Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

I know some of you carry radio, cell phone, and flashlights. I myself carry all of the above. My question is, carrying just about 3 or 4 items, do you still wear a duty belt or do you just put the items on your standard pants belt? I just use the pants belt. I have : Starting at 12:00 cell phone case, silent key holder, small flashlight in case, nothing in the back and a radio and radio holder at 9:00. I also have leather gloves but I just leave those in the truck. I'm animal control so I have no need for cuffs, knives, or any of that extra bulk. So I'm just looking for opinions as to who wears a duty belt vs. a standard belt. Thanks.

Well as of now i wear a 2" nylon black duty belt with (from 12:00 going clock wise) a handcuff case at 1:00, nothing in the back, a mini mag light with pouch at 7:00, and silent key holder at 11:00. Now i could put these things on my pants belt but our department makes it mandatory to have a duty belt:D. On the plus side it make you look more professinal and its also eaiser to put on and take off if that helps answer you question a little.:)

Well as of now i wear a 2" nylon black duty belt with (from 12:00 going clock wise) a handcuff case at 1:00, nothing in the back, a mini mag light with pouch at 7:00, and silent key holder at 11:00. Now i could put these things on my pants belt but our department makes it mandatory to have a duty belt:D. On the plus side it make you look more professinal and its also eaiser to put on and take off if that helps answer you question a little.:)

Thanks for the answer. I am going to check and see if I can get a duty belt. I know our Department doesn't require it, but I would still like to have one. I also have the silent key holder. Hey you guys don't get radios?

Explorers don't need duty belts. Explorers that deck out their belts with everything they can find are wannabes who just want to impersonate an officer.

I have my trouser belt (aka garrison belt) through the belt loops with a radio holder, maglite ring, and a medical glove holder. The gloves could even be done without but I want to be prepared if I have to touch a bloody or unclean person.

My phone goes in a pocket, my keys go in a pocket, and my AA flashlight goes........ in a pocket. My knife goes in a pocket. I can't wait to see an explorer who has a belt holder for their wallet.

I have seen some explorers that have like 3 empty OC holders, two empty cuff holders, one cuff holder with cuffs, a radio holder, two glove holders, two flashlight rings, a small flashlight holder, and an empty ASP holder. There is no point to carrying a holder for something you cannot carry.

Just keep it to one belt. I would suggest that it is a garrison belt though (so it has the rectangular buckle and 1.75" wide belt).

[QUOTE=Drummadude;958119] I can't wait to see an explorer who has a belt holder for their wallet.
QUOTE]
:D :D :D You are correct on that. However, carrying gloves are necessary in my line of work because pretty much everyday we get dead animal calls and the last thing I would want would be to handle a dead animal without wearing my gloves. Also we handle a lot of animals that have claws so I really do belive gloves are essential to my job. The flashlight as well because when the animals are hidden in dark places we have to go fish them out. The radio I carry because the animal control officer issued it to me to carry at all tiems while on duty. Everything I carry has a reason for me to carry it. I am not the type who has all the empty pouches. I agree having a pair of cuffs screams "Wanna be."

Explorers don't need duty belts. Explorers that deck out their belts with everything they can find are wannabes who just want to impersonate an officer.


That's a bit of an over generalization, don't you think?

I think duty belts look a lot better in uniform than having your gear on a trouser belt. But then, we always issued out the main gear for uniformity.


My phone goes in a pocket, my keys go in a pocket, and my AA flashlight goes........ in a pocket. My knife goes in a pocket. I can't wait to see an explorer who has a belt holder for their wallet.

Phone and keys stay in the car. There is no reason to have them on you when working, they will only work against you.

I think that AA flashlights are obsolete these days for law enforcement, but use whatever works for you.

Phone and keys stay in the car. There is no reason to have them on you when working, they will only work against you.

I have to disagree there. Keys have really no purpose I guess but here we don't have radios to take out for ride alongs. A cell could be very useful if the you-know-what hits the fan or you get separated from the officer. But I also don't think you should be chatting/texting with friends while you're riding along either. JMO.

And as for the OP, I would go with the duty belt anyways. I think it looks a lot more professional, personally anyway.

I have to disagree there. Keys have really no purpose I guess but here we don't have radios to take out for ride alongs. A cell could be very useful if the you-know-what hits the fan or you get separated from the officer. But I also don't think you should be chatting/texting with friends while you're riding along either. JMO.

We had radios assigned.

