Do You Know Why Glock is the Most Popular Gun for Police Departments?

Excuse me Mr. Police Officer, what gun is in your holster? 

While we can’t generalize all police departments we can clearly see which sidearm is the most popular with police departments. When you see a gun on the hip of a police officer there is a 70% chance it is a Glock. 

Why do so many police officers carry the same gun make and models?

Each town makes their own decision as to what gun they will purchase for their department. It is normal practice for Police departments to purchase the same make and model of firearms for all of their officers. Departments purchase the same make and models for a few reasons: First, in the instance an officer needs to use another officer's firearm, the weapon should feel and operate the same. Second, in the instance an officer runs his gun dry and is out of ammo, he could use a magazine from a fellow officer. Third, fixing and replacing parts on broken guns is easier if you have the spare parts or pieces available for a specific gun and not a bunch of different makes and models. 

With all of this being said, police departments will go through an evaluation period to determine which sidearm they want to use. The most popular choice is a firearm that is rugged, highly reliable, parts and pieces readily available, and last but not least, cost effective.

So, why are Glocks so popular?

Since the mid 90’s, Glock pistols offer everything police departments are looking for. When departments started to transition from revolvers and 1911s to Glocks, many police officers were less than thrilled with using a “plastic gun”. Previously all reliable handguns were made of metal with a wood grip. Glock designed a pistol that uses a striker fire system with no hammer and composed of a polymer plastic lower. These plastic guns were originally thought to be a gimmick and just a toy. However, using a polymer lower significantly lowered the cost when compared to other high capacity semi-automatic pistols. Since Glocks had such large ammo capacity and weren’t as expensive as other options, police departments were willing to test them out. 

There are numerous stories out there about the reliability of Glocks but the story I like the most is the bumper Glock story. As the story goes, 

a Glock sales rep tied a Glock to the bumper of his car and dragged it down the road to their demonstration for a variety of police departments. After introducing himself, the sales rep walked over to his car, untied the gun, walked up to the firing line, put a mag in the gun and flawlessly fired the entire magazine. After this display of reliability and durability the sales reps for the other makers packed up their guns and went home. 

I don’t know if this story is true or not but it shows the mythos behind the reliability of Glocks.

In the early 90’s police departments had a few options on their list of guns to choose from. The classic revolver, the 1911 which proved itself in WW2, the new Double Action Semi Automatics based on the original 1911s, or the new kid on the block, Glock.  

Reliability

When Glock came onto the scene, revolvers were known for being reliable while the 1911 and new Double Action Semi Automatic Pistol designs went through multiple changes to make them less prone to jamming. Even though 1911s became more reliable they were still considered less reliable than revolvers. The newer Double Action Semi Automatic Pistol designs were promising but the reliable options were pricey. The pricier DA Semi Auto’s were selected and used in the military as funds were readily available. In the late 80’s, Glock exceeded all expectations for durability and reliability of general service weapons in the initial trials. It wasn’t until they started developing a track record of being highly durable and reliable in the field, that they began to really take off as the go to gun for law enforcement. 

A side note, besides being the new plastic guns, departments were initially resistant to Glocks because of “Glock Leg”. Police officers who were used to using revolvers and 1911s with manual safeties, no longer had a manual safety in the Glock. Instead, Glock has a trigger safety device. during the transitional phase in departments it wasn’t unheard of to have police officers shoot themselves in the leg when drawing or holstering while trying to get used to the new lack of a manual safety on their sidearm. 

Ammo Capacity

The late 80’s and early 90’s saw a large increase in large capacity magazines in homes and on the streets. Law enforcement departments realized they needed to keep up with the times and couldn’t win a shootout in the streets if they ran out of ammo quicker than the bad guys. Glocks could carry 17 rounds in the magazine versus 8 round magazines for the 1911s and the 6 round capacity of the police issued revolvers. The new kid on the block solved the newest problem of ammo capacity.

Value

Law enforcement revolvers were going for around $470 in the mid 90’s, which was much less expensive than the other options. However, the low ammo capacity was seen as outdated and no longer acceptable for an officer in the 90’s. 1911’s and Glocks both cost around $580 in the mid 90’s but the 1911s had the same problem as the revolvers, they didn’t have enough ammo capacity. Therefore, Glocks were better value than the 1911s. Also, Glock is known for giving significantly better discounts to law enforcement than it’s competitors. The newer Double Action designs were reliable and had large ammo capacities, but because of the simplicity of design and polymer lower, Glocks were far less expensive than the other comparable options. When price and ammo capacity are used to determine value, Glock was considered the best value on the list. 

The Decision was easy…

Police departments, with limited funds to spend, didn’t really have a hard choice when deciding which sidearm to purchase for their departments. When they began to add everything up, Glock offered over twice the ammo capacity of the traditional options, proven to be reliable, durable, and far less expensive than the new Double Action Semi Autos. DING DING DING they had a winner! The new kid on the block, Glock. 

Fast forward 15 years and Springfield and Smith and Wesson decided to join the polymer framed, striker fire game. Now there are plenty of options for highly reliable, rugged, high capacity, and inexpensive firearms. There may be many options but there is only one original Glock. Since the mid 90’s Glocks have been and will continue to be the most chosen choice for police departments until there is a leap forward in design and function. Most police departments aren’t willing to make an overwhelming change until the next generation of firearms arrives.