Smaller Agency

Body Armor - Size Matters and Can Save a Life

Location: D222/223/224, KBHCC

Cynthia Bir, Ph.D.

Chair/Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan, United States
CR

Casandra Robinson

Physical Scientist
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Lexington, South Carolina, United States
Johnathan Martin

Account Manager
Point Blank Enterprises, United States

Ballistic-resistant body armor is the primary protective equipment used by law enforcement officers. It is also the most misunderstood in terms of protection, fit, and coverage; and what you don’t know can be deadly. FBI Uniform Crime Reports show that, for the past 10 years, 38 percent of officers killed while wearing body armor were killed by bullets hitting unprotected areas of the torso (not counting the armhole). This workshop will present body armor fit and coverage issues as revealed by field assessments and by a federally funded study of U.S. law enforcement officers, provide recommendations and resources for ensuring proper fit and coverage, and give some simple steps you can take to be sure your officers' body armor is “fit” for duty.