MBS Special

Publication

*80-29

rence p^^s.

cations

Survey of Clothing

Requirements for

Uniformed Law

Enforcement

Officers

A111Q3 miTTl

Law Enforcement

Equipment

Technology

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

COMMERCE

National Bureau of

Standards

-29
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report was prepared by the Law Enforcement Standards

Laboratory (LESL) of the National Bureau of Standards under the

direction of Jared C. Collard, Manager, Selected Systems Program,

and Jacob J. Diamond, Chief of LESL. The work was sponsored by

the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Lester D. Shubin, Standards Program Manager.
Survey of Clothing

Requirements for

Uniformed Law

Enforcement

Officers

prepared by

Welson and Co., Inc. Hartford, Conn. 061 14

and the

Law Enforcement Standards Laboratory

Center for Consumer Product Technology

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D.C. 20234

prepared for National Institute of Law Enforcement

and Criminal Justice

Law Enforcement Assistance Administration

U.S. Department of Justice

Washington, D.C. 20531

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary

Dr. Sidney Harman, Under Secretary

Jordan J. Baruch, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Ambler, Director
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 78-600039

National Bureau of Standards

Special Publication 480-29

Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Spec. Publ. 480-29, 22 pages CODEN:XNBSAV

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1978

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents,

U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402

Stock No. 003-003-01919-4 Price $1.10
Contents

Page Foreword iv

1. Introduction 1

2. Police Clothing Survey 2

2.1. Basis for Selection 3

2.2. Criteria for Frequency of Uniform Procurement 4

2.3. Uniform Features 4

2.4. Desired Improvements 5

2.5. Injuries Related to Police Work 6

3. Postscript 8

Appendix A—Questionnaire 9

List of Figures

Page Figure 1. Personnel assignments in 21 urban police departments 3 Figure 2. Basis for clothing selection 3

Figure 3. Basis for clothing requirements—departments which have uniform

specifications 3

Figure 4. Criteria for uniform procurement 4

Figure 5. Frequency of uniform replacement 4

Figure 6. Relative importance of uniform features 5 Figure 7. Clothing attributes most in need of improvement 5

Figure 8. Percentage of personnel exposed to physical hazards 6

Figure 9. Frequency of injuries to patrolmen 7 Figure 10. Most frequent injuries to patrolmen during all operations 7 Figure 11. Most frequent injuries to patrolmen during arrests 8

iii
FOREWORD

The Law Enforcement Standards Laboratory (LESL) of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) furnishes technical support to the National Institute of Law Enforcement and

Criminal Justice (NILECJ) program to strengthen law enforcement and criminal justice in the United States. LESL's function is to conduct research that will assist law enforcement and

criminal justice agencies in the selection and procurement of quality equipment.

LESL is: (1) Subjecting existing equipment to laboratory testing and evaluation and

(2) conducting research leading to the development of several series of documents, including

national voluntary equipment standards, user guidelines, state-of-the-art surveys and other

reports.

This document is a law enforcement equipment report developed by LESL under the sponsorship of NILECJ. Additional reports as well as other documents are being issued under

the LESL program in the areas of protective equipment, communications equipment, security

systems, weapons, emergency equipment, investigative aids, vehicles and clothing.

Technical comments and suggestions concerning the subject matter of this report are

invited from all interested parties. Comments should be addressed to the Law Enforcement

Standards Laboratory, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. 20234.

Jacob J. Diamond

Chief, Law Enforcement

Standards Laboratory

iv
SURVEY OF CLOTHING REQUIREMENTS FOR

UNIFORMED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

Welson and Co., Inc. Hartford, Conn. 06114

Questionnaires were sent to 304 police departments to obtain information about the

police uniform: the basis for its selection, the frequency of procurement, its most important

features, the areas of needed improvements, and injuries relating to police work.

A total of 96 departments (32%) responded to the survey. From this sample, useful data were obtained for use as guidance for police quartermasters and clothing manufacturers in the

specification, selection and design of police uniforms. In general, law enforcement officials are primarily concerned with four aspects: appearance, durability, comfort and versatility (the use of the uniform for a variety of functions and weather conditions).

Key words: Clothing survey; law enforcement officer uniforms; police injuries; police uni- forms; uniforms.

1. INTRODUCTION

The police uniform has several obvious functions: It must be durable and must identify the wearer as a law enforcement officer; it must be comfortable without hindering mobility;

and, it must provide some protection against the environment and, to a lesser extent, against

injury.

The purpose of this project was to identify those characteristics of the police uniform

which were of major concern to the officer, to correlate those concerns with the duties of the

officer and, if possible, to define areas in which clothing improvements are needed.

