Police Locker Essentials [Plus Our Top Tips]

Ever wondered what you need to store in your police locker? Don’t worry, we will take you through everything we store in ours and that we recommend for you to store in yours. Don’t get caught out! We will also take you through how to organise your locker to make sure you get the most out of your space and how to keep it smelling clean and fresh.

What Should I Store In My Locker

As a police officer, you never know what situation you may find yourself in. Some of my personal favourites have been finding myself in a flea infested house and being with a colleague when he had a bucket of urine poured over his head when we were going up a stairwell in a block of flats.

In both scenarios, we were glad of a change of kit in our lockers.

Other colleagues have stood in feces, ripped clothing climbing over walls, have dived into rivers, as you will be very aware, the role of a police officer is not predictable.

On a happier note, if you work in a uniformed role, you may never know when you will get the opportunity to work in plain clothes, don’t let this opportunity pass you by, by not having the right kit with you.

Our Police Locker Essentials

Other than all of your kit, here are our recommendations as to what you should keep in your police locker.

Full change of uniform

• Boots (either buy a cheap spare pair or demote your pld ones to be your spare pair)
• Trousers
• Shirt / tee-shirt
• Spare fleece
• Spare underwear (yes, you never know!)

Full ‘plain clothes’

• Trainers
• Underwear
• Trousers
• Top
• Hoodie / jacket (think about pockets to keep your kit)

Wash Bag

• A microfibre towel (these are compact and dry quickly)
• Mini shower gell
• Mini shampoo
• Mini moisturiser
• Deoderant
• Scent (not essential!)

Medication

• Paracetamol
• Antihistamines (inc cream if you use this)
• Any medications you may need to take during your shift

Cosmetics

• Spare glasses
• Spare contact lenses
• Spare make up (you never know when you may need to do a piece to camera!)
• Baby wipes / face wipes (can be essential for a quick clean up)

Stationary

• Spare pens / note paper
• Phone charger
• Power bank

How To Organise Your Locker

We all know space is at a premium, so keeping your locker organised is essential. By keeping your locker organised you will be able to maximise your space and not

A tough hook for your stab vest is essential. If you have ever tried hanging it on a regular hanger, you will know that they soon break.

Vac pac your spare kit and your plain clothes, these can be stored on a shelf flat, or stood up on one end depending on the shape of your locker. This can sit with your wash bag.

Keep your spare glasses and medication in a cosmetics bag or a pencil case, this will keep everything organised and together.

If you want to be super organised, you can use a magnetic locker organiser to store all of your bits like PAVA/CS, pens, handcuffs, charging cables, stationary etc. The back of your locker door can be a waste otherwise.

How To Keep Your Locker Smelling Fresh

Here are some of our top tips for keeping your locker smelling fresh.

TIP #1 – Vac Pack Your Spare Kit

This is a simple one. In order to keep your spare kit or your plain clothes smelling fresh and keeping any dampness off them, store them in a vac pack. This way they will not take up so much room in your locker.

If you add a dryer sheet into the vac pack before you seal it, this will help too.

TIP #2 – Fabreeze Is Your Friend

Spray your stab vest with Fabreeze (or a similar product) when you take it off, which will keep it smelling fresh, especially in the warm summer months.

TIP #3 – Wash Your Kit Every Quater

Take all of your jackets, stab vest etc home every quarter and wash it all. Set an alarm in your phone as a reminder.

TIP #4 – Use Laundry Beads

Put some laundry beads into an organza style bag and hand these in your locker to keep everything smelling fresh. They will also absorb some of the moisture out of air in order to keep your locker dry and fresh

TIP #5 – Clean Out Your Locker

Let’s be realistic, this isn’t going to happen more than once a year. Plan to go in an hour early and take everything out of your locker and take the opportunity to clear out any rubbish that has accumulated.

Properly dispose of any official documentation. Give the locker a wipe done and you will maintain a clean and fresh smelling locker.

Set an annual reminder on your phone to complete this.

There you have it, a round up of all of the essentials that we keep in our police lockers, as well as our top tips for keeping your locker organised and clean. Our advice, start off with good habits and you will keep them going for your whole career.