Innovative Vest for Law Enforcement Staff

Innovative Vest for Law Enforcement Staff

law enforcement

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New technologies offer law enforcement officers various personal security solutions. Safariland, a leader in the armor market, has picked Honeywell’s Spectra Shield and Gold Shield ballistic composite materials to create new and innovative vests, emphasizing new vests designed specifically for female law enforcement officers, Honeywell announced recently.

According to Honeywell’s site, traditional vest models are designed only for male or neutral body shapes. However, a major progress made in the company’s premium Spectra Shield 5000 series is that it provides optimal material to produce concealable, lightweight ballistic protection for all body types with the Safariland Armor SX vest family. The family is designed to provide superior comfort and concealability, as well as protection against a range of soft armor ballistic threat levels.

According to data from a 2010 study by the U.S. Department of Justice, there are nearly 100,000 sworn female officers nationwide in federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Tim Swinger, global business director for armor at Honeywell Packaging and Composites: “Honeywell is committed to developing innovative technology and materials to protect more than 1.1 million law enforcement agents across the U.S. With the Spectra Shield 5000 series, Safariland can now create a complete line of male and female vests that delivers comfort and military-grade protection to every member of a police force.”

“Officers face an unprecedented variety of threats and risks on a daily basis, and because of that, the protection they wear must provide a number of features that meet the highest requirements,” said Scott O’Brien, President of The Safariland Group. “We chose Honeywell’s Spectra Shield 5000 series because it offers the best combination of weight, fit and protection, while remaining flexible.”

Spectra Shield 5000 is the latest version of Spectra Shield, which is a patented Honeywell technology and is designed to optimize the ballistic characteristics of Spectra fibers. Spectra Shield and Gold Shield products have been widely adopted and proven for the most advanced armor applications globally, from bullet-resistant vests, breastplates and helmets to combat vehicles and military aircraft—all of which require lightweight solutions and superior performance.

Honeywell also maintains an active Spectra fiber and ballistic materials research program focused on continuous improvement and development of high-performance materials. Besides it’s shields, the company also deals with control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry.