Expandable baton
Also known as: telescopic baton, collapsible baton, tactical baton, spring cosh, extendable, ASP
A police baton of an outer tube and two or three sliding sections that snap open and lock by friction; collapsed it measures 15 to 25 cm.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
The telescopic or expandable baton is a police striking weapon that can be carried collapsed. In English it is called a collapsible, telescopic, tactical, or extendable baton, also a spring cosh. It is commonly also called an ASP after the company Armament Systems and Procedures, which has made police equipment since 1976; its abbreviation caught on in police practice as a term for expandable batons in general. An early form of the expandable baton was the Japanese tokushu keibō of the 1960s, prompted by the police weapon jitte. The baton consists of a cylindrical outer tube, inside which there are usually two or three sliding sections. Collapsed it measures 150 to 250 mm. The sections are usually of steel; lighter models have them made of aluminum alloy. The baton is opened by a sharp swing while collapsed: inertia extends the sections, and they lock by friction. Some versions with a mechanical lock can also be opened by simply pulling the sections apart. Most officers in British forces are issued the expandable baton: when a situation suddenly escalates it can be deployed quickly, otherwise it stays neatly stowed.