The average citizen in the United States more than likely knows very little about police safety, police tactical gear, and body armor levels. However, for the men and women that serve the law, these items are all incredibly important. These types of items help to protect these police officers while they are on the job.
As of late, the government has released data that deals directly with police officers that are assaulted in the line of duty. This revealed that over the course of the past ten years there were nearly 60,000 police officers assaulted while on the job. If these situations escalate or involve weapons then this can become even more dangerous. Here are all of the facts on body armor clothing and how they help police officers.
Over the past ten years, almost 33 law enforcement officers were killed with their own weapon while on the job. This type of statistic sounds ridiculous but it is surely true and even comes from the FBI. This is just another statistic that points to the importance of body armor clothing.
Over the course of the past ten years, over one-third of all police officer deaths were caused by gunshots. This statistic makes shooting the second leading cause of police officer deaths, coming in right behind motor vehicle accidents. This is just another stat that points how essential it is for police officers to have access to the highest forms of body armor clothing.
Now that more and more police departments are correctly utilizing and implementing body armor clothing, officers are able to survive encounters that before would have proven fatal. Over the past thirty years, more than 3,000 police officers have been saved because they were wearing armor vests. This is the type of improvement that many police departments are looking for in terms of protecting their employees.
In just the city of New York City alone there have been almost 90 police officers that have been saved from death because they were wearing body armor. When officers do not wear vests then the chances of a torso gunshot wound is 3.4 times higher than those who do wear armor vests. This is important because of it just a year of 2016 alone, FBI data has revealed that just about 66% of all law enforcement officers were criminally killed in the line of duty.
Just about 20% of all officers that ended up dying from a gunshot wound to the torso while wearing body armor passed away because the ammunition they were shot with was more powerful than their body armor. This is why it is important for people to improve the capabilities of body armor clothing. According to a survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 71% of local police departments in 2013 required officers to wear armor vests at all times.
In Conclusion
There is no question that there is great importance to police officers being able to wear body armor clothing. This type of armor will help conceal that they are wearing armor and will also work to protect them. These people are willing to put their lives on the line to help police the country and to help keep people safe from danger. It is only right that they have access to the right type of equipment that will benefit them and will keep them safe.
