I’m always kind of fascinated by notebooks that are produced for very specific purposes. Here’s a great example:
These are among the products made by a company called Triform, apparently for Canadian police officers and security guards. Why do they need these specific notebooks? Do individual officers have to purchase these themselves? Why? Wouldn’t you think the government would just buy them in bulk? Do other companies make them or is Triform the exclusive supplier? I don’t know the answers to any of these questions, but I’m tempted to call their 800 number and ask!
They also make a few other specialty notebooks, including “Workplace Health and Safety Member’s Notebook,” which contains sections for all this interesting stuff:
- Personal Title Page
- Work Refusal Flowchart
- Workplace Safety & Insurance Board Accident Reporting Poster details
- JHSC Meeting Dates
- Critical Injuries
- Note-taking Hints & Report Writing
- Investigation Hints & Effictive Investigations
- Workplace Inspections General Physical Conditions
- OHSA Definitions
- Metric Conversion (Height & Weight)
- Contacts: Names, Addresses, Telephone, Fax, Pager, Cellular, E-mail Numbers
- First Aid
Haven’t you always wanted a notebook with a “work refusal flowchart” in it? Now you can have one, for $4.75 (Canadian dollars).
I dont know the answers to any of your questions either… although Im not sure if the answers make any difference. Im willing to assume the Canadian Law Enforcement Agencies do buy some type of notebook in bulk and give it to thier staff. But whether they do or not, Triform can still make and distribute books like these.
Here in America, I think cops are not required to carry a specific kind of book, however, they may be expected to recall certain information about cases to which they have been assigned. Probably, they each have thier own individual way to accomplish this… whichever way works better for the individual.
Why do these specialty books bother you so much?
I actually love the idea of the “notebook band” in the 1st photo you found. Its a very simple way to find a certain page fast and not have to fumble. I made one for my notebook too,
Specialty notebooks don’t bother me at all– I might not want to use them for myself but I’m often tempted to buy them anyway!
I have a specific need for notebooks that are portable and allow writing while standing… so for me a flip top notebook is the only way to go. I bounced between 3×5 and 4×8 Ampad notebooks (I thought the 4×8 would be much more popular on sites like these), but what Im in love with is a custom made notebook and leather case w/ pen loop. I designed it to fit nicely in jeans or inside pockets. Its the perfect size and feels great to write with, sitting or standing.
Honestly I cant figure out why everyone loves the moleskines… theyre great until you dont have a desk… or you have to lable the covers with content info.
Having used these at my last job, I can say all sorts of agencies use them. Police, Transport Canada, WCB, etc.
I doubt triform has any kind of exclusivity agreement, but in practice everyone orders from them since it’s a fairly specialized market and they don’t have much competition. Also, the price is pretty good.
All the pages are numbered, which is essential since you can show no pages were removed.
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Hi, I’m a canadian police officer and use these at work every day. The service I work for supplies these free of charge to th officers. I asked why we used these specific notebooks and was informed that these books come serialized, so they know which books where issued to which officer. The notebook belongs to the service and not the officer as everything recorded within it is of evidentiary value.
I hope this helps
Triform Notebooks have been around for decades, From my experience almost all law enforcement agencies, large municipalities licensing and enforcement divisions and most major security companies in Canada use them. They make specialized ones for different occupations and have basic features like numbered pages serial numbers and other “control” methods in place in the event the notes need to be relied on in court. They also tend to have job specific reference material in the front portion of the books like the use of force matrix, phonetic alphabet, basic CPR steps, rights upon arrest, etc… I’m not aware of another company that makes a product that’s similar in terms of the customization and specific needs of the field.