CPD to suit up with new vests
CPD received the BVP award for the fifth time.
Published Dec. 1, 2009
City Council has accepted a proposal that will grant the Columbia Police Department thousands of dollars toward the purchase of bulletproof vests.
This year, CPD received the Fiscal Year 2009 Bulletproof Vest Partnership award in the amount of $39,334.21, CPD spokeswoman Jessie Haden said. The award was part of a grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice initiative to provide state and local law enforcement with a critical resource.
According to the Office of Justice Program Web site, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership has committed $173 million in federal funds to this cause since its inception in 1999. This will be the fifth time the Columbia has received funding from the program, the Web site stated.
"We will use it to purchase vests for new officers and to replace vests that have expired," Haden said.
According to the application for BVP Approval submitted by Columbia, vests are replaced on a five-year cycle.
"We look at vendors every year as part of the budget process," Haden said.
This year, vests for female officers will be secured through Savvy, the first and only women's body armor company, and male vests will be acquired through American Body Armor.
Vests purchased with BVP awards must be National Institute of Justice compliant. NIJ body armor standards were created by the Body Armor Safety Initiative to address concerns within the law enforcement community, Haden said in an e-mail. Haden also said both orders placed by CPD will be Level IIIA — levels indicate thickness rating -- which offers the best blunt trauma protection in soft body armor according to NIJ test rounds and can withstand sub-machine-gun velocity.
"BVP was created by Congress through the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act to help state and local jurisdictions purchase armor vests for use by law enforcement departments," Department of Justice spokeswoman Sarah Matz said in an e-mail.
BVP was not established to address a specific concern but was based in pursuit of safety.
"The safety of our nation's law enforcement officers is of the utmost importance," Matz said. "Criminals with weapons pose a constant threat to law enforcement officers. We have seen routine traffic stops result in unexpected armed confrontations and armed robberies resulting in shootouts."
Matz also said the BVP Program has been successful in light of the recent recession and is much appreciated.
"Bulletproof vests are one of the most important pieces of equipment that we provide to our officers, so again in these tough economic times, yes, we are very grateful," Haden said.
The available funding for the BVP fluctuates depending on appropriation form Congress, Matz said in the e-mail.
MU Police Department Capt. Brian Weimer said the department would not be affected by the city's appropriation of BVP Program awards. The Level II vests worn by its officers are purchased through the department, Weimer said.
During the decade-long program, more than 11,900 jurisdictions have purchased an estimated 450,000 vests, the Office of Justice Web site stated.