I was just worried about the phone ringing at an inopportune time, or having an Explorer talking on the phone while doing something potentially dangerous.

We had radios assigned.

I was just worried about the phone ringing at an inopportune time, or having an Explorer talking on the phone while doing something potentially dangerous.

I understand. I always keep mine on silent while on ride alongs.

And as for the OP, I would go with the duty belt anyways. I think it looks a lot more professional, personally anyway.

Thanks, I'm going to go duty belt shopping next weekend. :D What would you recommend as a good duty belt brand?

Thanks, I'm going to go duty belt shopping next weekend. :D What would you recommend as a good duty belt brand?

Well I have Sam Browne and I've never had any problems with it except I bought it too big so I had to make my own notches lol.

we are issued a radio but only during details

It's pretty stupid to leave my car keys in my car. That's why I carry them.

My post just recently got adequate radios, but I still use a cell phone regularly for communicating with officers and other explorers. A cell phone is much easier to talk on and more private than a radio. When I first started, I NEVER got a radio, so a cell phone was my primary communication.
As for ride alongs, I only ride with a single officer every time, so use of a cell phone isn't a problem.... but I don't use it incessantly.

And no, from what I've seen, and heard, it's not an over-generalization. If one is issued full gear, then fine, but if he decks out a duty belt with unnecessary things, I'd call that person a whacker or wannabe.
It's not necessarily the belt that signals a wannabe to me, but the case where one buys every kind of holder that exists and puts them on, even empty.

The kids who deck out their belts with empty mag pouches, empty cuff pouches, empty OC pouches, or anything like that may not be wannabes....they might be uninformed. Maybe they didn't know what to get, so just went and bought a police duty belt.

Either there wannabes, uninformed, or really really stupid. (Unless, obviously, its all issued. Don't see why anyone would issue an empty pouch though)

The kids who deck out their belts with empty mag pouches, empty cuff pouches, empty OC pouches, or anything like that may not be wannabes....they might be uninformed. Maybe they didn't know what to get, so just went and bought a police duty belt.

Either there wannabes, uninformed, or really really stupid. (Unless, obviously, its all issued. Don't see why anyone would issue an empty pouch though)

Okay, they may also be uninformed. Even if they are uninformed, they still appear to be wannabes (to me), with every available empty holder on their belt.

If your going to put a bunch of junk on your belt then use a duty belt, otherwise just use a garrison belt that goes through the pant loops. It works and looks very professional for the NJ State Police... I'm sure it can work for an explorer.

If your going to put a bunch of junk on your belt then use a duty belt, otherwise just use a garrison belt that goes through the pant loops. It works and looks very professional for the NJ State Police... I'm sure it can work for an explorer.

Woah, do you have a picture of this? I wear it like this and many uninformed explorers assume that in order to fit in more with a professional appearance, they must get a decked out duty belt.

It is functional and obviously has less weight on the hips, as leather is fairly dense and adds weight just by having a belt period.

[QUOTE=Drummadude;958119]
I have seen some explorers that have like 3 empty OC holders, two empty cuff holders, one cuff holder with cuffs, a radio holder, two glove holders, two flashlight rings, a small flashlight holder, and an empty ASP holder. There is no point to carrying a holder for something you cannot carry.
QUOTE]

You've seen nothing yet, wait until you see a security guard with an empty firearm holster on his belt talking on his bluetooth headset and guarding the lobby of an office building.

Just take a quick google image search and you'll see ....

http://flickr.com/photos/bullneck/2623558706/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullneck/2622662463/

They tend not to carry around a ton of bull**** on their belts so they can get away with just one that goes through the loops. Gun, mags, spray, cuffs, and a radio they put on when they get out of the car, thats just about it. If they don't need it, you don't need it.

Thanks Robb. It's nice to see that a full police officer can perform their duties without a decked out duty belt, so explorers really have no reason to.

Haha Highwayman, my bank just got bought out by a different institution and now has a security guard. He stands around with a bluetooth headset on even though he is not on a call. And looks like he is so old and weak that the billion cameras in the store are more intimidating than him as a uniformed guard.

People like him give you security guards a bad rep.

While on the topic of trying to look like a police officer, there is this one weird kid in my school who wears an acoustic earpiece all day, every day. He's not an explorer and kinda creeps me out. I think supposedly he converted it to a 3.5 mm plug so he listens to music. Still pretty weird.

