Flashlights are a very useful tool for outdoor and security features.
Flashlights provide bright light to dark places. They can brighten up dark corners as well as pierce light beams far into the space.
The police are a special force with a special assignment and require special tools for work.
In other to maintain a distinction between the police torch and the ones used by the civil populace, a flashlight with some unique features is been recommended for police use.
A high-quality rechargeable flashlight will be ideal for the police.
In this article, we will explain what type of flashlights for police and how many lumens such flashlights should have.
What Flashlights Do Cops Use?
A typical police flashlight is such that has a zoomable, very bright, tactical light with high lumens that can light up an entire room.
It has to be strong, durable, and able to withstand falls or sudden drops without cracking.
The police use tactical flashlights as law enforcement agents.
They use a flashlight that is small and portable, can be slipped into a bag, pocket, leather case, or duty belt.
How Many Lumens Are Police Flashlights?
Opinions differ on what exactly are the right lumens for a police flashlight. Experts can hardly settle for an ideal police torch.
However, studies have shown that a police flashlight should have some special features that can perform the tasks required in curbing crime and securing the environment.
The lumen is the amount of energy and power emitted by the light. It is used to describe the light’s brightness.
A flashlight with up to 300 lumens is a very bright flashlight. Some flashlights can go up to 1000 lumens.
Yet, some other flashlights can be above 3000 lumens. These are ultra-super bright flashlights.
The police use flashlights of about 3000 – 4000 lumens, depending on the nature of the duty of the cop.
Such lights if flashed directly on a suspect, can cause a temporary loss of sight. The longer the light stays on the suspect’s face, the longer the experience of sudden blindness.
A typical police flashlight should be anything from 3100 lumens and above.
Benefits of Using a High Lumens Police Flashlights
The police need a high lumen flashlight for several reasons.
The police usually face emergencies due to the nature of their work. They may have to chase a suspect to dark places or at nighttime.
A flashlight beam that can travel long distances will allow the policeman to see far into distant space and illuminate dark areas.
If a suspected criminal is hiding in a remote corner, especially those dealing with illicit drugs, the police often use flashlights to light up such hideouts.
They will need a flashlight to cause sudden and temporary blindness to a suspected criminal so that the suspect may not cause any harm or launch an attack on the policeman.
Flashlights can be used for self-defense, search and rescue operations.
How to Choose the Right Lumen Police Flashlights?
When choosing the lumens for a police flashlight or tactical flashlight, there are some factors you need to consider.
1. What is Your Purpose?
There are various options available to you, depending on your need. The first factor is the purpose.
For normal search and rescue police operations, a flashlight of 1000 lumens is ideal.
Though flashlights with a higher amount of lumens may be expensive, if you are buoyant in cash, you can consider buying one that can boast 3000 lumens, which is bright enough to illuminate any dark distant space and also cause sudden blindness to any suspected criminal.
2. What is the Beam Distance of the Tactical Flashlights?
The beam distance of the tactical flashlight is the distance from the flashlight to the final focal point of the illumination.
It’s the traveling distance of the light beam. The beam distance can be calculated from peak beam intensity.
In calculating the beam distance, the ANSI FL standard is 0.25 lux of illumination.
The best distance for tactical flashlights is about 20 meters or more.
3. What Wattage Should be Considered for Police Flashlights?
When choosing a police flashlight, wattage is a very essential factor to be considered. There is a great difference between wattage and lumens.
The watts indicate the amount of energy a light uses to produce light, while the lumens are used to describe the total amount of light emitted by the light source.
Meaning that a bulb can have high wattage, yet emits fewer lumens of light.
However, the most efficient energy-saving light bulbs produce the highest lumens (light) using the least (watts) of electricity.
When it comes to police flashlights, wattage matters. The watts are the amount of energy used by the light source.
Energy-saving LED light bulbs with low wattages should be considered when choosing your police flashlight.
For example, a traditional 100 watts light bulb will be equivalent to 12 watts using an LED light bulb.
LED light bulbs are energy-saving light bulbs and should be given priority when buying police flashlights.
Which Brand Makes the Best Police Flashlights with High Lumens?
1. GearLight
GearLight flashlight is a tactical flashlight that often comes in pairs. Specifically built for outdoors such as camping, hiking, dog walking, etc., and home and indoor convenience, the GearLight is a general-purpose flashlight.
Equipped with a belt clip, adjustable focus, water resistance, and one lighting mode, this tactical high-quality light is perfect for your emergencies and your survival kit.
Convenient and easy to use, the GearLight flashlight is engineered for any situation. Made from high-quality materials, your GearLight is strong, durable, and drop resistant up to 10ft.
Fitted with two battery options – three AAA batteries or one 18560 battery, the flashlight features two zoom modes. The wide mode is for a larger beam while the focus zoom is for a smaller beam.
With GearLight – powerful lights for indoor and outdoor uses, you have a blaze of light in your hand.
This brand ticks all the boxes as it ranks among the best police flashlights with high lumens.
2. Streamlight
One name that has carved a niche for itself in the flashlight domain is the Streamlight.
An excellent brand, having a considerable wide range of products to choose from to meet your need.
From emergencies to nightshifts, or power outages, your handheld Streamlight flashlight provides a unique companion everywhere you go. Streamlight is not in short supply in models.
In terms of lumens and candela, the Streamlight is got you covered.
Streamlight boasts flashlights that have up to 3500 lumens and 5100 lumens. They are a trusted brand among emergency professionals and industry players.
If you are looking for a flashlight to mount on a weapon, for security, for search and rescue, or to fight fires, the Streamlight is a preferred brand.
FAQs
1. How many lumens of a police flashlight to blind an attacker?
Depending on the distance, a police flashlight with over 300 lumens is enough to temporarily blind an attacker, especially if the attacker is within close range.
However, security experts say that you need about 1000 lumens to disrupt the visibility of an attacker.
2. Why do police use red flashlights?
In terms of intensity, white lights are harsher than red lights.
Police use red lights to enable them to recover quickly from the blinding effects of the white flashlight.
Because police are quick response people, they need the quickest time to recover from a powerful flashlight which a normal white bright light provides.
Police officers can’t afford to wait for their eyes to adjust to darkness which takes several seconds.
