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Hello, new to the forum here so please apologise if I’m in the wrong area. I’m a current serving roads policing officer in Yorkshire and I’m looking to acquire a black aegis modular tac vest. If not, a black molle tac vest. Obviously, willing to pay. Size in XL. Thank you in advanced.

So I have just converted to using my force-issued Tac Vest after 5 years of wearing a kit belt - and I'm a convert! I find it much, much easier to wear, much more comfortable, and everything is easily accessible and not in the way when I am trying to get in the car at high speed! What do you all think?

Really not getting on with my belt kit. Very comfortable for me personally as I'm quite skinny so everything digs in... Looking at purchasing a vest! Any recommendations? Many thanks y'all! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just a quick one to see what everyone's thoughts are..! Do you prefer black body armour or hi-viz and why? Also, do you feel there is a need to have your name on the front, either full name or surname along with "constable" or "special constable"? The reason I ask is because my force have currently got black body armour, but there is pictures floating round from the CC of Hi-viz vests. Now, these vests don't look the best quality and don't look the part. Also, they are looking at putting our name on the front, which I don't see the point in because we have our collar number as identity so why should we display our name too? Okay, maybe surname might be acceptable, but I'd rather not have that displayed either. Maybe I'm just being too picky, I don't know?! They go on about cuts and saving money, yet surely dishing out hi-viz vests will cost more in the long run as they will get dirty/stained easier and quicker than black, so therefore they will need to be replaced sooner? Also, they are getting brought in to be seen at night time in crowded situations but that's were a hi-viz coat plays its part doesn't it?? Maybe I'm being stupid to the whole situation but hey ho! As I say, I just want people's opinions as to what they think is best/what they prefer.

Today marks the centenary of women walking the beat in the police service and the Federation wants to celebrate their achievements and encourage more diversity in the future. The centenary of women in policing, beginning in the Met and then the first force outside this area, in Grantham, appointed three female police officers on this day in November 1914. This is being commemorated by the Police Federation of England and Wales today. Jayne Willetts, secretary of the Police Federation's equality sub-committee, said: “We are proud of the achievements of women in the police service over the last 100 years and hope to encourage more women to join and to be federation representatives. “We want to ensure we represent the voice of female officers within the Federation and also show that we are an organisation that welcomes diversity and wants to reflect the breadth of officers we represent in the service.” Women officers’ main duties in 1914 were to deal with issues primarily related to women and children, such as rape, prostitution and homeless and lost children. Powers to arrest were not given to female police officers until shortly after. This month, the Police Federation published a commemorative edition of its official magazine for members, Police, with a comprehensive history of women in policing. The first ever female chief constable in the UK, Pauline Clare, is interviewed in the November edition of Police and speaks about how far women in policing have come and her own personal experience of being the first woman appointed to the top job back in 1995. Women now comprise 28 per cent of the police force across England and Wales, compared to only 7 per cent in the 1970s. When women were first appointed to the police force, it was compulsory for two female police officers to work together, followed by two male police officers to protect them if they were under physical threat. They would have needed it too, as women were restricted by their uniforms – women were compelled to wear skirts and carry a handbag with their mini truncheons. Obviously, this was impractical if a female police officer would be better served by a uniform that allowed freedom of movement. Compare this to 2014, where body armour is made to accommodate male and female body shapes after breast augmentation or cancer treatment and there are equal career advancement opportunities for men and women. The Police Federation is making a concerted effort to encourage people from all walks of life to consider a career in the police force, including women and people of diverse backgrounds. An Equality Sub-Committee is in the Police Federation governance structure to put equality issues front and centre as part of the implementation of a number of recommendations to reform the Federation. http://www.polfed.org/newsroom/2421.aspx Did all go smoothly at first? All welcomed like PCSO`s? I wonder

