Policing

The Top 10 Items You Should Have in Your Patrol Bag

So back to the patrol bag, here are a few items that I carried in addition to my department issued equipment:

1. Purell hand sanitizer. I used a little spray bottle every time I touched something nasty if I didn’t have a chance to prepare with latex gloves.
2. Surgical face mask. It wasn’t for me. I kept it for the “spitters.”
3. It’s difficult to “spy” on potential bad guys from a marked police unit. But a set of Bushnell binos came in handy on a regular basis.
4. Leatherman pocket tool. It was like carrying a mini-toolbox in my patrol bag.
5. Baby wipes. These kind of duplicate the hand sanitizer, but I used them to wipe down the steering wheel and unit microphone before going into service. I also used them on telephone receivers in the station. All of these things can get pretty nasty from frequent use by so many people.
6. Quick reference guide to every conceivable social service in the county. You can look like a hero when you’re able to provide a person in distress with useful information.
7. Check lists for major incidents. I photo copied protocols from our department General Orders for things like OISs, or SWAT activations. I reduced them on the photo copy machine, then laminated each one and placed them on a ring in my gear bag.
8. Tylenol. I’m allergic to aspirin, so I carried my own pain reliever with me. It seemed like I needed these frequently.
9. My personal CPR mask. The department issued this item in the first aid kit in the trunk, yet I wanted my own.
10. Night vision monocular. Yes, this was an expensive toy, but it came in handy more times than I can articulate.