how come cops don't wear full gear?

I always seem them in their shortsleeve shirts, non-full faced helmet and wimpy gloves.

What's the deal?

In orther countries they do. Here I guess the Mad Max look was just too much for the public to deal with.

Ever tried to run in full gear? I think full gear hinders other aspects of law enforcement to a point where it's impractical.

Their are a few reasons...none of which are logical:

-Public perception and ability to make 'substantial contact' if the face was covered up.
-Testing required to 'approve' new gear
-People are naturally resistant to change and getting 100% buy in on "uniforms" can be dicey.

In my opinion they should all be wearing flip up full face helmets, full textile suits and body armor with a built in spine pad.

Every so often you hear about a cycle cop going down and getting many more injuries such as rash and facial damage, than one would normally expect.

Wait until the melanoma law suites come in for all that forearm sunburn...

drizz said:

Ever tried to run in full gear? I think full gear hinders other aspects of law enforcement to a point where it's impractical.

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Have you ever tried to run after leaving your skin all over the road? I think you've got a better chance catching someone while wearing leathers than catching someone from the ICU.
In fact, if they had some touring-style gore-tex stuff and good riding footwear it probably wouldn't be any worse than trying to run in those jackboots they wear.

My $00.02

Mike

In my opinions Milpitas Police departments traffic officers on motorcycles should ride in shorts and flip flops with a sign that says RUN MY ASS OVER.

I do think that the CHP should at least wear a leather jacket.

Shunter/Get-Off said:

My $00.02

Mike

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Mike, you probally dont' know cops that ride or don't appreciate what they do.

You are correct taht if they fall, it would be hard for them to run after someone, but get anyone in a crash, with or without leathers, and it's now hard to run after someone.

Ever try firing a glock at someone wearing thick hard gloves? how about cuffing someone, or operating the radio? their gear does have some protection in regards to friction, but their MAIN job is to be able to be mobile and perform their job (law enforcement)

Maybe it's me, but if I was a cop, i'd like to think my safety is a tad more important than being able to chase someone 'comfortably'

no reason to do a department wide change, can't they just wear gear if they choose to?

cause they just ride better than us regular folk

250gpracer said:

cause they just ride better than us regular folk

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Yep they sure do have to undergo pretty tough training. Ever trained how to handle your bike when a tire blows out at 90mph?

However, I must say that CHP should provide some protection at the elbows, knees and shoulder that won't affect the cop's performance.

I'm less concerned with their hands than I am with their head, torso, arms, legs, and feet. Giving a bit more protection there would not compromise much and they could keep the lightweight gloves to perform the specified tasks. Rashed hands suck, but catching a fire hydrant in the face at 30mph with an open helmet is a lot worse.
I think their level of gear should be consistent with their level of training.

Mike

They also ride side by side......

a more interesting question would be how come most of them have the mustache?

Aerostich makes a special police edition suit...
http://www.policesuits.com/

It's California and that shit is hot. He needs mobility to do his job. If she is the kind of rider that gets in Injury Accidents she will not be allowed to ride at work for very long. Mobility is probably the biggest reason, the ONLY good reason to have Motorcycle cops at all is mobility. Some could argue the ability to hide ones presence on the freeway is also a value, but I think it is a minor one in comparison. The motorcycle officer is more capable of going places a car can't go, dismounting, and continuing pursuit of a perp if necessary. Heavy gear would get into that.

Shunter/Get-Off said:

Have you ever tried to run after leaving your skin all over the road? I think you've got a better chance catching someone while wearing leathers than catching someone from the ICU.
In fact, if they had some touring-style gore-tex stuff and good riding footwear it probably wouldn't be any worse than trying to run in those jackboots they wear.

My $00.02

Mike

Click to expand...

I do agree safety first, wear gear, blah blah blah, but there are other aspects to an LEO's safety than fall down, go boom. I think the issue (which has arisen with the CHP before) comes down to safety and functionality.

Yes, if an officer crashes his bike, ouch. However, like others have said, other job functions such as foot pursuit, cuffing, shooting, restraining are common requirements of any officer and the gear would/could unfortunately interfere(sp?!) with thse essential roles.

I think certain gore-tex uniforms could be made to work, but obviously the need isn't there or else someone would have done something by now I'd think. Does anyone know the stats on how many moto officers are involved in accidents? I really don't, but would imagine (purely speculation) that it's fairly low due to experience, operating conditions, etc.

That's very true, but you do realize that for every officer that does go down, and collects unemployment, they need a replacement for that officer.

Guess who foots the bill?

Cop Bike Gear

Somehow these questions about mobility in safety gear don't bother European moto officers. Some of the gear is very light weight (like BMW nylon or Aerostich's Darien Light) but still offer effective armor. Additionally, in colder weather they do ride with leather jackets and/or rain gear and it isn't an issue then is it? Even a light-weight mesh summer jacket would offer better protection than what they have now. They probably don't need too much back protection because their bullet-proof vests could help there. Their uniforms are polyester so it probaby wouldn't be too hard to incorporate some elbow pads into a long-sleeved shirt or some knee armor as well... but it might make it hard to elbow-up to the coffee bar at Starbucks.

Personally, I think it's more of a "macho" image issue. Those boots, for example, are an artifact from the days when the police rode horses instead of motorcycles. They can't be much good for running after someone.

Given the amount of time and miles most of these guys put on bikes, it's pretty likely that they are going to have a crash at some point. Even though they are very highly skilled riders they have to deal with drunk drivers, bad weather (when most of us drive our cars to work), probably pretty high fatigue levels, etc.

The other issue is that the reflective stuff on the Aerostich jacket would just make it harder for them to hide behind bushes and set up speed traps.

I dont think it is universal, I was in the Kushitani shop in LA a few months ago and they had a made a Long Beach cop a custom suit that looked just like a uniform.

Can someone post a pic of um....who is it Dougmo on here that has "CHP" leathers?

I like the way the police are worried about "public image" and the full face helmets are "too aggressive looking"

umm,.,..how about that .40 caliber cannon on thier hip, and the bandelero of bullets they wear, oh THATS not intimidating??

they have their priorities all fuxored