Local police wear vests at all times to receive Justice funds
The Justice Department has said that it will withhold federal funding for local police departments to purchase body armor unless they make it a requirement that all uniformed officers wear the armor; last year, the Justice Department distributed $37 million to reimburse more than 4,000 local agencies across the country for the purchase of nearly 200,000 vests; the new requirement comes after a sharp increase in the fatal shootings of police officers while on duty; there was a 44 percent increase in the number of fatal police shootings last year and a recent study showed that 41 percent of police departments do not require officers to wear body armor
Body armor to be worn under uniform shirt // Source: turtleskin.com
The Justice Department has said that it will withhold federal funding for local police departments to purchase body armor unless they make it a requirement that all uniformed officers wear the armor.
Each year local police departments apply for federal funding to help purchase body armor.
Last year, the Justice Department distributed $37 million to reimburse more than 4,000 local agencies across the country for the purchase of nearly 200,000 vests.
But this year, that money will not be given to local agencies unless they have a department policy that mandates that all officers wear body armor. The new requirement comes after a sharp increase in the fatal shootings of police officers while on duty.
Jim Burch, the acting director of the department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, said, “What struck us is the number of agencies that don’t have a mandatory policy … a potential huge vulnerability.”
According to Burch there was a 44 percent increase in the number of fatal police shootings last year and a recent study showed that 41 percent of police departments do not require officers to wear body armor.
“If we’re investing federal dollars, we should require agencies to have policies,” he said.
Concerned about the recent increase in officer shootings, Attorney General Eric Holder recently met with law enforcement officials to urge them to re-examine their vest policies.
He strongly advocated for the use of vests after they saved the lives of six officers this year.
“Our law enforcement officers put themselves in harm’s way every day to ensure the safety and security of the American people in cities and communities across the country, and we need to do everything we can to protect them,” Holder said.
Police Chief Rick Braziel of the Sacramento, California police department does not believe that the federal government should set rules for how local departments operate.
While he disagrees with the requirement, Braziel is changing his department’s policy regarding vests for fear of losing federal funding at a time when many police departments are seeing budget cuts.
“Decisions like these are better left to individual departments. But right now we’re scraping for every dime we can get. We’ll be making a quick change,” he said.
In contrast Milwaukee police chief Ed Flynn says that his department is more than ready to comply with the new federal requirement after seven Milwaukee officers were wounded in the line of duty in the last two years. All of the officers were wearing armor except one.
He said the vest should be seen as critical lifesaving equipment. “It’s a second skin,” he said. It’s part of the job. It’s what you do.”
