BODY ARMOUR
BODY ARMOUR MATTERS
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the first force in the country to invest £2 million in third-generation body armour to ensure the highest degree of protection for frontline officers. By Richard Croucher, the Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Officer, Chief Finance Officer and Portfolio Lead for Uniform
can be uncomfortable, especially in warm weather, but manufacturing developments have made the core material lighter. As a result, enhanced protection does not add weight and the design is more breathable. Great steps forward have been made in designing female-friendly body armour, although we still have procured bespoke fitted body armour for some officers. As part of the rollout, all eligible officers
and staff were offered the opportunity to be measured at a local station by the armour supplier. Then, stock was ordered, with spare sets in the most common sizes. Once the armour arrived, officers and staff booked an appointment at a local station to try it on with the aid of our Stores team. That was a really useful process, as several people walked away with a set of armour in a different size to their order. The Stores team checked the fitting to ensure the armour met the required safety standards, so the sessions allowed officers to get the best possible fit.
The third-generation body armour, now rolled out to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, has been manufactured to the higher 2017 CAST standard. This provides enhanced safety standards to our officers and staff. It is a significant investment of £2 million, but the health, safety and wellbeing of our officers and staff has consistently remained a high priority within the force. We issued more than 1,000 sets in 2022 and will issue another 1,000 sets in 2023.
52 | POLICE | JUNE 2023
We know the importance of a good fit from a comfort and safety perspective,
“Even well-fitting armour can be uncomfortable, especially in warm
supplementing the national work undertaken on ergonomic fit, with local trials to work with our supplier. This is to make sure the armour is as comfortable as it can be. Even well-fitting armour
weather, but manufacturing developments have made the core material lighter”
The feedback from local trials supported rolling out a Molle cover as standard. The Molle cover provides multiple attachment points, so officers and staff can carry kit on their armour. Plain covert covers in white and black are available, along with high-visibility covers for cyclists. A range of pouches in black or high-viz can be attached to the Molle cover. Although the Molle cover is popular,
we learned that in winter, officers were wearing their body armour over their winter coats so they could still attach personal protective equipment to the
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