While on the topic of trying to look like a police officer, there is this one weird kid in my school who wears an acoustic earpiece all day, every day. He's not an explorer and kinda creeps me out. I think supposedly he converted it to a 3.5 mm plug so he listens to music. Still pretty weird.

Creeeeeepy...

Maybe hes a wannabe secret service guy, so he offers his bodyguard services to the principal? :cool:

Explorers don't need duty belts. Explorers that deck out their belts with everything they can find are wannabes who just want to impersonate an officer.

I have my trouser belt (aka garrison belt) through the belt loops with a radio holder, maglite ring, and a medical glove holder. The gloves could even be done without but I want to be prepared if I have to touch a bloody or unclean person.

My phone goes in a pocket, my keys go in a pocket, and my AA flashlight goes........ in a pocket. My knife goes in a pocket. I can't wait to see an explorer who has a belt holder for their wallet.

I have seen some explorers that have like 3 empty OC holders, two empty cuff holders, one cuff holder with cuffs, a radio holder, two glove holders, two flashlight rings, a small flashlight holder, and an empty ASP holder. There is no point to carrying a holder for something you cannot carry.

Just keep it to one belt. I would suggest that it is a garrison belt though (so it has the rectangular buckle and 1.75" wide belt).

Dang, I cant believe a LE Explorer would carry an ASP holder. I can understand the others, BUT AN ASP HOLDER!?!?!?!?!?! Lol....

Dang, I cant believe a LE Explorer would carry an ASP holder. I can understand the others, BUT AN ASP HOLDER!?!?!?!?!?! Lol....

Ha, theres been worse. My advisor told a story about how when he was an explorer, a kid showed up to his first event with an empty gun holster, empty asp holder, empty cuff holder, the whole deal. He even put those visor lights in his car (the red and blue that you clip onto your sun visor, then just plug into the cars power source). Needless to say, he was removed from the program quite quickly. (For activating the lights apparently)

That kid was the kind of kid Drummadude was talking about: WANNABE.

Ha, theres been worse. My advisor told a story about how when he was an explorer, a kid showed up to his first event with an empty gun holster, empty asp holder, empty cuff holder, the whole deal. He even put those visor lights in his car (the red and blue that you clip onto your sun visor, then just plug into the cars power source). Needless to say, he was removed from the program quite quickly. (For activating the lights apparently)

That kid was the kind of kid Drummadude was talking about: WANNABE.

Lol, I'd most likely be removed from the program if I came with an empty gun holster (just for being so stupid) let alone activating warning lights (WHICH BTW IS ILLIGAL, lol). Luckily for you me and every other explorer on this site, we're not THAT wannabeish.......

It's pretty stupid to leave my car keys in my car. That's why I carry them.

My post just recently got adequate radios, but I still use a cell phone regularly for communicating with officers and other explorers. A cell phone is much easier to talk on and more private than a radio. When I first started, I NEVER got a radio, so a cell phone was my primary communication.
As for ride alongs, I only ride with a single officer every time, so use of a cell phone isn't a problem.... but I don't use it incessantly.

And no, from what I've seen, and heard, it's not an over-generalization. If one is issued full gear, then fine, but if he decks out a duty belt with unnecessary things, I'd call that person a whacker or wannabe.
It's not necessarily the belt that signals a wannabe to me, but the case where one buys every kind of holder that exists and puts them on, even empty.

I understand where you are coming from, but I don't think that someone deserves the name "Wannabe" for wearing a well-equipped belt. Many kids deck out belts thinking their cool, but many others deck out belts simply because they need the equipment. Personally, I carry a small flashlight, two pairs of handcuffs, a police radio, a silent key holder, and a little bit of pepper spray (for ridealongs only). I wear all of this because I need it for ridealongs. The places we patrol are very high in gang activity, and in my opinion, a bad place to be without proper equipment.

I understand where you are coming from, but I don't think that someone deserves the name "Wannabe" for wearing a well-equipped belt. Many kids deck out belts thinking their cool, but many others deck out belts simply because they need the equipment. Personally, I carry a small flashlight, two pairs of handcuffs, a police radio, a silent key holder, and a little bit of pepper spray (for ridealongs only). I wear all of this because I need it for ridealongs. The places we patrol are very high in gang activity, and in my opinion, a bad place to be without proper equipment.

I apologize for generalizing and not explaining myself. My city is not a high crime area. The worst thing that happened when me and a few other explorers were patrolling on gas golf carts overnight at an arts festival was getting shot at with cap guns.
Later we found out we were just driving so much that the engines were popping every 10 minutes! I had been off site a few miles away the first time the others heard it so I automatically believed the story.

