REP. PALLONE: 13 CENTRAL NEW JERSEY MUNICIPALITIES TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDS FOR BULLET PROOF VESTS
tony007 | 03 June, 2009 01:48
Rep. Frank G. Pallone, D-N.J. (6th CD), issued the following press release:
Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today announced that thirteen central New Jersey municipalities have been awarded federal grants to offset the cost of purchasing bullet proof vests for law enforcement personnel. The grants are dispersed through the U.S. Department of Justice's Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant (BVP) program, designed to provide this critical resource to state and local law enforcement.
"I am very pleased that the Justice Department has awarded these grants to so many worthy municipalities in central New Jersey," Pallone said. "These funds will allow local law enforcement authorities the ability to provide their officers with bullet proof vests to ensure their safety while they work hard to protect ours."
Municipalities in the Sixth Congressional District of New Jersey receiving funds:
* Asbury Park - $4,063.59
* Atlantic Highlands - $768.83
* Avon By The Sea - $6,000.00
* Edison - $38,940.00
* Hazlet - $1,492.20
* Long Branch - $4,550.00
* Marlboro - $4,290.00
* Metuchen - $9,800.00
* Middlesex - $2,249.62
* Middlesex County - $31,780.20
* Neptune - $18,530.56
* New Brunswick - $15,079.68
* Piscataway - $2,775.00
Since 1999, over 11,900 jurisdictions have participated in the BVP Program, with $173 million in federal funds committed to support the purchase of an estimated 450,000 vests. The Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) administers the BVP Program.
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A Youngster's Efforts On Behalf of the Police
tony007 | 03 June, 2009 01:43
THE Bristol police department is now two bullet-proof vests richer because of the efforts of a 4-foot 9-inch, 87-pound resident who said he was concerned about police officers being shot in the line of duty.
''In some towns police are getting killed by knives and guns during drug raids,'' 12-year-old Thomas Flores said, ''and I figured we should help our policemen because they're helping us by getting rid of drugs.'' He lives in Bristol with his mother, Ellie, his father, Dr. Pacifico Flores, and two teen-age sisters.
Thomas recently raised nearly $600 from his community, which he gave to the police to purchase the vests.
It all started, the youngster said, when he came across a newspaper article about a New York City police officer whose life was spared because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. Thomas, a Boy Scout for four years, had been working on a project that involved reading stories about accidents and violent crimes in order to earn a safety badge.
Inspired by the story, and concerned about drug abuse and killings, he started his own fund-raising campaign for the vests, which he called ''Shield a Friend.'' Before he started, however, he received approval for the project from the mayor of Bristol, John Leone and the acting police chief, Lieut. Thomas Killany.
Seven Glass Jars
Then he gathered seven glass jars, wrapped each with a homemade sticker that bore the name of his campaign, and attached a copy of the story about the New York police officer, and brought the jars to area businesses like gas stations and convenient stores.
The jars sat by the cash registers for two months. Thomas said that after about a month he removed the money, to prevent it from being taken. In addition, the boy got donations from friends, relatives and doctors with whom his father works. He expected to raise only a few hundred dollars, and said he was quite surprised with the net result of $587. ''I never thought, you know, that I would raise enough money for two vests and that I could help the community so much,'' he said.
Lieutenant Killany said Thomas's efforts ''show how the youth in this community feel about the police department.'' Mrs. Flores attributed her son's actions to his experiences with the Boy Scouts. ''It gives him a wonderful direction,'' she said, ''makes him more independent and more organized, and has taught him to respect and care about other people.''
Previously, as part of a Boy Scout project, Thomas helped a group of mentally retarded people build bird houses and has spent time with a handicapped Boy Scout troop. He is a seventh grader at Kingswood Oxford, a private school in West Hartford, where he is on the soccer, lacrosse and wrestling teams.
Thomas says he has gotten quite a few pats on the back for his fund raising; he reminds everyone, though, that he did it for the significance, not the glory.
''If they use my vests, I may save someone's life,'' he said.
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Police tracking rifle gang take no chances
tony007 | 02 June, 2009 03:27
They are using sub-machine guns and bullet-proof vests for protection against the dangerous robbers
KUALA LUMPUR -City police on special rounds to track down the robbers using Steyr assault rifles are arming themselves to the teeth.
Members of the special rounds squad in the 12 Selangor districts have been told to carry sub-machine guns and wear bullet-proof vests to protect themselves against the robbers, the Malay Mail reported.
However, there is a slight hitch to the police preparations -they do not have enough bullet-proof vests.
"They do not have enough supply and are now looking for vests for members of the special rounds in each district," said a source.
"Police are not taking chances," said the source. "The robbers are armed with deadly assault rifles and they are trained to shoot and kill."
The source said the manner in which the four handled the sophisticated automatic weapons showed they were experts.