To accomplish this purpose, a survey (appendix A) was made of over 300 police agencies

across the country. The results of the survey are presented below. In addition, a series of inter- views were held with uniform manufacturers, police department personnel, and other experts

in the clothing field. The information obtained concerning the relationship of desired uniform

characteristics to officer function is given in table 1.

In a companion study to obtain data relevant to the sizing of uniforms and other gear, measurements were made of 23 critical body dimensions of approximately 3000 male law

enforcement officers. The results of this study were published in December 1976 as Department

of Justice report LESP-RPT-0701.00, Anthropometry of Law Enforcement Officers. (Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, Stock No. 027-000-00458-0, price $3.30).

1
Table 1. Major characteristics desired in clothing

Police Operation

cation B

_o >. o o C

<u oU

"o

-o o

Ui Oh >

Investigation oi ouspicious .rersons/Lircunistances X X X

X

Processing, Transferring Prisoner X

A

Property Investigation X

Crime Investigation X

Disturbance Foliow-up Y X

Accident Assistance X X

Crime Prevention X X

EMERGENCY

v^ivil Uloui UCX &/ l-'clIlUIialld Lions/ XXIOLS A AY

Special Events Control X

Arrest of Hostile Fugitive X X

Major Accident Assistance X

rire figliting Operations X X

TRAFFIC

Traffic Engineering X

Parking Control and Regulation X

Direction of Iraiiic X

OFFICE

Records Keeping and Other Administrative Duties X

Communications X

Complaint Recording and Processing X

2. POLICE CLOTHING SURVEY

The police clothing survey reproduced in appendix A consisted of 20 questions and a request for suggestions for the improvement of clothing. The questions covered the following

areas

The basis for uniform selection; The frequency of uniform procurement;

The most important uniform features; The desired uniform improvements; and,

• Injuries related to police work.

The questionnaire was sent to 304 police departments across the country. Ninety-six

agencies (32%), consisting of 21 urban and 75 rural departments, responded in time for

their responses to be used in this report.

The urban agencies represented departments having 137 or more police personnel, and

the rural agencies represented departments of less than 137 personnel. The 21 urban agencies

employed a total of 14,779 persons, an average of 704 persons per department. The 75 rural agencies employed 2,261 persons, an average of 30 per department. Figure 1 presents a functional breakdown of the personnel in the 21 urban police agencies. As indicated, almost four

out of five police department personnel were uniformed.

2
Figure 1. Personnel assignments in 21 urban police departments.

2.1. Basis for Selection

Sixty-one percent of the police departments which responded to the survey indicated that they had a departmental specification for clothing selection (fig. 2). Each of these departments

had established its own specification, with little or no influence or input from other police

departments. Approximately 24 percent of the responding departments used a supplier catalog

to select clothing, 8 percent used other means of clothing selection, and 7 percent used all of these methods to select clothing for their department.

Of the departments which had specifications for uniforms, about an equal number reported

that they based their clothing requirements on their own performance and test data as reported

that they based them on the characteristics of clothing items available from vendors (fig. 3).

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

oL

DEPT. SPECIFICATION SUPPLIER CATALOG

OTHEII ALL OF THESE

50

40

30

20

10

0

1

1m

1

f iiiil

I

1 DEPARTMENT'S CHARACTERISTICS OWN REQUIREMENTS OF & TEST DATA AVAILABLE ITEMS

OTHER

Figure 2. Basis for clothing selection. Figure 3. Basis for clothing requirements—

departments which have uniform specifications.
2.2. Criteria for Frequency of Uniform Procurement.

Responses from the survey (figs. 4 and 5) indicated that the major reason for uniform

procurement is replacement due to wear, etc., with budgetary considerations playing an

important role in determining when replacement is needed. While the season does affect the timing of a purchase, that is a minor consideration. About half the departments replace uni- forms regularly (either semi-annually or annually) and half replace them as needed (fig. 5).

40

I

30

Lbl ^ 20

O-^ 10

CLOTHING BUDGETtlir SEASONAL OTHER

LIFE LIMITATIONS REQUIREMENTS

r t . Figure 4. Criteria for uniform procurement.

SEMI-ANNUALLY

Jl^ URBAN AGENCIES Sall agencies

^RURAL agencies

OTHER |As required

by wearout, etc.

2.3. Uniform Features

Figure 5. Frequency of uniform replacement.

