If you fancy positioning your cuff case at the back of your duty belt, a few concerns might convince you to reconsider.
A takedown tactic, which according to survival trainer Bob “Coach” Lindsey is currently being practiced by prison inmates, takes advantage of this positioning. It involves a suspect approaching you from the rear, hooking his thumb over your cuff case and pulling back on the top of the case while simultaneously pushing the bottom of the case into the small of your back. This quickly throws you off balance by pulling your torso back, buckling your knees, thrusting your hips forward and causing you to instinctively throw your arms up in the air in an attempt to maintain balance. With your gun now vulnerable and your stability compromised, you are dangerously open to attack.
Carrying your cuff case to one side of your belt does not offer the kind of leverage that makes this kind of takedown so effective. Side carries also help prevent the potentially serious spine damage that can result from falling on a cuff case that’s positioned in the small of your back.