As a member of said constabulary, I can confirm my maglite gets nicknamed the second baton. (never used it as such tho).
As for the upgrade, I think I paid for one of the more expensive LED bulbs a good number of years ago …. as in £12 ish rather than £4 !
Its been brilliant to date. I dont use it every shift, but when I do, its perfectly bright enough to create a bright focussed beam that will reach 50metres comfortably, and will light up rooms when pointed up against the ceiling or in unlit common closes. I cant remember when I last changed the batteries in it (as in years)
Of course its not as bright as those mega-lumen chinese torches … but i’ve actually found them to be a poor substitute to the maglite. They dont last anywhere near as long ( less than an hour run time sometimes in the cold), and i’ve rarely found that the stupidly excessive brightness has overly helped compared to the brightness offered by the maglite.
The maglite is one of those things that is chucked in the bag, and works everytime you need it. Simples.