I used to do bike patrol a lot and once, while breathing with my mouth open, something, probably a bee, flew in and stung my lip.
That was the only injury I've had in 2 years of exploring.

Hahahahah :cool: so as you can see, in my post, there is no excuse for carrying more than a radio, gloves, folding knife and a flashlight. If I lived or explored in a high crime/gang area, I'd be carrying more than my Maglite and knife.

To further explain the big safety bubble that I live in, and that explorers in my post that carry stuff are just wannabes, the only break-in that my house has had in its entire existence was a few garage hoppers. Not really a threat.

;)

I apologize for generalizing and not explaining myself. My city is not a high crime area. The worst thing that happened when me and a few other explorers were patrolling on gas golf carts overnight at an arts festival was getting shot at with cap guns.
Later we found out we were just driving so much that the engines were popping every 10 minutes! I had been off site a few miles away the first time the others heard it so I automatically believed the story.

I used to do bike patrol a lot and once, while breathing with my mouth open, something, probably a bee, flew in and stung my lip.
That was the only injury I've had in 2 years of exploring.

Hahahahah :cool: so as you can see, in my post, there is no excuse for carrying more than a radio, gloves, folding knife and a flashlight. If I lived or explored in a high crime/gang area, I'd be carrying more than my Maglite and knife.

To further explain the big safety bubble that I live in, and that explorers in my post that carry stuff are just wannabes, the only break-in that my house has had in its entire existence was a few garage hoppers. Not really a threat.

;)

Haha wow. Its about opposite here. Our Class A uniform includes a bullet-proof vest and plate. We have many more threats here. I guess thats why we all have decked out duty belts. But still, none of us run around with empty containers. Thats just dumb ;)

Heres a pic of my belt. (The belt and everything on it was supplied by the post)

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp26/bowtie_guy/DSCF1187.jpg

Think about it carry something if you really need to, no since in being weighed down by extra junk. If you carry a hoster for a pistol how does the suspect know you don't have a gun? If you have a place for it you should have it.

Think about it carry something if you really need to, no since in being weighed down by extra junk. If you carry a hoster for a pistol how does the suspect know you don't have a gun? If you have a place for it you should have it.

Were allowed to put our gas airsoft guns or red handle guns in there.

Were allowed to put our gas airsoft guns or red handle guns in there.

Do you take off the holster for ride alongs?

Do you take off the holster for ride alongs?

I'm new to the post so I haven't been on a ride along yet. In about 4 weeks after I take my 10 code test I will probably be able to start riding.

The guys who do ride keep it on I think. Not 100% sure though. Ill ask them and post a for sure answer once I know.

Thats kind of retarded that you can carry an airsoft gun for ridealongs, it puts Explorers in ALOT of unneccesary danger........

I'm going to go ahead and assume that either the story in general is BS, or that you are wrong in assuming they wearing them while doing anything other then training exercises. They serve absolutely zero purpose in any situation unless you are using them in the way you would use a red gun during training exercieses. Even in attending a meeting what purpose does a toy gun have? Clearly your post advisor, explorers, and whoever runs that department needs to open their eyes and realize that having kids running around in uniform with anything resembling a gun is a pretty horrible idea.

First off, I said I was unsure if they wore the holster on ride alongs or not. I will find out and post the answer.
Second, Our "meetings" are not just about sitting at a table and taking notes. We do role-plays and training exercises most of the night and this calls for the use of a holster and a toy gun. I guess we should cut out the shape of a gun from carboard and stick it in our pockets. Thats realistic. :rolleyes:

I'm going to go ahead and assume that either the story in general is BS, or that you are wrong in assuming they wearing them while doing anything other then training exercises. They serve absolutely zero purpose in any situation unless you are using them in the way you would use a red gun during training exercieses. Even in attending a meeting what purpose does a toy gun have? Clearly your post advisor, explorers, and whoever runs that department needs to open their eyes and realize that having kids running around in uniform with anything resembling a gun is a pretty horrible idea.

Psssst...read the post directly above yours ;).......

Hmm, a welt from an airsoft gun...That would really stop a threat :rolleyes:

Hmm, a welt from an airsoft gun...That would really stop a threat :rolleyes:

Hell, it stopped me when our instructor was all shooting us....

You should of used your building search training:cool:

You should of used your building search training:cool:

I mean when he lined us up against the wall.....