Knowledge always makes a difference. Knowing what to look for, in a mere hairbrush, for example, can be that difference. While cops are busy fighting crime, the crooks are even busier trying to hide it.

"I don't think there's any place on the human body where they haven't found a weapon at one time or another; people are very ingenious," says William Patsche, previously with the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC) Disguised Weapons Program.

He says there is a "tremendous amount" of weapons available on the streets, to juveniles and adults alike. "A disguised weapon is something that may be in my pocket or hand, but it's not obvious what it is," Patsche explains. "Don't overlook innocuous items. There are combs that actually contain stabbing instruments, or a hairbrush that can drive into a piece of 3/4-inch wood."

On the streets
The most popular disguised weapons today are the edge weapons, adds Lindsey Bertomen, a police firearms and military small arms instructor, and former police officer. "There are many different versions of these weapons out there that are just unbelievable."

During his time as an officer in northern California, Bertomen has seen much. Local gang members would use the car theft prevention device called The Club to camouflage a weapon. The chrome section that fits inside the tube was sharpened. "Sitting on the seat it looks like The Club, but it's actually a formidable weapon," he says. And, it's not a knife. That would be a sword."

A ballpoint pen ink filler is replaced with a spike or serrated blade. "You're not going to slice ham with it, but cut a throat, yes," says Patsche. Eyeglasses are made to hold a needle in the frame. Hairbrush and comb knives - and a newer item called the whip has now made an appearance on the waistlines of criminals. "It looks like an ordinary belt, but when you take it off, it's easy to see a slit in the belt," he adds. Inside is a braided steel cable. "It's wicked."

In addition to the edge weapons are the interesting places people are finding to hide any type of weapon - from a gun to a knife. Pager holders to cell phone holders and cell phones to the pagers themselves are being opened, transformed and rearranged.

"One of the trends that was the scariest for officers was a commercially manufactured pair of jeans which has a secret pocket," notes Bertomen. A compartment in the crotch of the jeans with a VELCRO closure actually looked like an average seam. "They called it a stash pocket. Most of the time it was drugs showing up. Obviously the other thing was weapons."

Water bottles, oil cans, "just about any type of product can be sold as safes," says Patsche. "That's what they were designed for, but needless to say, the more dishonest members of society have found other uses for them."

A pair of tennis shoes on the consumer market has a concealed compartment in the sole, as a place for runners to put their driver's licenses, keys, etc. "But, I've taken that shoe to several runners and they said there is no way they would wear this," says Patsche. Instead, items far more dangerous than plastic IDs are being hidden there.

A chance meeting at a conference in Seattle led to an interesting discovery for Patsche. "I met a gentleman from the United Kingdom and he told me he was at a Sussex airport when an individual tried to smuggle a hand grenade through."

The suspect had taken a body massager apart, placed the grenade inside, reassembled the device, put it back in its original box and lined the inside of the box with lead foil. "Had he stopped right there, there's a possibility it would have gone through without being caught," Patsche says. For some unknown reason, the man bought four circuit boards and taped them to the outside of the box. "Why? We can't figure this," Patsche explains. When the airline screener saw the circuit boards, he questioned them and found the grenade.

Another concealment trend Bertomen has seen is the suspect himself not carrying the weapon, but his female companion. This, he says, is popular in California and the larger metropolis' around the country. "So, search the female," is his lesson.

In addition to edge weapons, pistols are being hid in everything from lipstick cases to reading magazines. The pen gun is extremely popular as is the cane gun, which contains a hollow metal barrel. Officers also can not dismiss other disguised gun possibilities, from a tire iron or handlebar.

Lessons to be learned
"Your best weapon against any type of threat is training," says Bertomen. "It will always be training."

"Most agencies do not do enough training," he adds. "They do not spend the dollars on the training; they don't concentrate their training in the right direction and they don't take it seriously, and it's the most important thing they can have.

"There's no way you're going to learn all the different concealable weapons, although you will learn trends. But, what you learn from interaction with other officers is how they react on the sly, to finding something. Is that handy? Well, absolutely."

The OLETC recently merged with the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC) under the National Institute of Justice, in organizing the disguised weapons program Patsche had previously headed prior to retiring. OLETC's interim director Steve Morrison says his vision for the newly merged program is to present workshops at all national conferences, leading to increased educational opportunities for law enforcement professionals.

The classes Patsche used to present are still being offered today and his more than 400 slides are in the process of being reformatted for the electronic age. This database of disguised weapons will be available online soon and a resource for officers.