The quartet -described by police as "highly dangerous" -had hit the Southern Bank at KM17.6 Jalan Cheras last Tuesday and the EON Bank in Puchong on Aug 2. They have escaped with RM121,000 (S$ 54,000) from the two robberies.
In last Tuesday's robbery at Southern Bank, four armed men, each believed to be armed with a Steyr, escaped with RM21,000.
On Aug 2, the same gang was believed to have robbed the EON Bank in Puchong opposite IOI Mall, escaping with RM100,000.
Police believe it could be the same four Steyr rifles reported stolen from a military camp armoury in Kamunting, Perak.
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Jamaica police to get more bullet proof vests and helmets
tony007 | 02 June, 2009 03:24
Text of report by Caribbean Media Corporation news agency website on 20 September
Kingston, Jamaica: The Jamaica government has approved a 1.09 million US dollar contract to procure bullet proof vests, ballistic helmets and riot shields for members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
Information and Development Minister, Colin Campbell, told journalists at the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing Tuesday that "it is the policy of the Government and the Ministry of National Security that every graduate from basic training be outfitted with bullet proof vests and ballistic helmets".
However he noted that there was a current shortage of vests and helmets for the regular operations of the JCF.
He said that it would require the acquisition of some 5,000 sets of the equipment to satisfy the current shortfall in order to "properly equip members of the JCF, and the decision to purchase this equipment, will go some way to easing the shortage".
Meanwhile, Cabinet has been updated on the current status of the salary negotiations with members of the JCF, to conclude a new two-year compensation agreement.
"The government is expressing its continued wish that the matter be resolved in an atmosphere conducive to successful wage negotiations, and the entire Cabinet was very clear that we wanted this matter to proceed in an atmosphere where we could continue to have a security force that was motivated," Campbell said.
"The salary negotiations will continue and we hope that it will be successfully concluded within a short time," he added.
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INDIA: TOUGH MATERIAL WITH VARIED SECURITY APPLICATIONS
tony007 | 21 May, 2009 22:52
Somasekhar Mulugu
INDIAN soldiers and para- military forces fighting terrorists in Kashmir wear them for protection, and in New Delhi the VIPs' cars are bullet-proofed using this indigenously developed material. Jackal' steel, developed by the Indian defence scientists has, over the 1990s, proved its capacity to withstand high-powered bullets from a range of firearms, including AK-47 rifles.
The soldiers wear bullet-proof vests that consist of compact plates inserted into the chest and back of a regulation canvas jacket. The specially toughened steel plates also have splinter-catching pads, which can diffuse the impact of splinters that are thrown off after the bullet makes impact, and trauma pads which provide protection from the shock.
The unique feature of the vest is its multi-shot protection ability on both front and rear sides of the human torso. Which means, it can to a certain extent repulse rapid firing at close range, which is common in guerrilla type and terrorist combat. In contrast, the imported bullet-proof vests fabricated from ceramic material give one-sided protection and do not provide satisfactory protection under sustained shelling with 7.62 SLR, self-loading rifles, say defence scientists. The bullet-proof Jackal' steel is the product of extensive R and D work carried out at the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad. Its chemical composition and the thermo-mechanical properties are such that they can absorb the energy of the bullets without undergoing changes in the internal structure.
In addition to the bullet-proof vests and bullet- proofing of vehicles, the DMRL has also helped develop screens for fencing of borders in some of the sensitive areas along the Indo-Pakistan border for the Border Security Force.
The DMRL has transferred the technology of making the steel to two public sector undertakings - Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and the Mishra Dhatu Nigam (MIDHANI) Ltd., Hyderabad, which, in turn, supply the material to fabricate the items required by the Defence forces.
The PSUs have supplied the high-strength steel material to bullet-proof different types of armoured vehicles for the Defence, including infantry combat vehicles, and a variety of light commercial vehicles, such as the Maruti Gypsy and Ambassador, for security and VIP protection. The strengths of Jackal steel are: the material is available in the country; it contains low-alloying elements which have been carefully chosen and, hence, the cost is less than that of armour steel or composite materials.
In the last few years, several entrepreneurs in the private sector have also come up with bullet-proofing solutions, offering various products for bullet-proofing vehicles for VIP security and other commercial applications.
The automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra, which decided to enter the business recently, preferred to source the bullet-proofing material from abroad. It announced its tie-up with the $ 20-million Israeli company, Plasan Sasa, to make bullet-proof vehicles for security purposes and vans that can safely carry huge sums of money for the banking and corporate sectors.
Plasan Sasa, the largest supplier of bullet-proof vehicles to the Israeli defence forces, uses composite steel, high-performance polyethylene and aramid laminates to ensure a high degree of protection from firepower. It sources the raw material from Allied Signals of US and DuPont of Holland.
