NEW THINKING ON A LONG-HELD PIECE OF POLICE EQUIPMENT (THE DUTY BELT) AND THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION THAT MAY BE BEST FOR MARINE LAW ENFORCEMENT By Cody Jones, Texas BLA
THE ALTERNATIVE THE SOLUTION ALTERNATIVE The History of the Belt
iscussion about the In a recent episode of the traditional law acclaimed podcast enforcement duty Freakonomics, host Stephen belt has been going Dubner discusses the history on for decades. In a of the belt and interviews 1998 a study titled Back pain many experts about how an in a large Canadian police organ-squeezing belly tourni-
force, the authors noted that quet became part of our every- 44% to 62% of Royal Canadi- day wardrobe — and what an Mounted Police had a 1- other suboptimal solutions do year prevalence rate of lower we routinely put up with? In waisted, above your belly button, so you had to have suspend- back pain and the prevalence the episode Chloe Chapin, a ers to wear them because a belt wouldn’t be functional.” Cha- of “chronic or recurring low fashion historian and theater pin also stated, “The problem with suspenders is that they’re back pain since joining the design teacher at Reed College attached to your shoulders. So if you’re doing any movement force” was 54.9%. gave a history lesson on mod- where your hips and your shoulders are twisting or moving at ern-day pants, the belt and different paces, like fighting or sports, a belt might be more While the study also indicated suspenders. Ms. Chapin notes practical for you. Because you can just imagine, you lift your that the prevalence rate was that “Pants were theoretically shoulders [and] if you had on trousers it might give you a little comparable to the general invented by the Eurasian bit of a wedgie.” population, I would contend horse riders of the Eurasian that the general acceptance steppes in the Bronze Age, Chapin also points to the early 1920s, when pant waists were and use of the belt in fashion about 3,000 B.C. but pants lowered. The end of World War I brought a burst of military- has much to do with this epi- really entered into the fashion inspired fashion — including belts. Cowboys switched from demic and any ergonomic lexicon — based on the West- suspenders to belts, in part because a belt could show off a changes that can be made may ern European system — in the buckle, which might signify a rodeo victory or could hold the be beneficial both in health to early 1800s. Like, 1820s was necessary tools of the trade. This change firmly established the the individual officer and when trousers first started to belt as the new winner of the pant-holding contest but this financially to an agency. be worn. So these new trou- squeezing inward can cause significant discomfort and can be sers were cut very high- potentially harmful.
The Medical Implications Also interviewed in the pod- belt is too tight and you do come to me with pain in their 54.9% cast was Ken Hansraj, a spinal not have an adequate amount backs or necks have some- and orthopedic surgeon in of girth or fat to protect you thing in common: they wear a Poughkeepsie, New York, who then the belt will be on the belt and use it for something Law enforcement says, “Around the pelvis nerve, irritating the nerve, beyond holding up their officers experience there’s a nerve that lives there causing thigh numbness and pants.” Hansraj goes on to say, called the lateral femoral cuta- sometimes pain.” Hansraj “When you have, for example, “chronic or recurring neous nerve. Belts can com- notes in his most recent police or firemen or plumbers, lowlow backback painpain sincesince press it and can cause thigh book, Keys to An Amazing people that carry a lot of pain. And that’s called meral- Life: Secrets of the Cervical weight around their waist, joiningjoining thethe force”force” gia paresthetica. So if your Spine, “A lot of patients who they are not aware of the consequence of the weight. It’s not just the weight; there is a force-times-distance [factor]. And “IT’S NOT JUST I can tell you from doing other studies that the weight you’re carrying around your waist proba- bly weighs seven to nine times more to your spine because of the consequence of force times THE WEIGHT; distance.”
THERE IS A Hansraj offers suspenders as an alternative. “Suspenders can offer a lot more support for carry- ing the weight. That’s why you’ve often seen loggers and construction workers wearing them. FORCE X DISTANCE And a couple of police studies found that wearing suspenders, along with a duty belt, increased comfort and performance,” he adds. FACTOR” So think of your everyday office: A vessel impacting the water placing a tremendous amount of strain and G-forces on the body. Add to those G-forces the seven to nine times more weight KEN HANSRAJ straining your spine from a weighted gun belt and you have the makings of early and frequent visits to the back doctor or chiropractor.
The Solution System Carrier Plate Maritime Strandhögg
So what is the solution for
maritime law enforcement? The alternative duty belt is the first that comes to mind. This is a ballistics vest equipped with the necessary holster and pouches to maintain all the “tools” from your traditional duty belt but with the unique potential of also taking the place of your need for a sepa- rate flotation device. Many agencies require flotation and all should. Many companies have stepped up to the plate to fulfill this unique need of a flotation and ballistics system combined in one. Mustang One important thing to note your officers’ back. In an envi- ently buoyant PFD that has Survival, First Spear, and Lon- for those administrators read- ronment where a beating is a made it almost impossible to don Bridge Trading are just a ing this article is that moving daily occurrence, goodness quickly and safely get to my few of the companies that to a more versatile vest style knows we need it! service pistol. How many of you have developed products to duty belt system makes man- train on the firing line while fill this niche in the ballistics datory ballistics and life jacket For those front line officers, wearing a life jacket? I would flotation market. Each of wear a cinch since your offic- think of the new position of venture a guess that few to none these and others come with ers are essentially wearing your duty equipment and the of us do. So let’s take that bur- their pros and cons, but over- them walking out the door advantages of this new place- den away and train with a hol- all they have made the transi- each day with these necessary ment. On more than one ster and belt system that is at tion from the traditional duty accessories all in one neat occasion, I have struggle with our fingertips and covers us belt to the alternative vest package. A small investment either a strap from an inflata- from the evils of both bullets duty belt system more feasible. can go a long way to saving ble or the bulk from my inher- and water at the same time!
About the Author: Assistant Commander Cody Jones is a native Texan who currently serves as the Boating Law Administrator for the state. AC Jones also oversees the agency’s Maritime Tactical Operations Group, which conducts operations across the state.