Armour

Standard armour for riot officers is actually directly based on that of Imperial Stormtroopers, with heavy influences from the old Coruscant Guard's armour. A 24-piece, rather than 18-piece, shell of reinforced plasteel over a black two piece climate-controlled body glove. The body glove is fire retardant and heavily padded to provide excellent protection against melee attacks from fists, knives and blunt weaponry, as well as light shrapnel. The climate controlled glove is an important psychological tool, allowing officers to maintain their cool and stay on station in spite of heat or smoke — factors that would affect unarmoured rioters and weaken their resolve.

The armour differs from that of a Stormtrooper in that it offers greater protection, although at a reduced mobility. Additional plates and a reshaped design protect vulnerable seams and joints while granting additional protection against any hostile weaponry. The armour is always painted matte black, again for psychological reasons — when deployed en masse officers in riot armour will be a formidable sight and one any crowd is likely to avoid.

Shields

Although a primitive tool the shield is very effective. Officers on riot control will usually be armed with a force pike or staff/baton to ward away protesters and crowds. In their free hand they will hold a body length transparisteel shield. When combined with those of other officers it is possible to create an immovable wall that can be used in an advance, to push crowds away, in a retreat, to prevent any breakthroughs, or to maintain a stationary line. It offers increased protection to those officers sheltering behind it, particularly lighter armoured officers tasked with making arrests and removing suspects.

Batons

Rubber batons are most common: the standard baton is about 1.5 inches diameter and slightly over 2 feet long. However other variants of hand-held baton are common, particularly against more violent crowds. On these occasions officers will be armed with Controller FP force pikes or the more popular Taser Staff — both non lethal weapons with a lethal option, capable of immobilsing targets from behind a shield wall, as well as being easily used and wielded in a melee.

Helmets

The standard riot helmet is a component part of the armour, matte black and made largely of plasteel. It is also a highly advanced piece of technology. All hazardous particulates are screened by the filters in the helmet, self-sealing when toxic gases are detected and engaging the inbuilt rebreather. While the helmet filters all gases used by the officers themselves, there is also a two-hour backup oxygen supply in case of failure or attack with an unknown agent.

High powered comlinks allow officers to maintain communications with central command, despite their usually dispersed groupings.

Tracking beacons also relay signals back to command centres allowing a crowds movements to be tracked and enforcement units to be co-ordinated. The helmets viewplate incorporates full optic sensors covering the infrared, ultraviolet and night vision ranges, as well as a mounted lamp capable of producing a pulsing light, capable of blinding and disorientating a target.