Figure 6 shows the response of the agencies to a question designed to assess the relative importance to them of several features of the police uniform. They were most interested in recognition and identification as police officers and, secondarily, in protection against the weather. They were less interested in traditional uniform design and in protection against

physical attack. Most agencies felt that additional padding, coatings, or metal meshes in gar- ments were not desirable.

4
50

Figure 6. Relative importance of uniform features.

2.4. Desired improvements

The clothing improvements most desired by both rural and urban agencies are shown in

figure 7; the data have been weighted to reflect first, second, etc., choices. The rural agencies

indicated that clothing weight, and tear and penetration resistance needed improvement most; by small margins, the urban agencies rated ventilation, and tear and penetration resistance as most in need of improvement. The interest of both types of agencies in tear and penetration

resistance undoubtedly reflected their desire for more durable clothing, since the physical

protection aspects were minimized (fig. 6).

25

RESISTANCE MOISTURE. CHEMICALS Durban agencies

hrural agencies

Figure 7. Clothing attributes most in need of improvement.

5
Some of the general comments and suggestions received from the respondents to the questionnaire included the following:

(1) Uniforms should be more contemporary in design (lapels, collars, cuffs, etc.). (2) Uniforms should possess improved colorfastness.

(3) Uniforms should allow for greater mobility, especially in winter garments.

(4) A more standard clothing specification and/or a standard uniform should be

developed.

2.5. Injuries Related to Police Work

The percentages of all police personnel who are exposed to physical hazards are shown in figure 8. In most departments, more than 50 percent of the personnel are so exposed, the preponderant exposure bracket being 50^75 percent.

The frequency of injuries, to patrolmen only, is shown in figure 9. As might be expected,

the urban departments, with their higher crime rates, experienced higher injury rates than

the rural departments.

The most frequent causes of injuries to patrolmen, during all operations, are shown in figure 10. Sixty percent of the responding agencies reported that injuries to their officers were

most frequently caused by physical attacks during arrest operations; in 24 percent of the agencies they were related to environmental causes; and in 11 percent they were due to automobile accidents.

The most frequent causes of injuries to police officers during arresting operations (fig. 11) were falls and physical attacks. Relatively few injuries were suffered directly from the use of weapons.

70

Li_I 60 zLkl CD 50 «

UJCJ 40 C3

a.

k-i- C3 30

20

10

0 IMIKyliB^ 0-25%

Durban agencies ^all agencies ^rural agencies

25-50% 50-75% % OF PERSONNEL AT HAZARDOVER 75%

Figure 8. Percentage of personnel exposed to physical hazards.

6
Figure 10. Most frequent injuries to patrolmen during all operations.

7
3. POSTSCRIPT

Welson and Company, Inc. has gone out of business, and the original responses and raw

data are not available to NBS for further analysis. Nevertheless, useful information was

obtained by the survey. The publication of this report is intended to provide the manufacturers of police uniforms with "feedback" from the operating levels of police departments in the hope that it will lead to improved uniform design and construction.

8
Appendix A—Questionnaire

June 1973

U.S. Department of Commerce

National Bureau of Standards

DETAILED QUESTIONNAIRE: CLOTHING

POLICE EQUIPMENT SURVEY

Sponsored By:

National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

Law Enforcement Assistance Administration

U.S. Department of Justice

Conducted under Contract 3-35831 f^or the National Bureau

of Standards By:

Wei son and Company, Inc.

104 Ledyard Street

Hartford, Conn. 06II4

9
INTRODUCTION: In a recent nationwide survey of police departments,

uniforms and clothing have been identified as areas in which

improvements could be made. In order to assist police departments

to obtain the best clothing and materials available, the Law

Enforcement Standards Laboratory will be writing voluntary standards

for those items in need of improvement.

PURPOSE OF THIS QUESTIONNAIRE: The purpose of this "detailed"

questionnaire is to obtain answers from you, the user, about the

uniforms and clothing that your department wears. On the basis

of your clothing problems, needs, and applications, future garment

and fabric testing requirements will be determined.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fill in the questionnaire completely. Even if you do not have

the information you need "at your fingertips," please make your

best effort to supply every answer AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE.

2. Answer all questions for YOUR OWN DEPARMMENT. Do not attempt to

supply information that might exist in some other department.

3. The results of this questionnaire may be compiled by computer. It

is very important that you follow directions and answer every

question legibly and in the boxes and spaces provided.

4. No individual department will be identified in the report of this

survey; the results will be published in tabulated form,

5. Additional instructions for filling in your answers appear after

some questions. Follow the directions given.

6. Please PRINT all answers and comments CLEARLY.

7. When this questionnaire has been completely filled in; place it

in the stamped addressed envelope supplied. Return all of them to:

Wei son & Company, Inc.

