Just for Bora!
Physical fitness was also a big consideration when I joined. At THAT time here in Oz we were not routinely armed. Our basic "fighting kit" so to speak consisted of a short baton (about a foot or so long...more of a truncheon!) and handcuffs That was it! If you walked the beat you were lucky to get ONE pretty rubbish radio between 2. We DID have firearms available but they were far and few between and pretty lousy......5 shot STANDARD 38! But even the biggest station in our capital city probably only had about 4 or 5 of them and it was almost impossible to sign one out and even then woe betide you if a member of the public actually saw an officer with a gun! (Remember DIFFERENT culture to U.S.)
We did eventually switch to 38specials in the early 80's after an officer was killed and his partner wounded in a country town and the 38Standard projectiles did basically nothing to the bad guy! They still were NOT standard issue.
About the mid '80s we got the long baton issued. We just called it the water pipe. Just a long spun aluminium hollow tube, probably about 2.5+feet long, I really didn't pay much attention. We WANTED the PR-24 but they were classified as OFFENSIVE weapons and police were supposed to be DEFENSIVE. It was funny how at the first training sessions with the new batons several guys had to go to hospital with broken ribs or arms! LMAO.
We got HELLWEG belts issued in the late '80's and they came with holsters and we were basically routinely armed (38sp revolver)from then on, but NO PESONAL ISSUE, we had to sign them out and in every shift (and I believe STILL do except for specialists). No personal firearms were/are permitted (Again...different culture to U.S.)
We finally switched to 40cal Glocks sometime in the '90's
Between the '90s and the 2000s we also acquired pepper spray, ASP batons and tasers. NOTE: NO VESTS!
Stab vest became a thing after I retired.
If you read the literature we were/are highly trained and kept current in the use of all the equipment.........................That is HYSTERICAL! ROTFLMAO.


I have noted that standards have been basically forgotten in recent times. The rot started well before I retired and has accelerated and got worse over the years. This is of course personal opinion but I am not alone in believing this and have PLENTY of examples to back it up.



