ANTHROPOMETRY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS - LAW ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS PROGRAM

• NCJ Number: 35835
• Author(s): J I MARTIN; R SABEH; L L DRIVER; T D LOWE; R W HINTZE; P A C PETERS
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 266 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: US Dept of Commerce
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS REPORT PRESENTS BODY MEASUREMENT DATA FOR MALE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS NEEDED FOR SIZING BODY GEAR AND PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.

Abstract

THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING THE DATA BASE WAS TO COMPILE STATISTICS NEEDED FOR SIZING BODY GEAR AND PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. THE PLANS FOR COLLECTING THE DATA WERE DEVELOPED AFTER INTERVIEWS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS AND MANUFACTURERS OF POLICE EQUIPMENT, CONSULTATIONS WITH PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS, AND A REVIEW OF PERTINENT ANTHROPOMETRIC LITERATURE. THE DATA BASE CONSISTS OF TWO COMPONENTS: DETAILED BODY MEASUREMENTS OF APPROXIMATELY 3,000 MALE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND SHORT FORM SURVEY RESPONSES ON THE HEIGHT, WEIGHT, AND AGE OF APPROXIMATELY 10,000 ADDITIONAL OFFICERS. DETAILED BODY MEASUREMENTS WERE TAKEN OF 23 CRITICAL DIMENSIONS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. THE DIMENSIONS ARE THOSE WHICH WOULD BE MOST USEFUL FOR SIZING BODY GEAR AND PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. THESE MEASUREMENTS WERE BASED ON MUNICIPAL, COUNTY, AND STATE POLICE, AS WELL AS PRISON GUARDS. MEASUREMENTS WERE MADE IN 17 DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A BROAD GEOGRAPHIC SAMPLE AND TO COLLECT DATA ON OFFICERS WITH A VARIETY OF ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS. THE MAIN BODY OF THIS REPORT DESCRIBES SOME OF THE GENERAL PROCEDURES AND FINDINGS OF THE STUDY AND PRESENTS TABLES SUMMARIZING THE RESULTS OF THE DATA COLLECTION EFFORTS. THE APPENDICES CONTAIN DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTION OF THIS STUDY, AND PRESENT TABLES PROVIDING DETAILED STATISTICS ABOUT THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES AND SUBCATEGORIES (EG., EXPERIENCE, AGENCY, REGION, AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND) INTO WHICH THE DATA ON THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS COULD BE DIVIDED. (SNI ABSTRACT)