Quest for Comfortable Armor: Manufacturers Strive to Develop Protection That Will Stop Bullets, Knives and Ice Picks

• NCJ Number: 188625
• Journal: Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 28 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 70-74
• Author(s): Ronnie L. Garrett
• Date Published: March 2001
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses the future of body armor technology and its advancement in constructing an all purpose vest that will protect police officers against multiple-threats.

Abstract

This article addresses the armor manufacturers attempt to develop and create an all-purpose vest that protects police officers against multiple-threats, such as blunt trauma, commercial knives and ice picks and meets the National Institute of Justice’s body armor standards. A previous survey of chiefs of police identified the top threats faced by officers that included; blunt trauma, commercial knives, hypodermic needles, and standard bullets. Today’s bullet-resistant vests are designed to defeat bullets only and “multi-threat” vests are designed to protect officers from ice picks or commercial knives only. With officers on the street facing increased risks from increased number of threats, law enforcement is seeking protection from multiple dangers. Currently a different fabric construction is used for specific threats, a new fabric construction using different fibers is required. To protect officers from all these threats, hybrid constructions, using separate panels that guard against a specific threat must be used. The concern becomes the weight and flexibility of the final product. With new fiber and fabric technologies manufacturers are able to create vests that are lighter and thinner. Manufacturers are challenged with creating lightweight and thin vests and not short-changing trauma protection. Manufacturers also look to the vests to be comfortable. When the armor is comfortable, the wear rate is higher and more officers are protected. Comfort can be difficult to achieve with the ballistic panels being insulators of heat. Manufacturers continue to search for the means of providing a “cool” panel. Several possible alternatives are presently being studied, in addition to wearing the vest outside the uniform. Future technologies in body armor include the use of spiders’ silk protein to create super-strong fiber. This is achieved by introducing the silk protein into a goat’s mammary system and when milked, the milk contains the silk protein.