Police testing new vest that reduces back strain, improves comfort and has body-cooling system
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The new Load Bearing Vest being developed is able to reduce the body temperature of officers by an average of 2 deg C.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
- Police in Singapore are trialling a Load Bearing Vest (LBV) to reduce back strain from heavy utility belts.
- The LBV redistributes weight and incorporates a ventilation system to lower officers' body temperature by 2 deg C.
- Trials are ongoing, with refinements made based on officer feedback to improve comfort and operational effectiveness.
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SINGAPORE - Front-line police officers may soon get a cooling vest that redistributes weight from their utility belts and reduces back strain.
The new load-bearing vest (LBV) being developed by the police and Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) is also able to reduce the body temperature of officers by an average of 2 deg C.
Currently, officers carry up to 5kg of essential equipment on their utility belts, including firearms, a baton, communications devices and handcuffs.
This places a significant amount of back strain on officers who perform extended shift duties.
With the communications set, handcuff pouch and pouch for smaller items such as notebooks and pens attached to the vest instead of the belt, the weight on the belt is almost halved.
The LBV also has attachments for police rank insignias, name tags and body-worn cameras.
Firearms and batons are still carried on belts.
The vest was first conceptualised in 2015, with the idea for an updated version gaining renewed interest in 2023.
A prototype was trialled from 2024, during deployments at Chingay, the Singapore Grand Prix and the Marina Bay Countdown.
Feedback from the initial trials was that the vest was cumbersome and took too long to wear, as its design used a waist sash and had pouches that were too small for the items officers have to carry.
A newer iteration made in the first quarter of 2025 replaced the sashes with Velcro and had larger pouches.
This version is currently on a month-long trial at Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC).
While the LBV improves comfort by reducing lower-back muscle stress, it can retain body heat, despite having an inflatable air mesh that facilitates better airflow.
To address this issue, the police and HTX developed a prototype ventilation system that uses four fans and an air mesh plate on the back of the vest to keep officers cool.
The vest was first conceptualised in 2015, with the idea for an updated version gaining renewed interest in 2023.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Laboratory trials showed that this reduced body temperatures by an average of 2 deg C.
Mr Lloyd Ng, an engineer from HTX’s Human Factors and Simulation Centre of Expertise, said the cooling system is designed to improve heat tolerance and thermal comfort.
“As climate change intensifies and heatwaves become more severe and frequent, it is increasingly important to ensure that Home Team officers are able to operate safely and effectively in hot environments,” he said.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Yap Jia Ying, a Team Leader at Rochor NPC, said the cooling system has helped officers feel less tired: “Early trials show promising results for officer comfort and operational effectiveness, and we are continuing to refine the prototype based on our user experience.”
