Eight patrol officers at the Bismarck Police Department will be testing external loadbearing vests. These officers will be testing the viability of external loadbearing vests in reducing stress on the lower back and hips caused by the weight of equipment on the duty belt. The duty belt, with all the equipment on it, typically weighs 15-20 lbs.
The external carriers have a modular pouch system on the vest which will allow officers to move some items off of their duty belts and onto the front of the vest. This will distribute the weight of the officers’ gear and move equipment that is currently carried on the rear of the officers’ belts.