Is The Police Equipment Going Futuristic?

By Author: Mayer betty
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What kind of police equipment and gear must the law enforcement agencies have today?

Some say the police are undeniably militarized these days.

Police officers carry deadly weapons. Riot police tear gas protesters, and in a nighttime invasion in Lower Manhattan during the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zuccotti Park, the police deployed klieg lights and military style sound machines.

War on drugs and terror has lent the police across the world justification to acquire the latest technology, police equipment and tactical training, and create special units.

The police anyway justify these actions on the grounds that they must improve themselves professionally to combat new threats. After all, criminals are hi-tech too.

This is a far cry from the early nineteenth century when the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom were unarmed to clearly distinguish them from the military.

However, with time police officers began by arming themselves with revolvers to combat house breakers who were usually armed.

The evolution of arming is so significant and visible today that even RoboCop ...
... would be proud.

Police officers equip themselves with wide-angle miniature cameras fitted on their uniforms so that they can secretly capture situations with sound and picture.

Smart phone like devices take videos of suspects and police cars automatically scan license plates of criminals on the run.

As one senior police officer put it, “We cannot ignore technology in law enforcement”.

Even cops’ motorcycles are being equipped with laptops so that officers can use them at roadsides.

E-reporting is one of the advances in crime fighting technology. Laptops enable cops to take reports right at the scene and download the information. The information is further handled by crime analysts who chart the entire neighborhood with real time data.

Today police equipment is a veritable potpourri of savvy gear. Tough equipment bag with wheel system, functional shoulder bags, rifle bags of various sizes, drag bags that are large and extremely robust, weapon carry bags, rope storage bags, hip bags, baton pouches, and more. All these bags are filled with the appropriate gear.

Even traffic police is undergoing modernization drives. In India where police lag behind their counterparts in the West, the demand even in smaller towns is for breath analyzers, wheel locks, hand gloves, oxygen masks, fluorescent jackets, and sticks, among others.

It is but natural that hi-tech equipment must take over a chunk of police surveillance jobs.

In the past it was relatively easy for criminals to commit a crime and make do. The only tangible way for the police to catch someone was to catch witnesses to who saw the crime being committed.

Now we have video cameras, DNA, fingerprinting, and drones. Advanced police equipment allows officers to capture crimes before, during, and after they occur.

The law enforcement uniforms of the present day must be able to hold body armor to improve the safety of both the police officers and the public.

Strictly there are no such things like bullet or even stab proof armor. However, ballistic resistant armor has been developed that has the capacity to protect the wearer against handgun and rifle ammunition. Stab resistant armor has come up that protect against knives and sharp weapons.

Truly, the dividing line between the police and military seems to be narrowing.

Stokes International, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario is a leading supplier of police equipment and law enforcement uniforms in Canada. The company has grown exponentially in the past few years. Apart from selling across Canada, the company now has customers in Australia, England, Germany, France, USA, and many other locations around the world.

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