Poll Call: What police equipment would you replace in your department?

By Police1 Staff

One of the great things about having a police community like we do here at Police1 is the ability to see the similarities and differences of police agencies big and small, nationwide and beyond. The saying "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet" really hits home when we hear one officer tell us they desperately need their department-issued body armor upgraded and another officer chimes in, "Your department gets body armor!?"

It's truly eye-opening to see just how differently our police officers are patrolling their communities because of the resources available to them. The recent story of an overchieving yet exhausted three-man department quieted everyone else who voiced their "small department" woes. Many departments share cruisers and even duty firearms, meanwhile cities like Dubai flaunt their $500k Lamborghini cruisers.

So we asked our Police1 Facebook fans what equipment they would upgrade if they suddenly had the means to do so to see if there were any standout resources that a majorty of departments were lacking. While there were no overwhelming responses, vehicles and communications equipment literally topped the charts, at 24 and 21 percent, respectively.

We received nearly 2,300 answers. Check them out to see how your department compares.

Nearly 78 percent of the same group polled above said that either their department had no future plans to replace the equipment they said was lacking, or that they didn't know if or when the department would be receiving such upgrades.