The duty belt (aka: gun belt) is an incredibly useful piece of gear. It is usually an outer belt that holds the tools of the trade, that snaps onto an inner belt by way of belt keepers. The old, leather “Sam Browne” has been “standard issue” for law enforcement officers for decades and is American as baseball and apple pie. The materials used to construct modern duty belts, and the stuff carried on them have changed, but the function remains unchanged.
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A well-organized duty belt carries the gear police and security officers need within easy, two-handed reach. The concept remains as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. This concept has even made inroads with military personnel as the battle belt. Military battle belts are more likely to have MOLLE webbing than belt keepers, but both are essentially the same idea.
This blog post will cover the importance of proper duty belt setup. We will talk about the components of a duty belt, and how that is influenced by the job you do. Next up: best practices for duty belt setups, and how to get the most out of yours. Finally, we’ll go over maintenance and care of your duty belt, and duty belt accessories available from Qore Performance.
Setting up your duty belt correctly is very important. Good duty belt setup can have a big impact on your ability to reach life-saving tools in a timely manner. Obviously, this is far and away the most important reason for proper duty belt setup, but not the only one. Certain items should be on certain sides, depending on which hand is most likely to access the tool in question. A duty belt can be optimized to improve comfort when doing things most police officers spend a lot of time doing, like sitting in a cruiser. Alternatively, they can be optimized for specific tasks, like riding a bicycle.
On the other hand, a poorly-organized (or completely disorganized) gun belt can be a liability. It can cause snag hazards as the officer tries to exit his vehicle or maneuver through a building. Improperly placed pouches and hard gear can cause a severe back injury should the officer fall or be taken to the ground. Poor equipment set up can slow the removal of life-safety gear like firearms or spare ammunition, potentially costing the officer his life, or the lives of bystanders. Make no mistake, duty belt setup is serious business.
A lot of different items are carried on a duty belt. These items are selected based on the job one is expected to do, and the conditions under which they are expected to do it. Let’s take a look at the components typically found in a duty belt setup. Keep in mind that not every cop or security officer carries all of this stuff, and there is an element of personal preference.
Firearm and Holster: This is one of the most universal of items, and the reason the duty belt is often called a gun belt. This is carried on the shooter’s strong side, usually at the 3 o’clock position. This offers a smooth draw, and prevents the bottom of the holster from hitting the officer in the thigh each time he or she sits. Holsters worn on duty belts are almost universally retention holsters to prevent gun grabs. They also may be “drop-leg” holsters, which puts the gun high on the officer’s thigh (oftentimes these are seen being worn far too low). Drop-leg holsters are most useful for getting the gun out of the way of bulky body armor.
Magazines: Pistol mags are typically carried on the opposite side of the handgun, typically in the front. Bullets are usually pointed toward the belt buckle to support modern speed reload methods. Most officers carry two additional magazines in a double magazine pouch.
Flashlight: The days of the long, D-Cell Maglite are long gone. Cops today carry small, lightweight, high-intensity flashlights that dwarf the old Maglites in every way but size. These are usually carried forward on the belt because they are frequently accessed: when doing traffic stops, searching a building, etc.
Taser: Electrical, less-lethal weapons are usually carried on the side opposite the firearm. Placing it well away from the firearm greatly reduces the chances of the firearm being mistakenly drawn when deadly force is not appropriate…and vice versa.
Pepper Spray: Another incredibly valuable tool, less-lethal OC spray is generally kept close at hand, near the front of the belt.
Radio & Pouch: Though it seems as though absolutely everything is competing for front-row space, the radio is one item that makes no such demands. An officer’s radio generally has a corded microphone, so it can be put in the pouch and left alone. The volume may need to be adjusted, but this can be done without having to see the radio.
First Aid Kit: The first aid kit is largely being replaced by the tourniquet. Tourniquets are typically worn forward of the holster where they can be rapidly accessed with either hand.
Baton: If there is one item on this list that is still widely issued but that is falling into disuse, it is the baton. The baton is still a highly effective tool, but the optics have using one have been a big factor in its decline in popularity. Batons that are used are nearly universally of the collapsing, ASP variety.
As we can see, there is potentially a lot of gear on a duty belt. There is some art and science to setting up an effective duty belt. Let’s look at some of the best practices for doing so.
