What do Police Officers wish they had two of?

TimTom · 18 Apr 2020 at 14:45

I was due to attend a police reunion event but it’s obviously been cancelled. So we had a fun online Q&A instead. Lots of amusing questions but here’s one that had a surprising answer...

When out on duty, which item(s) of clothing did you wish you’d had two of? A spare one or pair that you could just click your fingers and change into?

Any ideas what topped the list?

TimTom · 18 Apr 2020 at 15:33

Dis86 said:
Probably trousers, my dad was always tearing his on fences!

He wasn’t alone there!

TimTom · 18 Apr 2020 at 18:28

Tek81 said:
Stab proof vest

I think that would rightly and understandably be the response from an officer today, sad to say.

TimTom · 18 Apr 2020 at 21:33

Dyson said:
Gloves!

You got it!

Nowadays, of course, it's disposable gloves but go back a few years and officers wore the same gloves throughout a shift. Some of the things you had to deal with were disgusting and the gloves were just wiped... yuk!

Socks were a close second ... (Quote) “wearing a pair of damp socks inside your boots for the rest of your shift was unpleasant in the extreme”

TimTom · 19 Apr 2020 at 08:42

Dave M said:
Actually always a single sock! It's not unusual if walking across rough ground, one foot goes down into a hole - normally a wet hole. Thus one drowned boot and one dry boot.

Wouldn’t odd socks be grounds for a ticking off?

TimTom · 19 Apr 2020 at 12:26

pooley said:
i am surprised it took this many posts LOL

TimTom · 19 Apr 2020 at 16:17

This thread has taken a disappointingly predictable path...!

TimTom · 19 Apr 2020 at 16:41

Yadda said:
If you'd asked my local station in the late 70's/early 80's they'd have said a snooker table because a certain very young Yadda was always hogging the one they had in the mess.

TimTom · 20 Apr 2020 at 14:15

Yadda said:
I must have been a real PITA but they were really good with me, fair play. They even gave me the keypad code so I could let myself into the station from the front desk.

lol! You ought to read the string of seventies policing tales I put on the fifties forum!

TimTom · 23 Apr 2020 at 14:54

HangTime said:
I'm going to say shoes/boots, because it is the one item of clothing that can cause major issues if it breaks or gets lost, given that you are nearly always in contact with the ground via your shoes. You can get away with damaged/wet clothes but you are severely hampered if you have a shoe that's out of commission.

Maybe gloves would be another one, I guess the police frequently have to handle things they don't want in contact with their hands, whether that be because they don't want to leave fingerprints or risk of injury/infection from picking up used drugs paraphernalia, cleaning up sick etc.

Gloves was the answer. But you’re right about shoes too. Somebody has already stated that a good quality pair of boots can pretty much ensure dry and undamaged feet, but bear in mind that back in the seventies and eighties, ordinary heavy duty shoes were often the order of the day for police officers. Trust me, that resulted in very wet shoes and socks more times than I care to remember!

I recall one day seeing a young copper arriving in trendy black shoes with a little silver buckle! There were several shakes of the head as he set out for his shift. I suspect the first time he got involved in anything slightly physical, his smart shoes may not have survived a scuffle!! lol