To collect this data, Patsche sent e-mails to law enforcement agencies which then sent him slides and photographs of weapons they had confiscated through the years. Some actual items were donated. He then contacted the FBI and ATF. "They were kind enough to let me into their disguised weapons room with a camera," he notes. Patsche went to Quantico and photographed everything the FBI had.

The class is restricted to law enforcement corrections and any legitimate security organization. The TSA and FAA have also been loyal students, especially since 9/11. Safety of officers and passengers is priority, as is keeping weapons off aircraft.

Patsche also has taught a modified version for school groups. "The maintenance people know the buildings," he explains. "And the drivers, they're first on scene. They see the kids when they get on the bus."

For agencies within a reasonable travel area from West Virginia, the program is free. Outside of the immediate area, expenses are recovered for only travel. To learn more, visit www.oletc.org.

Officers also need to have extensive training on search techniques. "Part of their training needs to be to not only know and understand the search techniques, but there are times to think when something's wrong, using common sense," says Bertomen. "That goes with the training."

While working at a jail facility as a deputy sheriff and searching a female inmate, Bertomen came upon a weapon in her bra. "It was a spring steel needle that had a handle on it, and just pulled through as an underwire," he recalls.

"Those are so common because they are in places people don't think you'll search," says Patsche. "And quite often they're correct."

Knowing when and where to search is a large part of the training aspect. Lawsuits are rampant and every officer is subject to them, especially during suspect searches. "There is a balance officers must maintain for their own personal safety as well," says Bertomen.

A phenomenon called the affirtive glance is not enough for probable cause, he adds, but will give an officer some indication as to whether a suspect is carrying a weapon. "There are a lot of judgements you can make on a person just by what they are looking at," he says.

Another program Bertomen recommends is Street Survival from Calibre Press. This company offers trainings nationwide year round. "I can tell you I've been to a Street Survival seminar and it kept me alive in a lot of different situations," he adds.

In 2005, Street Survival celebrated 25 years. In its seminars, scenarios demonstrate to students how to mentally and physically prepare for any situation. They also learn how to respond to aggressive suspects. Street Survival's goal is to change the way officers approach their jobs as well as help them stay safe. Students must be a current law enforcement officer to attend the trainings. For more information on locations and dates, visit www.calibrepress.com.

"It's expensive, but worth every dime," relates Bertomen. "Our police union sent us to the training. Our agency didn't want to, but the union did." He notes that the key to securing funding is the presence of savvy administrators who look to create training environments. Grant funding is available for those who pursue it. "The most important thing officers get from training is how to train."

Information is power
"The other part is information," says Bertomen. "Information is an officer's most powerful asset right now."

Law enforcement needs to know where the information sources are. In California, he says, a system is set up for agencies to contact each other with important knowledge of trends, weapons, etc. on the streets.

On a more informal level, officers need to network with each other constantly. "This is an important point for any police administrator," Bertomen says. "They need to understand that when they send an officer off to training, they are not just training them on the single subject they were sent for."

In a recent training seminar on computers, Bertomen was sharing ideas with colleagues on holsters. "The point is that officers exchange ideas and the unique information relating to their profession," he says. "And that's very important. You're getting twice your dollar sending an officer to some kind of training so they talk with officers from other agencies."

Officers who do intake for corrections facilities are harboring a wealth of information on handmade weapons that may be on the streets.

Carrying a shank made from a piece of metal with a tape-wrapped handle can be considered unusual with the diverse and easily accessible weapons today. But, when a convicted criminal is released and his mindset is not on guns and knives, which are now readily available to him, it seems normal.

"He had been habituated so much to carrying a jail-made weapons that it never occurred to him to go out and get something that was readily and legally available to him," says Bertomen.

Corrections officers are also at the forefront of items coming into prisons, via family and friends' visits to the facility. "On the corrections side, contraband control is our main priority," says Morrison. "Knowing what exists before they make it inside the secure area is critical."

Relying on the knowledge of fellow law enforcement professionals is a proactive and easy way to learn and be on top of this dangerous game.

"Most officers are familiar with disguised weapons, but it has become more prominent in recent years," says Patsche. "I've shown my presentation to tactical officers and they said, "Yeah, we knew things were being disguised, but we just didn't know how many items there were."

Officers need to be aware of the many types of weapons which may bypass even the most sophisticated metal detection equipment. Oftentimes, these weapons can be purchased commercially or even made from household items. "If you were to outlaw a weapon that is the most dangerous thing for a person to have out on the streets, I would say you probably should outlaw frying pans," says Bertomen with a laugh. "Because, as a police officer out on the street, I can tell you a frying pan does a whole bunch more damage than a 357 most of the time."