Cool Smart Vests

Plenty of pockets galore

This has to be another Brompton Bike saga in the making. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) put up a tender on last Friday (Mar 6) for a prototype of a “smart vest system”. MHA said a typical frontline police officer’s waist belt is now chock-full of gadgets galore — revolver, Taser, bullet pouch, radio set, baton and handcuffs. The bulk gets in the way sometimes, they admit, which “greatly restricts (their) ability to execute their duties”, such as when they need to chase or restrain a suspect. Like the time they had to handcuff a 6 year old at the junction of Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road.

If it's a lot of junk they want to be hauling around, why not pick up any of the photographer's vests available on eBay? And yes, Batman, they do come in black. What may be missing is the portable "body cooling system". Then again, how often do you see a policeman on foot patrolling under the hot sun? Most times you find them hunkered down in the airconditioned police neighborhood post, or cruising the streets in an airconditioned limousine.

And why is there a need for a "health status monitoring system" if these guys are certified physically fit to carry out law enforcement duties? Makes you wonder if they have need of mechanical ventilation to stay alert. Hooking them up to heart rate sensors may not be a smart idea as the online readings may spike at the presence of chio-bu in the surrounds. Unless it's due to xenophobic fear of dark skinned alcohol infused potential trouble makers.

Note also the fancy Tom Cruise type aviator glasses, also geared for health status monitoring and reporting capability. That has to be coded specification for a cool pair of expensive Google Glass, available to developers and testers at US$1,500 (or £1,000 in the UK). Watch out for a reprise of Khaw Boon Wan's justification for $2,200 foldable bicycles:

"Providing staff with bikes was thought to be a simple and effective way to raise staff productivity as it enables the officer to cover more ground and do more inspections within the same time."