Encumbered and Traditional Anthropometry of Law Enforcement Officers for Vehicle Workspace and Protective Equipment Design

Abstract

Objectives This study investigated anthropometric changes of national law enforcement officers (LEOs) in 46 years, compared the differences between LEO data and civilian anthropometry, and identified the magnitude of differences in dimensions measured with gear versus semi-nude measurements. Background The best available 46-year-old anthropometric dataset of LEOs has largely become outdated due to demographic changes. Additionally, anthropometric data of female LEOs and LEO measurements with gear are lacking. Method Thirty-four traditional body dimensions and 15 with gear measurements of 756 male and 218 female LEOs were collected through a stratified national survey using a data collection trailer that traveled across the U.S. and the data were compared to the LEO anthropometric data from 1975 and existing civilian anthropometric databases. Results LEO body size and shape have evolved over the past 46 years - an increase of 12.2 kg in body weight, 90 mm in chest circumference, and 120 mm in waist circumference for men. No previous data was available for comparison for females. Compared to civilians, both male and female LEOs have a larger upper body build. LEO gear added 91 mm in waist breadth for men and 120 mm for women, and 11 kg in weight for men and 9 kg for women. Conclusion The study reveals that equipment design based on the existing civilian datasets or 46-year-old LEO dataset would not accommodate the current LEO population. The new data fill this gap. Application: The differences reported above are important for LEO body gear, vehicle console, and vehicle ingress/egress design.

Body Models of Law Enforcement Officers for Cruiser Cab Accommodation Simulation

“…Upon arrival to a national LEO anthropometry study site (Hsiao et al, 2021b), each officer was given a consent form to read, which described the study. Each participant had the opportunity to ask questions before signing an informed consent.…”

“…After completing the body measurements, Figure 2. LEOs are in general heavier than the general population and have a larger upper torso build: an average male LEO (a) comparing to an average male civilian (b) and an average female LEO (c) comparing to an average female civilian (d) as reported by Hsiao et al, (2021b).…”

“…each participant was scanned standing and seated within a Cyberware WBX 3-D wholebody scanner (Cyberware Inc., Monterey, CA;Hsiao et al, 2021b). Finally, the participant was reimbursed for their time and dismissed.…”

“…This LEO body model research is part of a national anthropometry study of LEOs conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) that includes three major components: collection of anthropometric data, 3D body-surface scanning, and LEO equipment assessment (Hsiao et al, 2021b). The anthropometric data and 3D body-surface scans were used in this paper.…”

“…The with-gear measurements were included for the 5 dimensions measured for both without and with gear (see Table 1). Technically speaking, this process may be considered an "equipped data" based body modeling as the 10 included without-gear measurements (mainly sitting height-related dimensions) would have only minor increases if they were measured with gear, while the 10 with-gear measurements are known to be significantly larger than the measurements without gear (Hsiao et al, 2021b). To simultaneously and effectively consider the 20 body dimensions (i.e., overall body size variance and body segment proportional variability) of the LEOs in cab accommodation evaluations, a principal component analysis (PCA) approach was used (Hsiao, 2013).…”