Police duty belt

The duty belt came into use in the early 1900s, in lieu of carrying the required equipment in greatcoat pockets or additional bags.

These early types were almost exclusively made of dark colored leather with simple pockets or clip systems attached, such as the Sam Browne belt.

Many police forces in the United Kingdom began with a uniform consisting of a swallow-tail coat and top hat.

[2] A pillbox or kepi hat along with a frock coat were introduced in the 1860s, along with helmets designed especially for protection against attack and the weather.

In the case of the earliest equipment carrying, a cutlass or firearm was usually clipped to the belt of the frock coat.

[6] Before duty belts, British female officers carried their truncheons, which were shorter than the male version, in their handbags along with their police notebook as a matter of routine.

[8][9] Many Canadian police departments have had officers complain[10][11] of having back pain due to their supposedly rigid leather belts.

To combine the best of both materials, companies like Bianchi manufacture nylon duty gear that has the appearance of leather.

The most common color for duty belts in service with law enforcement personnel and security officers is black; however, there is some variation.

In some instances, brown leather is used in place of black, which is generally only chosen for cosmetic purposes — usually because it is more suited to the color scheme of the officers' uniforms.

[14] This also means that the belt does not have to be worn as tightly, cutting down on pressure exerted on the stomach and waist area.

Equipment commonly carried on the belt includes: handcuff, radios, baton, hand-held protection devices such as pepper spray, firearms and ammunition, taser, flashlights, batteries, gloves, pens, pencils, keys, multi-tool, window punch etc.

It has between one and three locking points to keep the gun in place and may have a cord attached to the firearm to prevent theft of the weapon.

Over time, the handcuff case may cause a rupture in the L-5 disc of the back [citation needed], and cause pinching of the Sciatic nerve — thus numbing the officer's left leg, severely affecting his or her running ability.

This method is often utilized by plain clothes officers who do not wear a belt of any sort, and therefore are unable to use a proper handcuff case.

Modern British police officers who carry handcuffs openly have an adapted holder designed to accommodate the cuffs at an angle, with a speed release mechanism.

Typically, the cuffs are worn in a specially designed holster at a 45° angle, on either the left or right side of the officer, depending on whether they are left- or right-handed.

These types of handcuffs are known as speedcuffs or quickcuffs, as the rigid bar design allows the officer to easily control the suspect and a much quicker placement on the wrist of the offender.

The taser is normally carried in a one- or no-point locking holster slanted across the front of the officer's duty belt.

However, the flashlight—which is often heavy—is permitted a great amount of vertical and horizontal freedom which can make the light insecure and uncomfortable to carry.

Examples of popular auxiliary lights: To allow for better weapon control, officers often attach a dedicated flashlight directly to the firearm.

For example, the Streamlight Cuffmate has integrated LEDs so that the officer can see keyholes on his handcuffs when restraining a suspect in darkness.

The advantage of horizontal carry is that greater comfort is provided, and magazines are in a position that makes it easier for an officer to retrieve and load them into the handgun.

[4] In the UK, where the police are not generally equipped with firearms, they use a cross-draw holster for their extendable batons,[4] which is on the opposite side of their strong hand, facing forward.

Either nitrile or latex disposable gloves are useful when handling subjects that may have infectious diseases when rendering First aid or making an arrest.

The standard equipment for officers of the British police includes Hiatts handcuffs, an Airwaves radio, PAVA spray and ASP baton.

Officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, one of the small number of routinely armed forces, typically carry their sidearms and magazines on their duty belt.