104 Ledyard Street

Hartford, Conn. 06II4

8. Remember that it is only by getting YOUR answers to these

questions that it will be possible to begin solving the problems

that police have with clothing.

10
PART I; POLICE DEPARTMENT CLOTHING REQUIREMENTS

1. How many persons are employed in your police department?

2. What is the approximate breakdown of your department in terms

of divisions of duty function and uniform requirements?

Estimated What percentage

Division Per cent of Department of these divisions

require uniforms?

A. General Patrol

B. Traffic & Safety

C. Criminal Investigation

D. Training

E. Administration

F. Other

3. How many different clothing items

your department?

Jacket, Summer

Trousers, Summer

Shirt, Summer

Hat, Summer

Other, Please List:

are presently procured by

Coat, Winter Gloves

Trousers, Winter ____ Rainwear

Shirt, Winter _____ Shoes

Hat, Winter ___ Tie

4. How are these items presently procured?

Department Specification

Supplier Catalog

Other

11
5. If your items are procured through a department specification,

how are the clothing requirements determined?

Based upon available vendor items.

Based upon performance and test

data determined by department.

Other

6, How is the frequency of your clothing procurements determined?

Seasonal Clothing Requirements ________ Clothing Life

___________ Budgetary Limitations

Other

7. How often are uniforms procured for each uniformed patrolman?

________ Every six months

____________ Annually

Other (please specify)

8. What is the average number of clothing items for each

patrolman purchased in the above period?

Jackets _______ Shirts

Trousers

_____^^__^ Other (please specify)

12
How would you rate each of the following features of uniforms

in their order of importance to your department?

Recognition and identification of police personnel

Protection from physical attack

Protection from environment (weather)

Traditional garment design

In what areas do you feel that clothing could be improved?

Please number the following in the order of importance.

Clothing Weight Flamraability

Clothing Mobility Color Fastness

Abrasion Resistance Ventiliation

Penetration and Tear Resistance _________ Insulation

Compatibility with moisture, Other:

chemicals (please specify)

What items are required to be carried by your uniformed policemen?

Please number the most commonly carried item first and least common second.

_________ Pistol, Ammunition _______ Handcuffs

Hand Radio Nightstick

Notebook Other: (please specify)

Flashlight

13
PART II: POLICE DUTY HAZARDS A.W PROTECTION

12. What is the greatest cause of injury to your patrolmen?

Physical attack during arrest of suspects

Automobile Accident ______ Injury due to environment f falls on ice, etc.

Other (please specify)

< 13. What percent of your department personnel are exposed to

potential physical hazards in the normal conduct of duty?

(Patrolmen, investigations, etc.)

0-10^

_____ 10 - 25%

25 - so^

50 - 75^ _______ Other (please specify)

14. What is the frequency of injury to police patrolmen only

during a yearly period?

0-1%

1 - 1%

. 2-5%

Above S%

Other (please specify)

15. Of the injuries obtained during arrestinsr operations, what

are the most frequent?

Laceration from weapon

Bruises from impact of weapon

Bruises from falls

Other (please specify)

14
l6. Would padding in strategic areas of a uniform be desirable

from a protection standpoint?

17. Are injuries sustained while on duty influenced greatly

by season?

Greatest number occur during summer Greatest number occur during winter

No seasonal effect

18. Are there great differences in injury frequency between

uniformed and plainclothes personnel?

No, Approximately the same

Yes, (Please explain below)

19. Does your department supply a clothing allowance for the

plainclothes personnel?

20, Are there restrictions placed upon or requirements specified

for the type of clothing worn by plainclothes officers?

If so please explain below

15
21. Please list any suggestions or general comments for the

improvement of clothing, materials or design.

16
IDENTIFYING INFORMATION: (All identifying information will be kept

confidential)

Name of Department: _________________________________________________________

Address:

Name of person who answered this questionnaire:

Name

Title: Rank:

No. of years experience in law enforcement:

Telephone Number:

Others who helped: 1.

Name

Title: Rank:

No, of years experience in law enforcement:

Telephone Number:

2.

Name

Title: Rank:

No. of years experience in law enforcement:

Telephone Number:

<t U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1978 —261-238/84

17

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW PUBLICATIONS ON

NATIONAL CRIME AND RELATED SUBJECTS

Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office,

Washington, D.C. 20402

Dear Sir:

Please add my name to the announcement list of new publications to be issued on the above subjects (including this NBS series):

Name

Company

Address

City State Zip Code

(Notification Key N-538)


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

IMationai Bureau of Standards

Washington, D.C. 20234

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

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