The agreement between the Mahindras and Plasan Sasa allows the former to progressively localise the components and materials that go into bullet-proofing. For the present, the Israeli company will custom-design kits as per the demands made by the Mahindras, explained Mr. Noam Hen of Plasan Sasa.
The Mahindras had a sturdy vehicle Rakshak' bullet- proofed by Plasan Sasa for offer to the Indian security forces and displayed it at the Defexpo, an international exhibition of defence technologies and products held recently in New Delhi.
According to Mr. Alan E. Durante, the company is in talks with the Defence Ministry, the ONGC and the tea companies in the North-East for providing bullet-proof vehicles to counter threats from terrorists or insurgents.
The Rakshak, after bullet-proofing, weighs 450 kg, retains normal speed, and its engine life is not cut short.
In contrast, if it had been bullet-proofed with the Jackal' steel indigenously developed by the defence scientists, the weight of the vehicle would have been 960 kg and it would have impacted on the engine life and speed of movement, claimed Mr. Durante. The increase in volume of business and financial transactions, the growing needs of a number of big corporates, both Indian and foreign, in transporting money for payment of salaries and carrying valuable material to and from remote areas, are also expected to increase the demand for secure vehicles. Bullet-proof vans are one option.
Similarly, the bullet-proofing material, in lighter composition, finds use in making helmets tougher, fabricating sentry boxes, in lockers in banks, and to enhance VIP security in movement and at public functions. The catch in import dependence, however, would be the impact if imports of this composite material were banned for any strategic reasons. At present, the material is not developed in the country at all. The second factor would be the increase in costs. These issues have to be examined in detail by the Defence and Home Ministries, the major consumers.
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New police gear won't be bought with tax dollars
tony007 | 21 May, 2009 22:49
MADEIRA BEACH - Thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard, police here will get bullet-proof vests and a new all-terrain vehicle.
The $ 240 vests - which are capable of stopping a large-caliber bullet - will arrive in a month. The department also is taking bids on a Honda Fourtrax 250, a spiffy four-wheel cycle, that can maneuver between beach blankets.
And the expensive new gear won't be paid for with city tax dollars.
Operations Sgt. Matthew McShane said police got an extra $ 15,000 for equipment when the Coast Guard stopped a 36-foot fishing boat carrying marijuana near John's Pass in March. The Coast Guard turned the case over to police who arrested two crew members and confiscated the vessel. Later, the city sold the boat back to the former owner for $ 15,000, McShane said.
When police make an arrest, they are allowed to confiscate property used in the commission of a crime, such as cars, boats or airplanes.
The money from the boat sale is being used to buy the vehicle, new leather holsters and bullet-proof vests for 12 officers.
And despite torrid summer heat, "The chief says if we buy the vests, they will wear them," McShane said.
Bullet-proof vests are commonly worn by police throughout Pinellas County. St. Petersburg police buy their own vests and get reimbursement from the city. The same is true for police in Gulfport. Not all departments require officers to wear the vests all the time.
St. Petersburg Beach police wear vests mostly at night, said Sgt. Jerry Pagano.
If an officer wears a vest in the hot sun, he "will sweat bullets," Pagano said. Some officers don't wear the vests because "the vests make a shirt look lumpy." Beach patrol officers dress in shorts, but seldom wear bullet-proof vests, he said.
St. Petersburg lets officers decide when they will wear the vests, said spokesman George Pinckney. "I'll tell you first hand, they're not comfortable. Whatever you wear under them will be soaked in sweat."
But Pinckney said, "We've had a couple officers who would not be here now if they had not been wearing vests."
The only officers who may be excused from donning vests may be those who operate the new beach cycle. When it arrives, the city intends to develop a beach patrol uniform that may consist of polo shirts and shorts, McShane said. He said the driver's position on the vehicle might make the vests too uncomfortable.
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SELF-DEFENCE: Silk gains strength amongst body armour manufacturers
tony007 | 21 May, 2009 04:24
SELF-DEFENCE: Silk gains strength amongst body armour manufacturers
A local company, Extreme Ceramic parts, has done research and development to produce body armour utilising silk as an important backing material. The idea is to conduct local research to utilise local material to turn out commercial armour, with the aim of not only reducing expensive body armour imports, but also to export the finished products.
Sukasem Kangwantrakool, a researcher in ceramic engineering at Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), as a consultant for the company, said that body armour consists of two main parts. The first is the attack area which is shockproof to reduce the power of the impact, while the second is an absorption area which takes on the power of the impact.
Modern body armour is becoming more ergonomic. The relative rigidity of the upgraded ceramic plate places increased importance on its curvature for a comfortable body fit without undue bulk.