Thought I'd tell the story of a fun little duty back in July. Rank: SC Length of Service: 3 months (at the time) Planned Hours: 1700-0300 Type of Shift: tpt (response) 1700 arrive, briefing usual stuff. Get called out to a sudden death before the end of briefing. 1730 arrive at the hospital talk with the doctor and nurses to establish what happened. The man had been found by his wife not breathing, she administered cpr and managed to get a pulse back but on arrival at hospital had stopped breathing again and had no pulse. A further 6 cpr cycles were sucessful but the 7th wasn't. Went into the room, his wife and daughter were present so explained what we had to do and why. They left the room while we checked the body over for suspicuos marks or anything else, nothing found. Completed the paperwork. 1800 sent to recent dwelling burglary, couple had returned home to find their window smashed and possesions scattered aroud the house. Arrived and entered the house with the couple, the back door had been broken into via the window. Was strange as the guy had 5 new iphones on the table, that had not been taken, he also had 3 new ipads that equally had not been taken. The only missing property was £2k cash which had been in an envelope in his wardrobe in a locked bedroom. Call csi and wait for them to arrive, take statement and leave to next call out. 1930 call from ambulance, a young female has been found by a mop barely conscious and has told the mop her boyfriend has beat her up, and given them his details. I take the mop's information. The female refuses to engadge with us and refuses hospital treatment despite pleading by the paramedic as she was showing signs of pretty bad internal injuries. As she walks away from the ambulance she again collapses to the floor, I help her up and she violently pulls away from me and carries on for about 5 steps before going down again. The mop agrees to walk her home and make sure she's ok. 2045 refreshment break, go back to the station and update the sgt on the last job. Sgt suggests we should get a statement from the mop and arrest the boyfriend even though the aggrieved doesn't want to engage. I ring the mop and we arrange to meet her and take her to her parents to get a statement (the mop was 15). 2115 meet with the mop at tescos and drive her to her parent's. Get parent's ok for her to give a statement and take a statement. This all takes a log time because the parents live well out of town. 2300 go arround to the boyfriend's to attempt an arrest, house is empty. 0000 grade 1 call, the aggrieved from earlier is chasing the boyfriend around the area with a knofe and threatening any mops around the area. We get there asap and start an area search with 3 other units. The area is very dark with lots of alley ways so the search takes a while. 0015 I walk up an alley way on my own and see the male followed quickly by the female. I shout up on the radio to give the location, direction of travel etc and set off in pursuit. About halfway up the very dark alley, running at full speed I kicked a step I did not know was there and went down. Due to using the radio at the time I didn't get my arm out intime and faceplanted on the path (unknown at the time but later found on the body worn video which was unfortunately recording I knocked myself out for all of 30 seconds, the bwv also revealed a lot of s5 poa). I did the whole "I'll be fine get up and carry on" but about halfway to my feet got a cruppling pain in my left elbow which caused me to go back to ground. About 30-40 seconds later my crew mate found me in a heap and helped me up and took me to hospital. 0120 Got to see the doctor in a&e, have an xray on my arm and wrist (taking off the body armour was the most painful experience of my life). Turns out to be a broken radial head (elbow). Arm placed into a sling and taken back to the station. Sgt and insp have a chat wih me to make sure I'm ok, fed rep helps me fill out the accident report because I couldn't type very well. 0230 get a lift home in my own car by one of the regs with their crew mate following in the panda so I get home and my car is parked up at home. I was signed off work for 4 weeks and policing for 8. Not my most sucessful shift, but an eventful one.

Hiya folks, With the weather getting colder, stores informing me I could be waiting up to around Christmas time for a replacement, and nothing lying around on those random kit coat hangers every nick seems to have, I need to get hold of a fleece for patrol. It will be worn underneath my body armour and as such badges and epaulette bars/sliders are not essential. It must however be navy blue. Typical that there must be in excess of ten black PC fleeces just lying around but no PCSO ones at all :/ Suggestions please? :)

Hiya folks, I'm sure we have all lost paper poppies on our uniforms whilst on duty, and even the pin-badge style isn't invincible for day to day patrol in uniform (I find the badge pin clasps a nightmare to keep on!). More and more Officers are getting these velcro patches for uniformed wear: I admit they will look miles better on a black body armour cover as opposed to my high-vis, but I like them all the same. They come in small or large velcro backed patches, and it is just a case of grabbing some black self-adhesive velcro from a crafts shop to stick on the body armour cover. Available from eBay mainly, but please remember to make a donation to The Royal British Legion.

Hi I have recently been issued my special kit by my force tac vest/belt and as I was left handed stores gave me a right paw set of pouches/cuff and baton holder plus what they described as an applicator pad for the cuffs. I was told my cuffs would be best on my right hand side to be drawn by my dominant hand. This is where it gets a little confusing I have placed the applicator pad on one way and the only other way it will fit and either ways would have my cuffs angled away from the natural way so it is more of a pull the tab up and push the cuffs away and upwards to draw them. These seems very awkward to me and the only way I can see fixing it is ask for the opposite applicator pad or have my cuffs on the opposite side to be drawn with my right hand. Anyone got any tips or am I missing something basic here? And any tips on how to loosen up my belt as it's a real struggle to get anything on/off ( I realise that it shouldn't be easy to move but currently it is more of a marathon moving anything down the belt a few inches)