# What’s with this key a cop is wearing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702 "2022-05-19T17:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/21 "2022-05-20T14:42:57Z")
Traffic Control Box: [https://www.apx-enclosures.com/applications/traffic](https://www.apx-enclosures.com/applications/traffic) Key to the Boxes: [https://www.ankifyz.com/index.php?main\_page=product\_info&products\_id=523307](https://www.ankifyz.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=523307) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/22 "2022-05-20T15:15:05Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > That’s a key to a Traffic Control Cabinet. Then their equipment must be dated. Our boxes here take a cylindrical key. But I wonder why he’s walking around with it. We have to call our states DOT before we can even remove the key from the Key Master. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/23 "2022-05-20T19:24:12Z")
I guess I haven’t paid attention, do cops normally have things hanging from their epaulettes? Seems the norm for APD, here are a couple of other pics. These look like whistles and the type of handcuff key that I think of. [![](https://d21yqjvcoayho7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rschultz.jpg) ](https://d21yqjvcoayho7.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rschultz.jpg) This memorial pic for an officer seems to have the same setup as the OP, but the pic is from 2015. [![](https://www.krqe.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2021/07/Daniel-Webster.jpg) ](https://www.krqe.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2021/07/Daniel-Webster.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/24 "2022-05-20T21:13:16Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I guess I haven’t paid attention, do cops normally have things hanging from their epaulettes? A whistle chain (with the actual whistle inside the shirt pocket) and a radio mic, occasionally a pair of sunglasses. But a key looks odd to me. There is a specific belt keeper for that. But uniform styles do vary by location. Some departments have large strap keepers that go over the shoulder front to back. Makes them look like they’re invading Poland. I would think in a fight that’s the first thing a bad guy would grab at. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/25 "2022-05-20T21:21:33Z")
So the whistles in these pics are on a retractable lanyard? Pull it out to whistle, let go and it reels back into place? Doesn’t seem like a very secure setup, unless the reel is built into the uniform. Looks like that would come off pretty easy in a struggle. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/26 "2022-05-20T21:23:29Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > {…} Some departments have large strap keepers that go over the shoulder front to back. {…} Sam Browne belt? > **[Sam Browne belt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Browne_belt)** > > The Sam Browne belt is a leather belt with a supporting strap that passes over the right shoulder, worn by military and police officers. It is named after Sir Samuel J. Browne (1824–1901), the British Indian Army general who invented it. > General Sir Samuel James Browne was a 19th-century British Indian Army officer who had lost his left arm to a sword cut during the Sepoy Rebellion; this made it difficult for him to draw his sword, because the left hand was typically used to steady the scabbard ... It is named after Sir Samuel J. Browne (1824–1901), the, eventually one armed, British Indian Army general who invented it. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/27 "2022-05-20T22:47:42Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > So the whistles in these pics are on a retractable lanyard? It looks like the officers in the picture have retractors. I have mine on a chain. It hooks on the epaulet and hangs down into my shirt pocket. ---
**Author:** ![AZRob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/azrob/32/3003_2.png) [@AZRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZRob)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/28 "2022-05-25T18:33:36Z")
It’s a traffic box key for use to get to the first set of control switches. This lets you run stop time on the traffic lights. Getting to the inside where there are more controls takes the regular tumbler key like those on your door at home. I turned mine in when I retired so I can’t send a picture. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/29 "2022-05-26T03:27:50Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > So the whistles in these pics are on a retractable lanyard? Pull it out to whistle, let go and it reels back into place? Doesn’t seem like a very secure setup, unless the reel is built into the uniform. Looks like that would come off pretty easy in a struggle. You want it to come off easily in a struggle. If a bad guy got a hold of it over the officer’s left shoulder & it didn’t break off easily the retractable leash would now be across the officer’s neck. Upon enlarging the picture, they just look like standard plastic badge holders - no leash, so even if it somehow got caught on the epaulet & didn’t come off it’s not long enough to go across the officer’s neck. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/30 "2022-05-27T22:08:57Z")
It appears to be one bitting of a key for a vintage/antique Gamewell brand lock and they appear to be used by both police and firefighters. [https://www.google.com/search?q=vintage+gamewell++key+police&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjcndSo2ID4AhVhD1kFHZ4jCnsQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=vintage+gamewell++key+police&gs\_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1AAWK0lYNMsaAFwAHgAgAFHiAHoA5IBATiYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=a0uRYpy8LuGe5NoPnseo2Ac&bih=586&biw=1262&hl=en](https://www.google.com/search?q=vintage+gamewell++key+police&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjcndSo2ID4AhVhD1kFHZ4jCnsQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=vintage+gamewell++key+police&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1AAWK0lYNMsaAFwAHgAgAFHiAHoA5IBATiYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=a0uRYpy8LuGe5NoPnseo2Ac&bih=586&biw=1262&hl=en) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/31 "2022-06-02T16:25:21Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Doesn’t seem like a very secure setup, unless the reel is built into the uniform. How secure does a whistle need to be? ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702/32 "2022-06-02T21:13:28Z")
Not the whistle, the handcuff key that’s on the same reel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-with-this-key-a-cop-is-wearing/964702.md?page=1)