BehindBlueI's
Grandmaster
- Oct 3, 2012
- 25,895
- 113
I'm reading a book on the Shanghai Municipal Police Reserve Unit ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NIUGG5M/ ) and learned that in an effort to identify someone shot by the police, the bullets had a special stamp. Rifle bullets had the stamp on the base, pistol bullets on the side. I suppose without modern tool mark comparison, that's the way it would have to be done. I wonder if this late 1920's implementation was the earliest use of special stamping to identify bullets after they were fired.
I can't find a good picture of one online, this is about the best one:
The book itself is pretty interesting. One thing I found rather funny is the debate today on if Sihks should be able to wear a turban in military or police uniform. For the SMP, Sihks were specifically sought after because they were so much taller than the Chinese, and the turban made them look even taller, so they were a very intimidating presence.
Fun facts (you could get your hair pulled for speeding, for example, or if you were British your company could fire you for marrying if you hadn't hit a certain salary level yet...) aside, the photos of the equipment they used is fascinating. Early body armor and ballistic shields for entries and searches, "Red Maria" which was a riot response vehicle with armor, cupolas, and flags and lights for signaling, etc. The pre-cursors for both modern riot response and SWAT response is evident.
I can't find a good picture of one online, this is about the best one:
The book itself is pretty interesting. One thing I found rather funny is the debate today on if Sihks should be able to wear a turban in military or police uniform. For the SMP, Sihks were specifically sought after because they were so much taller than the Chinese, and the turban made them look even taller, so they were a very intimidating presence.
Fun facts (you could get your hair pulled for speeding, for example, or if you were British your company could fire you for marrying if you hadn't hit a certain salary level yet...) aside, the photos of the equipment they used is fascinating. Early body armor and ballistic shields for entries and searches, "Red Maria" which was a riot response vehicle with armor, cupolas, and flags and lights for signaling, etc. The pre-cursors for both modern riot response and SWAT response is evident.
