Comparative analysis between police batons

The main purpose of this study was to compare various sizes of an extendible baton with the standard issue PVC duty baton. This project also included a side handle baton and a traditional wooden duty baton. Comparison was made on those quantifiable mechanical variables that were deemed significant with respect to trauma and the intended use of the baton as an intermediate weapon. These variables included impact force, impact pressure and movement kinematics while performing striking swings with these police batons. The three ASP expandable batons, the side handle baton and wood duty baton all produced smaller impact forces compared to that achieved with the PVC duty baton. In a model of impact pressure, the extendible batons produced, on average, higher impact peak pressures than those produced with the PVC duty baton. Differences were also observed between striking swing speed, frequency, and reach among the various batons tested which could influence an officer's ability to effectively utilize the batons as intermediate weapons.