Body Armour is protecting gear reminiscent of ballistic armour, armoured vests, body armour, ballistic helmets, demining armour, IED suits, ceramic, polythene and steel armour plates, face shields and anti-riot armour for the army and police across the world.
According to Defence News experts, today, modern forms of body armor are called bulletproof or bullet-resistant clothing. Modern protective vests have been created to minimize the injury from projectiles from handguns, shotguns and rifles. With that, it is commonly worn by police forces, military and private security and civilians. The legality of the issuance of body armors such as bulletproof vests is dictated the jurisdiction of the state law and other government law-enforcement agencies. With the recent rise of urban conflicts, protective bulletproof clothing has offered a wearable and affordable kind of confidence and security.
In a world, dominated by a growing lack of respect, appropriate solutions are required. A lack of inadequate personal safety measures can put a lone worker or frontline operative at unnecessary risk, and cause unacceptable injury or harm. Body armour and stab vests have therefore regrettably become a necessity within a number of domestic frontline professions.
These protecting products are used by the police, military and personal safety corporations in over 35 countries including the South African Military, South African Navy, Irish Army, Indonesian Army, Armed Forces of Malta, Chilean Armed Forces, Dutch Particular Forces, Thailand Navy and US Military; and multiple police forces within the UK and US in addition to the South African Police Services, Turkish National Police, Saudi Arabia Police, Oman Police, German Police, Belgian Police and Bermuda Police.
Navy physique armour is out there in a large number of configurations: ballistic, stab resistant, twin function fragmentation resistant and flotation. They’re constituted of a wide range of ballistic materials, including: woven and unidirectional (defend) aramid and excessive performance polyethylene.
The outcome is of great relevance to the question: ‘Body Armour – Why?’ The main risks areas highlighted by the HSL are as follows:
– Visiting people in their home or office to enforce legislation, police the system or having to give bad news.
– Certain geographical areas or trouble spots are high risk, such as poor or run down council estates.
– Dealing with certain high risk individuals, such as potentially violent or aggressive members of the public, drug users or dealers, or mentally ill individuals.
– Dealing with frustrated and disappointed customers (e.g. customers unhappy with the service your organisation has provided)
– Working late at night.
– Evicting people from their home.
– Visiting clients in unfamiliar industrial and domestic premises.
– Visiting unoccupied buildings
Several more reasons can be highlighted, making a choice not to issue potentially life saving body armour or stab vests even more controversial. Sure they won’t help you if your Military Aircraft is at risk, but they are good for on-the-groud situations where you find yourself at risk. Corporate manslaughter and corporate homicide laws as well as health & safety regulations have been rewritten in countries around the world, in order to protect those who serve and risk their lives for others. The cost of facing potential legal action after a fatal or non-fatal incident and the cost of injured employees taking time off would outweigh the one-off cost of body armour. Assaults on personnel who are not wearing protective clothing also create bad publicity for the Authority concerned, not to mention the welfare of the person involved and operational problems resulting from the injured staff being incapable to work.
In 2003 the UK’s Health and Safety Laboratory developed 18 case studies and approached over 400 organisations of various sizes and across a range of different occupations. Very detailed questionnaires were sent and interviews were conducted by the HSL with the selected organisations and the information which they provided formed the basis of these widely respected case studies.
Yes, ‘perception’ is one of the most important Military Technology issues within personal safety, and I greatly agree with the fact that overt body armour can often be perceived as very confrontational, especially when dealing with intoxicated members of the public or those who seriously dislike authority, your organisation or presence to begin with. For me, lone workers dealing with the public should be doing their utmost to express themselves as peaceful ambassadors within their line of work. Only covert body armour allow them to do exactly that, whilst still being protected.
Body armour is usually developed in numerous designs and configurations. A number of the most advanced armour options have been developed and are available for each the female and male kinds and embrace formed options for max safety and comfort. This article explores the varied sorts of body armour out there today. Continue reading below to be taught extra about how they are used. Normal objective protecting vests are designed as a primary armour vests for the Police and private security companies. They provide entrance, back and aspect ballistic protection.
Concealable Vests have been designed to observe the contours of the physique and supply entrance, again and aspect ballistic protection. High visual operations garments have been designed for use by personnel who must be simply recognized such as visitors police. Police Assault Vests are designed for over-the-uniform put on, providing full entrance, again, facet, neck and shoulder ballistic protection. They’re usually used by Police, Military and Special Forces. Army Assault vests are designed to be excessive-mobility entrance opening vests and are to be worn over a soldier’s uniform. They usually have front, back, facet and shoulder ballistic safety; with ballistic collar and throat protector, and removable groin protector.
Demining Vests have been particularly designed for deminers and specialists in the Military and Police who seek for mines and explosives. These vests are designed to provide the maximum potential safety towards fragments and explosions from detonating mines. They provide entrance, again and facet fragmentation protection; with detachable groin protectors.
Demining Aprons are additionally especially designed for deminers and specialists within the Military and Police who search for mines and explosives. These suits are designed to offer the utmost attainable protection towards fragments and explosions from detonating anti-personnel mines. IED search suits are particularly designed for specialists in the Army and Police who search for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). These suits are designed to supply full physique protection towards fragments and explosions. Armour plates are often constructed from high-performance steel, ceramic and lightweight polyethylene armour plates, designed to fit all these vests and supply safety against excessive-velocity weapons, masking NIJ Stage III and IV (armour piercing).
The fact of the matter is that there is generally an ‘unknown’ level of risk due to unforeseen circumstances. Ordinary risk assessments might often conclude in the verdict of ‘low risk’, however these often very basic risk assessments are based on technical facts or ‘on-hand information’ only, and as much as I appreciate them, they often do not go beyond these facts. A risk assessment dealing with the activity of a lone worker having to enter someone else’s property or deal with customers or clients on a one-to-one basis can in my opinion, never ever result in low risk. As soon as a lone worker walks through someone’s door or deals with often unfamiliar members of the public at another location, one can simply not know who else will be in the house, who else might enter the house at a later point, what activities have taken place prior to your colleagues visit or who else might be going to interfere or engage in their conversation or argument at a later point.
If you were driving a car and your petrol light comes on, indicating you only have a small amount of petrol left. What would you do? Would you start thinking: Will I make it home or not? Some people would be willing to take the risk in this situation. In the workplace though, in my view, it is the duty of the employer to not allow their employees to take unknown risks of their own accord with out the provision of gear and training to protect them should they make a mistake in their own judgement. ‘Better safe than sorry’ and ‘Prevention is better than cure’ are two great sayings, making more sense within corporate health & safety than any place else. I hope you would stop and get some fuel, because you want to be on the safe side. You might have made it, but you didn’t want to take that risk. The bottom line is you cannot afford to break down. The fact that a lone workers activity involves a rather ‘unknown risk’ must urge key decision makers to remain at least open minded when it comes to body armour or additional lone worker safety training that can be made available.
Recommending body armour does not mean we suggest you are in danger, we Scholarship say that you will have a higher chance of remaining unharmed in the unlikely, but possible, case of something going wrong. Wearing personal protective equipment can be compared to wearing a seat belt when driving a car. We do not put the seat belt on because we believe we are going to have an accident today. We are simply acknowledging the fact that there is an exceptionally small chance that we might crash. Yet, if this chance becomes reality, you have increased the chance of survival by wearing a seat belt.