Anyone can wear police footwear. Although police officers are required to wear boots or shoes of a certain type, that same footwear is also required by other types of jobs, as well. There are many jobs where the feet need added protection, and the best steel toe boots are the type of protection needed. Of people wearing a good, protective pair of work boots or shoes, 85% of actual injuries happened on a part of the foot that the shoe did not cover.
Police footwear, as well as other heavy duty work boots, will typically be constructed of certain materials, specifically for their protective qualities. Military combat boots, composite toe boots, high traction work boots, and others are all types of durable footwear that are highly recommended for jobs requiring that extra protection for the feet. Many employers at workplaces where this type of extra protection is required with foot the bill, so to speak, for protective shoes for each worker. Statistics show that each year about $70 will be spent on protective footwear per each employee.
For many types of jobs, special emphasis is placed on footwear because of the nature of the work. Police footwear must be very specific in its makeup and durability. The same holds true for jobs where slippery surfaces are a common occurrence, where there could be nails or other exposed causes of possible injury to the foot, jobs where temperatures are consistently cold, and jobs where there could be the possibility of electrical charges. There are quite a number of brands of work boots on the market at reasonable prices that have been constructed with all of this mind. All or most brands will, in addition, provide footwear that is both waterproof and comfortable as well. Comfortable boots are a must when they are being worn for so many hours a day. On average, a person will take about 10,000 steps each day, as compared to a laborer, or a construction worker, who could walk up to 30,000 steps a day or more.
Footwear manufacturing companies have worked hard in order to provide workers with the comfort, protection, and durability they need, all together in each type of work boots or shoes they manufacture. Work boots can be constructed with a safety toe of aluminum alloy, which is as strong as a steel toe, but is much lighter. Protective boots and shoes that are best for construction workers, warehouse workers, electricians, and many more labor intense jobs will have a safety toe and padding on the inside for extra comfort. Police footwear, as well, will usually require the extra comfort and protection these types of boots offer.
Composite toe boots are becoming a popular choice of footwear in the workplace. There are jobs that require their workers to wear only steel toe work boots; however, when there is a choice, composite toe has some advantages. Composite is not made of metal. Its construction can be either fiberglass, Kevlar, carbon fiber, or plastic, which makes it an excellent candidate for jobs where the wearer is required to go through a metal detector.
Composite toe boots are a better fit for people who work outdoors in the elements as well. Because the toe does not contain metal, the feet stay more comfortable in extreme temperatures, either cold or heat. Metal in the shoe will cause the wearer’s feet to feel colder in the cold weather, and to feel more heat in the hot weather.
Electricians, or anyone working around electrical wiring, typically should not be wearing anything that contains a material such as metal that would conduct electricity. The composite toe boot is obviously a safer choice for that type of work.
Steel toe boots, however, do have their advantages! Although the composite toe is an extremely strong and durable material, steel is a bit stronger. The fact remains that steel toe boots have their reputation of having protected the feet of millions of workers throughout the years and have remained tried and true. Probably one of the main reasons why many workers prefer this type of footwear is because of the price. Steel toe boots cost less, as a rule, than do composite toe boots because they cost less to manufacture.