Law enforcement officers' job is filled with dangers and risks. The police equipment that an officer of the law carries around as part of his job might be just the thing that helps his or her life when confronting offenders who do not comply with the officer's orders. There are a lot of pieces that make the police equipment of an officer complete like holsters and clipboards and many more. An important piece in the police equipment is the belt. Some time ago the duty belt did not carry as many items as it does now. In the past the holster and firearm, the baton and one more piece or two were all the belt of the law enforcement equipment had to carry around, as compared to today's belts that are sometimes required to carry up to 15 pounds of police equipment. Because of the large amount of things that need to be carried around, the belt must be manufactured from a strong material that supports the weight of the entire law enforcement equipment. But it should not be too stiff or restrictive, because an ill-fitting belt can become reason for fatigue, back pain, bruising, thus turning into a health hazard. Nowadays, with the joining of more and more women to the police force, the belt has suffered a lot of changes in order to be adapted to fit all officers. If the belt is too big, it becomes difficult for the officer to move and if it's too small it may disturb the officer when quick movement is required. The belt is not the only thing in the law enforcement equipment that suffered changes. The police equipment that the belt carries has started to be custom manufactured to fit the belt of a police officer. Subsequently, the gear of a police officer is made much smaller in order to be less aggravating for the carrier, like batons and spray cans and more. These things are meant to be helpful to the police officer. Another important piece in law enforcement equipment that is used to restrain offenders is handcuffs. Handcuffs that are now used have been first developed in the 1800's by W.A. Addams. He tried to obtain something that would restrain suspects by immobilizing their hands with a device that would open with a small key. Even though the looks of the handcuffs are a little different, the lock is basically the same as the one Addams invented. Due to the fact that some suspects have acquired the skill to open the cuffs without a key, change is now needed in the design and materials used for handcuffs. As a result, new designs of handcuffs are being developed by manufacturers which use a lock that is harder to manipulate. Also, the materials used are stronger. That makes cuffs more difficult to open and the suspect will find it nearly impossible to escape. Another important part of law enforcement equipment that sets the police officers apart from the general population is the uniform or apparel. The production of uniforms has known an impressive progress over the past years because the need for better security of the police officers is always growing. Even though the functionality of police equipment is primary, recent uniforms follow up on fashion trends as well as combining a nice aspect with work features. The functionality of law enforcement equipment is heightened by present technology. Some of the features that can only help the police officers are moisture management, UV reduction, bacteria fighting and stain resistance. These things can be embedded in the fabrics and they do not alter the looks of the uniforms at all. There have been many debates on whether including these types of advance technology in the uniforms will help, because some say that the uniforms have served their purpose in the past without these features as well. But others think that including these advances can help a police officer do his or her job better and prevent some unwanted negative health conditions. As long as it does not interfere with the looks of the uniform that distinguish officers from the general population, the only things that technology can do is help. How much of these technologies should be used is a question of personal preference. Even for those officers that follow fashion trends there are a lot of uniforms that combine functionality with style. Besides that, given the fact that all uniforms have to be approved before they can be used, the combination of functionality and fashion can only do one thing and that is to help the officers.
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