhere on officer.

handcuffs
chain link or hinged

handcuffs commonly carried @ many different locations on belt, , using variety of pouches, such open , closed top holders , handcuff loops. wise officers position handcuffs in convenient locations easy retrieval in struggle offender.

recently, concerns have been aired carrying handcuffs on of belt may unsafe, due pressure exerted on small of cuffs , case, while seated. although may not problem beat officers, patrol area on foot, can cause severe problems in vehicle-based response officers. on time, handcuff case may cause rupture in l-5 disc of back, , cause pinching of sciatic nerve — numbing officer s left leg, severely affecting or running ability.

some officers choose carry handcuffs in small of position, not utilize handcuff case, meaning 1 side of handcuffs pushed between officer s belt , trousers (or tucked or trousers), , other side allowed hang loose on outside. method utilized plain clothes officers not wear belt of sort, , therefore unable use proper handcuff case.

modern british police officers carry handcuffs openly have adapted holder designed accommodate cuffs @ angle, speed release mechanism.

rigid

speedcuffs plastic grip fitted allow easy manipulation , storage on duty belt

because of rigid bar in type of handcuffs, these tend occupy more space on belt whereas chain link folded; rigid type decreases number of possible wearing positions. typically, cuffs worn in specially designed holster @ 45° angle, on either left or right side of officer, depending on whether left- or right-handed. these types of handcuffs known speedcuffs or quickcuffs, rigid bar design allows officer control suspect , quicker placement on wrist of offender. rigid handcuffs popular in uk.

others

some officer supplement standard handcuffs disposable restraints ( zip ties ), such asp tri-fold (tm) restraints, can carried in pocket or in specialized pouch on belt.

chemical sprays (aka pepper spray or mace)

detachable cs spray holder.

aerosol chemical irritants commonly carried police officers. 4 common formulations are: oc, cs, cn tear gas, or pava spray. referred control sprays, pepper spray or mace.

one method of carrying these in detachable holder, attached wearer belt loop , lanyard. provides officer both easy, fast method of bringing spray in position use against suspect , secure way of carrying it, lanyard means within reach of officer, , have method of drawing should fall.

another method of carriage used, , more basic, contain canister in pouch, secured either velcro or button fastener. canister ready operational use, pouches of type contain coiled spring @ bottom bringing canister reach above neck of pouch when cover undone.

some officers carry taser did not carry oc in past, due concerns of safety (ignition of propellant) , limited belt space; taser , oc considered approximately same level of force. has largely changed in us, taser more effective, , oc sprays nonflammable.

taser

the taser (thomas a. swift electric rifle) carried in one- or no-point locking holster slanted across front of officer s duty belt.

portable lighting
primary flashlights

law enforcement , security officers have large , powerful flashlight duty use carried on belt, more powerful 1 in car. these lights rechargeable , stay on charger when not in use.

long, cylindrical flashlights tend carried in flashlight ring. rings simple , inexpensive, , convenient flashlights not regularly carried. however, flashlight—which heavy—is permitted great amount of vertical , horizontal freedom can make light insecure , uncomfortable carry.

examples of popular primary flashlights:

maglite instrument magcharger
streamlight sl20xp-led
surefire 10x dominator
pelican 8060 led
utg handheld


south australian police officers in february 2006 wearing duty belts.


secondary flashlights

because of size , weight of primary lights, , agency policy, many officers choose carry smaller secondary flashlight everyday tasks. these lights rechargeable , kept in holder on duty belt.

examples of popular secondary lights:

auxiliary flashlights

rechargeable flashlights have been known fail @ inappropriate times. because of this, many officers carry additional non-rechargeable flashlights. these lights must small, light, bright , absolutely dependable. these lights may kept in holder on belt, or in trouser pocket.

these flashlights use cr123 3.0 volt lithium or alkaline 1.5 volt aa battery cells.

examples of popular auxiliary lights:

surefire e1b back-up

weapon lights

to allow better weapon control, officers attach dedicated flashlight directly firearm. these lights tend small, light, robust, , use non-rechargeable batteries.

they have special features available, such laser emitters.

examples of popular weapon lights:

surefire x300
streamlight tlr series
blackhawk night-ops xiphos
surefire 618/918 shotgun fore-end family

special purpose lights

some equipment has built-in lighting better enable officer perform task without having use additional light. example, streamlight cuffmate has integrated leds officer can see keyholes on handcuffs when restraining suspect in darkness.

magazine pouch

spare magazines or speedloaders carried reload gun. magazines may carried in vertical position, or in horizontal position. advantage of carriage in vertical, upright position magazine occupies less space on belt , therefore more magazines can carried. advantage of horizontal carry greater comfort provided, , magazines in position makes easier officer retrieve , load them handgun.

there variation in number of magazines pouch holds. norm 2 magazines carried, there variants allow carriage of more, or less, dependent on needs of officer. also, similar holders of other items of equipment, these can found either open top design, or closed design fastened either press stud or velcro.

other pouches hold single magazine attached front of officer s firearm holster.

baton holder

there several types of baton holders officers have fixed or collapsible batons. fixed straight , side-handle batons, use ring keeps baton in place, can slide out when officer running or engaging in altercation offender, , fixed baton has removed before officer can sit in patrol vehicle.

in uk, police not equipped firearms, use cross-draw holster extendable batons, on opposite side of strong hand, facing forward. when officer needs draw device cross-draw baton holster, required reach across front other side of belt, baton is, undo thumbsnap (these baton holders have open tops, considered secure) , pull baton out of pouch. these holders allow baton stored while extended allow officer arrest suspect without officer having drop baton or collapse it, take time , allowing suspect stage counterattack or escape.

elsewhere, officers can choose have closed baton pouch or open top baton pouch extendable batons. open top baton pouches considered officers safety concern there no thumbsnap undo, officer may unaware of baton being taken him or falling out when moving.

key holder

universal handcuff key.

noise reduction major issue officer may have silently stalk suspect. silent key keeper uses velcro pad prevent noise. other types of key holders include models work in same way tape-measure, automatically retracting keys after use. hidden key keeper, concealed in belt, used storage of spare sets of handcuff keys.

disposable gloves

either nitrile or latex disposable gloves useful when handling subjects may have infectious diseases when rendering first aid or making arrest. use protect evidence @ crime scene. numerous companies manufacture dedicated pouches designed hold disposable gloves, multi-purpose pouches can hold either pagers, disposable gloves, or other such small objects fit within pouch. officer not have sufficient room on belt dedicated glove pouch carry pair of gloves in trouser pocket.

knife pouch

it necessary police officers carry either knife, or multi-tool. former not used self-defense weapon, utility tool cutting of various objects — such as, example, car seat belt officer may have cut in order remove injured person motor vehicle.

a multi-tool can used in number of different situations, depending on specific design. may used knife, , may used in assembly or disassembly of various items in field, facilitate repair. has limited use method of entry tool. officers may choose carry window-punch small metal point on end of hammer-type handle, officer can use break window either access car or residence.

first aid kit

since police officers may first arrive @ medical incident, officers may wear first aid pouch containing basic life saving equipment, useful while waiting ambulance arrive. equipment may include: medical gloves, cpr mask , antiseptic wipes. not common practice american police officers carry first-aid equipment beyond examination gloves on duty belt, keep such equipment in nearby patrol car. more expensive equipment, such automatic external defibrillators, may assigned few patrol cars.