I want to start with a sense of history and acknowledge that for more than 100 years, 1911s have been serving law enforcement and the military including two world war wins. I was issued one in the USMC (yes I am old and I predate the M9).
If I was going to use a 2011 as a duty pistol, I would want a couple of things with the pistol. I would want a trigger that is something around 4lbs, I do not like 2lbs triggers. In the last two years I have been to multiple two gun and USPSA pistol matches and one of the things you can count on is people sending rounds down range unintentionally because their adrenaline gets flowing and they accidently squeeze one off.
I would want a heavier recoil spring. The lighter springs allow for the pistols to cycle faster but they also make them more prone to failure (not going into battery). When you start looking at high end 2011s, one of the awesome things about them is the quality of the craftsmanship. They are incredibly smooth when they cycle but they are smooth with really tight tolerances. That is why they guy above can shoot a sub 2 inch group at 25 yards. The tight tolerances will end up requiring more cleaning/oiling than other pistols (which is one of my gripes with them). The tight tolerances also let gunk, dirt, whatever jam the pistol. It is not really an issue on a flat range but could be for a duty gun. I think the way to mitigate it is to have looser tolerances, especially where the slide meets the frame but then you are giving up some of the awesomeness of the pistol. The way I tried to mitigate was to put in a heavier recoil spring. (I had an XC, I put in a red dirt trigger and set it to 3.25 -3.5lbs and I tried it with 11 and 13lbs springs. Effectively I turned an XC into a P which was stupid).
The 2011s that are based on the internals of the Colt model 70 are not drop safe. You can engage the thumb safety, not have your hand on the grip safety, drop it and it can discharge. To me this is a deal killer given all the options our there today.
This is a minor gripe but for me on 2011s, I really like having iron sights that co-witness. For a duty 2011 I would insist on it. I am not sure if all Staccatos have that as an option (I think they do). There are several high end 2011s that do not.
If you buy a Walther PDP, Glock 9mm variant, S&W 2.0, HK VP9 you end up with a polymer frame striker fired pistol that has none of the issues that I described above. You don't have to clean them with any regularity, you don't have to mess with the springs, you really don't have to do much of anything and when you need them, they go bang. I think for a duty pistol that going bang when you need them is the really important part.
Given all of that, I could make a P work as a duty gun. I would just need to be careful in that I regularly clean the pistol. I check it every single time before I go on duty. I get a hooded holster that protects the pistol from the elements. Some of the negatives are still there but they are unlikely to be an issue if you do your part.
