NCJ Number
165168
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 63 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1996) Pages: 30,32-33,35-36,51-52
Date Published
1996
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article counters the more popular reasons that police officers do not wear their body armor and provides guidelines for a police agency's selection of body armor.
Abstract
The primary reasons officers do not wear their vests is comfort, or the lack of it. Many officers complain that concealable body armor is hot, bulky, heavy, and uncomfortable. Although this was true of the first types of vests manufactured, it is not the case with current vests on the market. With a Gore- Tex membrane covering the ballistic panel and a carrier made of CoolMax, today's officer can stay relatively cool and infinitely drier than the officer in a vest with a simple cotton carrier. Add to this combination a ribbed undershirt made with Allied Signal's Hydrofil, and the "discomfort factor" is far less significant than it once was. The second most common reason for not wearing body armor comes primarily from veteran officers, who are complacent about their safety or who believe that since they have not been in life-threatening situations thus far, their luck will continue. Stories of veteran officers whose lives were saved by their vests are told in this article to counter this illusion. In providing guidelines for an agency's selection of vests, the article notes that choosing the right armor may be more difficult today than ever before. With various manufacturers offering an enormous array of styles, shapes, and threat levels, procurement is complicated. One guideline is to consider the kinds of weapons officers are taking off the streets in an agency's jurisdiction, and be sure that the selected vest will defeat the most common weapons; certainly the vest should protect officers from their own guns. Further, the working conditions of officers in a particular jurisdiction should be considered when selecting a vest, such that comfort and safety are ensured. Also, if the department supplies vests, officers should be required to wear them.