Assessing functional clothing needs of bicycle patrol officers

Abstract

Bicycle police patrol officers require functional occupational clothing to perform a variety of daily tasks. Vonk (2003 Vonk, K. 2003. Bike patrol success. Law and Order, 51(4): 82–86. [Google Scholar]) reported officers' difficulty with finding specialised uniforms. The purpose of this study was to identify the needs specific to bicycle patrol officers for uniforms that address instrumental and expressive performance requirements. Survey data were collected from 238 United States bicycle patrol officers in 29 units from 15 states across the country. Officers expressed neutral to moderately high satisfaction with uniform components and overall performance of their uniforms, but also provided numerous comments regarding areas for improvement. Uniform needs identified by the officers were primarily instrumental, but some expressive needs were also expressed. On the basis of the results, challenges to improving bicycle patrol uniforms are discussed within the design process framework and next steps are proposed.