epaulettes indicating their respective roles. Bronze commanders wear yellow epaulettes, inspectors wear red epaulettes, sergeants wear white epaulettes, tactical advisors wear blue epaulettes, medics wear green epaulettes and evidence gathering officers have orange epaulettes. Equipment As part of standard issue Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), officers carry Sepura TETRA radios, rigid handcuffs, PAVA spray and an extendible friction lock baton. Officers also have access to first aid kits, limb restraints and torches. Traffic units, particularly officers performing collision investigation duties, use laser plotting devices to accurately survey collision sights and carry devices that can be used to measure road friction and deceleration values. Facilities As of 2021, there are 11 police stations in the West Midlands Police force area, including Lloyd House in Birmingham, the force headquarters. There are also two custody suites in Birmingham. The NPAS helicopter operates from a base at Birmingham Airport in Solihull. Large scale policing demonstrations such as protest marches and football matches are coordinated from the Events Control Suite (ECS) in Birmingham. Public Order courses are hosted at the regional training centre which consists of a converted aircraft hangar on the RAF Cosford site near Telford. The site has facilities allowing officers to experience riot situations including dealing with 'Emotionally Disturbed Person' scenarios during which they are subject to attacks by role playing actors wielding weapons. West Midlands Police operate a Custody Visiting Scheme under which independent representatives from local communities are able to access detention facilities to observe, comment and report upon the welfare and treatment of detained persons. Visits are conducted at random by volunteers working in pairs who then write a report on the feedback gathered during their visit. In 2017 a joint inspection of the force's custody suites was conducted by HMIC and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons. West Midlands Police Federation The West Midlands Police Federation is a part of the Police Federation of England and Wales, which is the representative body for every police officer below the rank of superintendent. Representatives of the Federation are elected for three year terms and must be serving police officers. Police officers are restricted by their regulations from striking and from taking part in politics, hence the Federation represents their interests and negotiates on their behalf in relation to pay, conditions and pensions. The Federation is funded by a monthly subscription paid from officers' salaries and provides representation and advice to officers