Life-Support Gear First: Before anything else goes on the belt, life-support gear, like the pistol, magazines, and tourniquet have to go on. The pistol should be optimized for a smooth, fast draw with no interference. The magazines should support a solid reloading technique, and the tourniquet should be accessible with either hand. Everything else will filter in around those items, with infrequently accessed items, like the radio, further back.
Weight and Balance: Obviously, you have to carry what your organization mandates. You may want to carry an extra item or two, but this stuff adds up really quickly. Make sure you’re not overloading the belt. Also, make sure to balance the belt. It will be very uncomfortable if one side is heavier than the other.
Keeping a Clean Back: Most cops spend a lot of time in their patrol cars. Keeping the back of the duty belt clean goes a long, long way making sitting down more comfortable. A big lump in your lumbar region that keeps you from sitting against the seat is supremely uncomfortable. It may also be a safety hazard, preventing the seat from supporting you if you are in a crash.
Your duty belt is life-support equipment. It is a symbol of the job, the most recognizable tools of your profession. It is also a really expensive set of equipment. Keeping it well-maintained is important.
Inspect your duty gear regularly. Make sure nothing is frayed or wearing prematurely. If it is, it may be improperly attached to the belt, or mounted in a less-than-ideal position or orientation. Make sure your equipment stays clean. Grit in dirt creates friction points and wears your gear down, shortening its lifespan. Clean gear also presents a pleasing appearance to the public you serve, and tells anyone who might mess with you that you’re squared away. Replace items that are to worn to effectively perform their function, especially safety devices like retention holsters.
Qore Performance offers a number of products to make your duty belt more comfortable and functional. Comfort sounds like a secondary consideration, but when you are comfortable you are more alert, more patient…and able to make split-second decisions more quickly.
Qore Performance’s ICEVENTS® padding is a honeycomb pattern belt lining that keeps the belt away from the body, allowing airflow in and, just as importantly, heat out. This keeps the belt from trapping heat and sweat. It also renders the belt far, far more comfortable. ICEVENTS® padding is available as an inner belt. The inner or liner belt is worn as a regular belt with the outer, tactical belt going over it. or as pads that fit on a variety of outer belts. Not only that, ICEVENTS® pads are available for select holsters, as well.
I have a friend that works an afternoon shift traffic unit. Because he spends most of his time riding around in a patrol car, and because his waist measurement seems to expand at roughly the rate of one inch per year of age, he's carrying some extra weight. I joke with him that if he keeps it up, he'll be in real trouble when he's 60--and has a 60-inch waist!
Of course my friend is concerned, and is working to reduce the damage. He does have one advantage over many of his contemporaries, however--he has enough room on his duty belt for all of the new gear that coppers carry nowadays.
Back when I was a midnight shift taillight-chaser, I had a partner that was pretty thin. In fact, she was so skinny that she had trouble fitting a double speed-loader case on her belt, between the cartridge loops we also carried and her belt buckle. If we had half the gear then that officers haul around now, she never would have made it.
For more information, please visit Police Duty Utility Belts.
One more "memory lane" reference: Once upon a time, an officer had to make room for a holster, a handcuff case, and whatever spare ammunition carrier the department authorized. Some added a loop carrier for their flashlight or straight baton, and a few added a key ring. That was about it.
Then came portable radios, a second cuff case, two to three times as much ammunition as revolver shooters carried, an expandable baton and sheath, a utility knife in a belt sheath, an aerosol spray weapon in a holster, a pouch for a pair of "rubber gloves," a TASER in a crossdraw holster, and a mini-tactical flashlight. And I know I've missed a few items.
Aside from making us look like a walking hardware store, are there any ramifications of this for the average officer? What impact does this have on a daily patrol shift?
Medical Issues
The most obvious issue is one of weight. A fully loaded duty rig is heavy! Even assuming that it somehow is properly balanced (and stays that way), the extra weight, coupled with the weight of a duty flashlight, a ballistic vest, boots, and the rest of an officer's uniform, translates to feeling like you're 25 or 30 pounds overweight. Carrying that, and running with it, climbing in and out of the car with it, and wrestling with it can really take a toll.
If the load is not balanced, then the disproportionate weight on one side can pull your back out of alignment (most officers I know already have bad backs, or at least it seems like most of them do). Sitting in a vehicle with gear bunched up around your waist can throw off your seated balance, making you even more prone to back and neck injury, and it makes it more difficult to control your vehicle.
