Name/Title
Sussex Police Monadnock telescopic baton and holder c2001 - 2019Entry/Object ID
2577Description
Black metal three draw auto lock telescopic baton with foam grip, release button in top of handle and plastic covered tip. Marked at end of handle "Monadnock Fitzwilliam NH". Together with a black plastic and leather telescopic baton holder, with swivel mounting, stud fastening top security loop, bottom stud fastening loop and large leather belt loop to rear. Marked to rear "Peter Jones (ILG) Ltd Design Right" and on stud fasteners "Peter Jones ILG Ltd"Use
For an officer to use for self defenceContext
Sussex Police introduced the Monadnock PR24 side handled baton in 1995, with the majority of officers carrying the solid version on a belt loop attached to the then standard issue thin leather trouser/skirt belt. However a number of problems became apparent with these batons. They were seen as aggressive and were awkward to carry, they banged on officer's legs and were difficult to run with on a belt. They were also not securely attached to their holders and frequently officers found them falling out off of them or even left them behind after attending calls ! Of more concern was that to be used to their full capabilities officers required considerably more training and practice than was possible.
As a result in 2000-2001 Sussex Police recalled the PR24 batons and began to train and issue officers with a telescopic baton sometimes referred to as an "Asp". Such batons had been available to some specialist officers in Sussex previously but had been of a friction lock design with made them tricky to retract. They also tended to have solid metal tips which could cause unnecessary injury.
The batons chosen to replace the PR24s were made by the same American company, Monadnock, and could easily be carried in a belt holder. These 91 series batons were formed of three sections, could be extended with a flick of the wrist. and had an unlocking button at the end of the handle, an improvement over previous simple friction lock types. What appealed to Sussex Police about the Monadnock version was that rather than having just a solid metal tip, they had a plastic cover over it that was thought to result in lesser injuries to anyone struck with a baton.
These batons and the Peter Jones holders for them were still being issued in Sussex in 2019, although by then other more modern batons had begun to be used as well. Along with new style batons came different purpose made holders, some of which were designed to extend the baton as it was taken out of the holder.