LordPhoenix

The LEAs around me all have rules against carrying anything off duty that is a larger caliber than their duty weapon. Is that normal?

Patrick

Our agency forbids carry of anything smaller or weaker than .38 SPL/9mm. There is no upper limit, nor have I ever heard of a department doing this. Well, I take that back. NYPD, from what I understand, specifies only a handful of guns that may be used off duty.

LordPhoenix

The county police here carry the P-92 and cannot carry bigger than a 9 ooff duty or a magazine capacity less than 8.

Patrick

So an officer could carry a .22LR with 10+1 rounds, but not a small .45 with 6+1? Someone out there needs their head examined!

rscalzo

We allow anything in the 38 Spec,9mm or 40 S&W, revolver or D/A semi.

R.D. Scalzo
Secaucus PD
Secaucus, NJ

benelli

Anything we can carry on duty we can carry off duty as well. You could carry a .38 on duty and a .45 off duty if you wanted.

jnc36rcpd

Our officers carry a mix of .40 and 9mm SIGSauer 226's and 228's. We'll eventually transition to all .40. Off-duty/back-up policy does not allow any larger calibre than .40. I had hoped to get .45 and 357SIG authorized, but "the chief says no" (another well-reasoned management decision).

You'll find that many Maryland and Northeast/Mid-Atlantic departments are fairly conservative on weapon selection. This is also true of the federal government with the notable exception of the FBI.

rscalzo

Limiting the authorized weapons to 9mm/40cal. does one thing well....limits the types of ammo the department must purchase to on duty and weapons qualifications. Stocking five of six different types is a pain in the ass. :P

jnc36rcpd

A retired FBI agent told me about the nightmare he had ordering ammunition for his field office. The Bu authorizes a wide variety of firearms. Ammunition needs had to be projected for 9mm, .40, .45, .38, and even 10mm. This was in addition to the varied shotgun, SMG, carbine, and precision rifle needs. Overall, this must have been a real pain in the cuff case.

As it is, we have sixteen 9mm handguns fielded in our fifty officer agency. Our transition plan put the .40's in the hands of patrol officers first. The 9mm's are assigned to admin, detectives, and a few other stragglers. Most do not shoot regularly, but we need to anticipate what ammo needs they will have.

We did finally get the .380 SIG 230's previously issued to detectives who wished them off the street. Be safe.

rscalzo

We allow 38Spec/380/9mm/40 to be carried off duty. the officer must supply the ammo for any non 9/40 weapon as per our contract. We see very little in 38 or 380 any more. PPK's and Det. Specs. were popular :roll: years ago but no longer.