Falling on your gear can cause injury. A number of years ago--about the time that many officers started carrying two sets of cuffs--in an effort to streamline the load, one manufacturer began marketing a relatively compact, side-by-side cuff case, intended to be worn in the small of your back. I actually tried one out, and because I need a little extra lumbar support, the mid-back placement felt sort of good.
A while later stories started floating around the law enforcement profession of officers being injured while wearing this particular cuff case design. Word was that coppers had fallen onto their back during struggles with suspects, and the cuff case had injured their spine.
Did it actually happen? Many of the tales were apocryphal, but no matter. It sounded like something that could happen, and most of us got rid of our double cuff cases.
Tactical Problems
Here's a simple question for you: How do you keep all that gear quiet? Officers have learned to manage their duty belts pretty well, but there's always a chance that your gear will squeak, rattle, jingle, or whatever, and usually at exactly the wrong time.
You can get hung up getting out of the car (safety belts are great--and should always be worn --but they do require some extra attention when dismounting). Heck, you can even get hung up getting out of an office chair.
Okay, one more historical note: Once upon a time, a chief that I worked for was in his office when a local fool squealed his tires right out in front of the station. The chief knew who it was, and the kid was on the chief's last nerve. The chief jumped up to run out to his car to go after the squealer, and when he did, his gun butt caught under the arm of his office chair. His momentum carried him halfway to the door of his office before he could get free of the chair, which had been dangling from his holster like a new piece of issued equipment. By then, the felonious squealer was long gone. Equipment-related weirdness is not a new phenomenon.
Probably the biggest tactical issue with duty rigs is weapon retention. Many departments still do not train their people in weapon retention, and many that do generally reference only the firearm. How, then, does an officer deal with retention issues when we have taught him or her to turn their "gun side" away from an offender that is trying to disarm them? In doing so, they expose the items on the other side of their duty belt to the bad guy. Depending on that particular department's load-out, they may be offering their TASER or expandable baton to the suspect.
The firearm is obviously of primary importance. After all, as long as the officer has his or her firearm, they are better armed than a violator who has taken any off their non-lethal weapons.
Officers must be trained to think through possible disarming scenarios, and to react instantly and appropriately to protect their sidearm. If they allow their attention to be divided--either through confusion, or lack of training--a suspect may find the opening he or she needs to seriously harm the officer. Thoughtful training on weapon retention issues, covering all the officer's equipment, is critical.
Light at the End of the Tunnel (or an oncoming train)?
Along with thoughtful equipment acquisition and proper training, some other notable efforts are underway to attempt to address this "overload" issue. Miniaturization is an evolving trend in all technology, and law enforcement equipment is no exception. Smaller and lighter equipment is constantly being developed. Smaller portable radios, lighter (and stronger) restraint devices, and smaller TASER devices are just some of the developments in this arena.
Occasionally, a manufacturer rolls out a combination product. Generally these products represent an effort to combine a flashlight and a baton, or a flashlight and an aerosol weapon, or a combination of all three. Some of these ideas are great, although not yet fully assimilated by the profession (An example is the TigerLight, a combination high quality duty light and OC canister). Others seem to create more problems than they solve, like attempts to combine aerosol weapons with firearms, thus creating a situation where an officer points a firearm at someone that he just intends to spray.
Of course, without these attempts at advancement by the manufacturing sector, there's a good chance we'd still be carrying oak nightsticks and "iron claw" come-alongs. While the road's a little bumpy, at least we're generally evolving in the right direction.
What NOT to do
There is one problem that keeps rearing its ugly head--the idea that, when we provide officers with another--perhaps newer--force and control option, we should take something else away. Whenever I hear of this happening, it's usually an attempt to save money. We heard it when OC spray came into vogue, "...now that we have the spray, we can take away batons..." In the current context, we often hear, "...now that we have TASERs, we no longer need OC spray..." I've even heard of departments that are considering cutting back on their defensive tactics training.
These are all bad ideas. Officers need more options, not fewer. All technology is prone to fail at exactly the wrong moment. Not every situation calls out for a TASER, or for OC spray, or whatever specific implement you want to consider.
In order to keep officers as safe as possible, several viable force and control alternatives, adequately supported by policy and training, should be kept in the officer's toolbox--or, in this case, on their "Bat Belt."
Stay safe, and wear your vest! (and Buckle Up!)
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