From inside the Kenner police complex multiple agents are running down the stairs with loaded pistols as they make there way outside.. A female officer rapidly runs down the stairs as she joins her left hand with her right, Her police badge bounces and shakes furiously from off her chest) Others follow behind including three male officers with there guns held out in front of them.. A loud rumbling of fast moving feet is heard - A male officer shouts out loudly "Come on Come on! from a distance..A jingling of hand cuffs, police belts and other metal objects is heard as the police descend the stairs.. American police officers often carry more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) of equipment. Many police officers develop health conditions, such as chronic back problems, as a result of this. The amount of equipment carried by uniformed officers has grown considerably since the 1950s, when it basically consisted of a handgun in a holster, handcuffs, and a nightstick. The holster was attached to a Sam Browne belt—a wide belt, usually made of leather, supported by a strap extending diagonally over the right shoulder. The belt was ill-adapted to changes in other police equipment, however, and its use declined in the late 20th century. Today, the belts worn by uniformed police officers in urban North America  typically have a number of holsters or cases for carrying an automatic pistol, spare clips of ammunition, metal and plastic handcuffs, a portable radio, pepper spray, a collapsible baton, and a video microphone transmitter (if the officer’s car contains a camera). A clipboard with spare report forms also is standard equipment. In addition, many police officers carry first-aid kits and other medical equipment, such as a defibrillator, in their patrol cars; they also may carry a portable breath analyzer for testing drivers who may be intoxicated. To this basic equipment many police officers add cell phones or pagers, flashlights, binoculars, tape recorders, portable scanners, plastic gloves, and extra weapons (e.g., a spare gun, a confiscated knife, a blackjack, or brass knuckles). The practice of bearing extra weapons, being of questionable legality, is mostly done surreptitiously, making it difficult to assess how extensive it is. However, it has been acknowledged by most police researchers. Finally, an essential piece of equipment is the bullet proof vest which covers the torso of the officer and is worn either over or under the uniform shirt. Many such vests are made with the fibre Kevlar, which is capable of stopping most handgun projectiles and many types of knives. More robust vests, made of ceramic and fibre combinations that can withstand rifle fire, are used in bomb-disposal operations. The quantity and diversity of equipment carried by police officers naturally depend on the financial resources allocated to police forces. North American police forces are generally better equipped than police forces in most other parts of the world; indeed, their equipment levels tend to be treated as benchmarks,that other forces try to meet. Nevertheless, with the important exception of firearms, police equipment throughout the world is becoming increasingly standardized. Police officers, whether plain-clothed or uniformed, carry a variety of equipment with them on service calls. Police in uniform carry much more equipment than those in plain clothes, and members of special operations teams, such as SWAT and crowd-control units, carry even more, sometimes including full body armour complete with helmet, leg pads, and shield.