CHALLEl\lliE§ FDR MODERN POLICll\lli:
REDUCIN& IN..IURIE!!i AND
IMPROVIN& PERFORMANCE
by Sgt. Rkk Parent & Dr. Silvia Raschke

oday's police officer works in a very different environment from
equipment, some police officers may additionally carry a Taser
a police officer's world twenty years ago. Rapid advances in
T
weapon, a small pouch for first aid disposable gloves and a second
technology have given police officers additional enabling technology
I

set of handcuffs. All of this equipment is expected to be "immediately
available" to the police officer and therefore must be worn on the
waist or lower waist area of the individual. A small body frame
individual with a slim waist would find this requirement a challenge,
if not impossible!

to assist them in conducting their duties. From sophisticated communications equipment and laptops in police vehicles to radios, cell
phones, body armour and Taser's that are worn on the body - the
police officers tool kit is ever expanding. Unfortunately, unlike the
construction worker, these tools cannot be put into a tool chest in the
back of the truck. The police officer's tools must always be kept close
at hand, often worn on their bodies and immediately accessible - for
the protection of the police officer and for the protection of members
of the public. In fact, the police motor vehicle has become a mobile
office space, giving police officers far more flexibility and ability to
respond to a community's needs.

Negotiating the Modern Police Motor Vehicle
The changing nature of police work has also created challenges for
the modern police officer who is expected to type all police reports
on a keyboard. In addition, operational calls for service in a patrol
vehicle are now often dealt with by way of a computer dispatch rather
than the previous method of a radio transmission. These factors,
combined with recent provincial legislation surrounding the Police
Records Information Management Environment program (PRIME) has
resulted in front-line police personnel spending an increasing amount
of time sitting in their police vehicle filling in mandatory data fields
and typing reports.

Within this setting it is important to note that roughly 52% of WorkSafe
BC claims between 1997 and 2005 were related to musculoskeletal
injuries .(MSis) (39% of total claims by police officers) and motor
vehicle accidents (MVAs) (13% of total claims by police officers).
These figures are significant in identifying the contributing factors
and root causes between the increasing amount of technology and
protective equipment a police officer is expected to wear or have installed
in their police vehicle.

The continual use of a laptop computer in a motor vehicle is
occurring while police personnel are being required to wear an
enormous amount of duty equipment that include bullet proof
vests, Taser weapons and pistols equipped with numerous bullets!
Within this "typical" work environment the modern police officer is
required to multi-task; operating a motor vehicle, answering a phone
call on their cell phone, manipulating a mouse/keyboard "call for
service" and responding to fellow police officers via radio transmission - all at the same time! This technological situation can be both
precarious and dangerou.s - for both police personnel and members
of the public.

The "Heavy" Duty Belt
Changing demographics in policing have resulted in compromised
workplace safety and wellness situations that did not exist twenty years
ago. For example, progress towards a more inclusive police service
resulted in more women and minorities choosing a career in policing.
This however brought with it challenges for police equipment and
police vehicle layout as these areas remain, for the most part, to be
designed for the large robust male body frame. Police personnel are
expected to carrying an array of compliance tools and safety equipment
on their waist belt. These tools include the standard issued police
pistol and roughly 46 rounds of ammunition.

In addition to these · factors it is important to be aware of the
lighting that is provided within police vehicles. As noted, the police
vehicle has evolved to become the modern office of the day-to-day
operational police officer. Concerns regarding lighting, multi-tasking
and eyestrain are additional unresolved issues for the contemporary
police officer.

With the pistol and bullets, police officers are expected to carry
a set of metal handcuffs, an ASP (metal baton), a portable radio,
and a small flashlight. In addition to this array of heavy, cumbersome

The Thin Blue. Line

17

, Yearbook Vol .. 6

Police agencies need to work towards identifying potential
problems, using the results to set best practices and best policies.
By making more informed equipment choices and by providing
police officers with information and training on how to work
more safely and effectively, injuries can be reduced and overall
performance increased.

The Importance of Functioning Uniforms
Initially identified as particular to female police officers, musculoskeletal complaints and safety issues have emerged that are related to
duty belt and uniform design. From uncomfortable seats resulting in
poor sitting posture in the police motor vehicle, to technology overload
in the passenger compartment, to legs falling asleep from trousers
cutting into the legs at the hips - all have impacted on female officer
comfort and injuries. These influencing factors also affect the police
officers ability to concentrate in the police motor vehicle and, when
having to quickly exit, engage in a foot pursuit that may involve the use
of force to subdue a suspect.

Rick Parent is a serving police officer and crisis negotiator
in the Vancouver area. He is presently the manager of
Research and Academic Development at the Justice Institute
of British Columbia - Police Academy and the author of
several publications and books. For further information
visit: www.theppsc.org/Staff/parent/Rick.htm Contact via
e-mail: rparent@jibc.ca.

Female police officers have additionally noted that issued trousers at
times result in "back seams bursting" or the "front zipper coming
undone" when engaged in a foot pursuit. In some cases this information
has been officially recorded as 'an assault by violent acts by an
individual' but was in fact caused or contributed to by an officer's
attention being diverted to their bursting trousers and away from their
assailant in a high-risk situation. Noteworthy, is that this real problem is
faced not only be female officers, but also by males officers as well. A
problem that actually led to or, contributed to an injury, but typically is
not reported as the cause of the injury.

Dr. Silvia Raschke is a Project Leader for the BCIT
Technology Centre. Her current research interests focus on
improving device designs and processes to improve safety
and performance. She has worked in the medical device,
rehabilitation and forestry sectors and is currently championing the establishment of a research centre that will focus
on the health and welfare of police service members, with a
special niche on police dog performance and health. She can
be reached at Silvia_Raschke@bcit.ca

Officer feedback on the topic of a "malfunctioning uniform' clearly
points to unresolved issues in how the officer gets into their police
vehicle, sits within the vehicle, interacts with the increasing amount of
equipment, both in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and on
their duty belts and finally, exits from the vehicle to commence a street
check or foot pursuit.

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Improving Health and Safety
in the Work Environment
Over the past 20 years considerable work has been done to improve
the controls for, and electronic linkage between, technologies - such as
the laptops that are now being installed in most police vehicles. There
has also been some progress towards police motor vehicle layout and
design as well as duty belt equipment design relating to both reducing
MSI and MVAs by police officers.
Unfortunately, many of the same issues from 20 years ago remain today.
Contemporary discussions have additionally become comprehensive and
fragmented with health and safety concerns expanding from the original
focal point of "low back pain" to include other forms of MSI such as falls,
agility, attention deficit and technology overload.
Research to date has typically focused on these issues in isolation when
in fact day-to-day police operations are interrelated in the police motor
vehicle setting. As a r~sult, there is a need to identify, in a systematic
and logical manner, the root causes of injuries to operational police
officers in the day tb day working context. A user centered approach
to identifying root causes can provide invaluable information in
identifying underlying issues leading to injuries in police officers that
appear to be misreported and under reported within standardized
health and safety legislation.

The Thin Blue Line

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ATLANTIC FEATURE " 11911 lllARK PARISI

18

Yearbook Vol. 6

by Mark Parisi