The ceramic used in body armour is called alumina, with the chemical formula Al2O3. The rigid plates are made of the plastic polyethylene. It is thicker than ceramic and not quite as strong, but lighter.
"Body armour is designed based on tile mosaics which provide the necessary control over damage from cracking," said Sukasem.
The mosaic approach is often favoured for 7.62mm protection requiring multi-hit repeatability of less than three inches.
Composite backing systems depend on specific requirements for weight, thickness, back-face deformation, and cost. They can be one of a wide variety of composite backing structures including aramid or S-2 glass/polyester pre-preg, and kevlar in combination with a variety of resins chosen specifically for the requirements of each application.
Kevlar is by far the most common fibre used to make body armour, but other materials are being developed. The most readily available alternative fibre is called vectran, which is approximately twice as strong as kevlar.
The company is conducting an in-house development programme focusing on improvements to composite backing systems by using silk.
With the aim of achieving protection levels for the torso according to National institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard requirements, it has focused research and development on soldier protection including lightweight helmet technology for 5.56mm and 7.62mm rifle fire.
The body armour is formed from advanced woven fibres that can be sewn into vests and other soft clothing. The principle at work is actually quite simple.
At its heart, a piece of bullet-proof material is just a very strong net. To stop a bullet from reaching a person's body, a piece of body armour also has to protect against the blunt trauma caused by the force of a bullet. A piece of soft bullet-proof material has to "give" a certain amount to absorb the energy of a projectile, in the same way that the net is pushed back some distance and slows the ball when a goal is scored in soccer.
Bullet-proof vests have to spread the blunt trauma over the whole vest so that the force isn't felt too intensely in any one spot. To do this, the bullet-proof material must have a very tight weave to absorb a great amount of energy.
The body armour consists of several layers of super-strong webbing. This material disperses the energy of a bullet over a wide area, preventing penetration and dissipating blunt trauma. Generally, armour with more layers of bullet-proof material offers greater protection. With some bullet-proof vests, layers can be added.
"Body armour uses 80 layers of composite backing materials. To reduce the layers, ceramics need to be developed to reduce the work of those materials. In our research, we focus on using Thai silk as one backing material, hoping to increase the quality of armour by using local material," said Sukasem
On average, backing material is around 60 per cent of the cost while ceramic material is 40 per cent.
His teams have developed the body armour over two years and have done field trials five times. In the shooting tests, Surkasem said, one square metre of body armour shot with five bullets from a distance of 15 metres must stop the bullets with the armour bulging no more than 44 millimetres. The vest has to slow the bullet using many different layers.
Each "net" slows the bullet a little more, until the bullet finally stops. The material also causes the bullet to deform at the point of impact.
"Of course people wearing body armour will still feel the energy of a bullet's impact, but over the whole torso rather than at a specific area. If everything works correctly, the victim won't be seriously hurt," he said.
The company is establishing a factory which should be producing vests by the second quarter.
Apart from producing body armour, the knowledge from research and development can be also applied to develop related ceramic products including fuses, insulators and heaters.
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POUNDS 300 BULLET-PROOF VEST WHICH COULD HAVE SAVED WPC
tony007 | 21 May, 2009 04:17
THIS is the bullet-proof vest that could have saved WPC Sharon Beshenivsky's life.
The revolutionary multi-threat vest weighs the same as the stab-proof body armour the mum-of- three was wearing.
But it is resistant to bullets from pistols and hand-held machine guns as well as knives.
Most of Britain's 58 police forces, including West Yorkshire Police where WPC Beshenivsky served, currently use the traditional Kevlar vests. Just six have the new armour, which is used by many private security companies.
Last night the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, called on the Home Office to provide its members with the most up-to-date vests available.
A spokesman said: "If there are products on the market that can deter the blade and the bullet then we would be interested to see those tested. We appreciate that there isn't an endless pit of cash for the police, but you can't put a price on a life.
"Officers deserve to be given the best protection that they can."
Each vest costs between pounds 300 and pounds 350. Kitting out all 140,000 of Britain's police officers would cost pounds 49million.
WPC Beshenivsky, 38, was gunned down during a robbery in Bradford two weeks ago. Her colleague Teresa Milburn, 37, was wounded in the shoulder.
Last night Rory Faulkner, director of Praetorian Associates which makes the super-vest, said it would have saved Sharon's life. He added: "We are sure that the vest we have developed would have stopped all of the bullets getting through.
"She probably would have been knocked down and be bruised, but the armour would have saved her life."
He added: "Gun crime in the UK has gone up dramatically and our response to that has been to develop a vest that covers all areas of potential threat.
"The equipment that many police are wearing are using does not combat that threat they are facing and that's exactly what happened in Bradford."
The super-vests are made from Kevlar fused with thermo-plastic resin, and the mixture disperses the impact of the bullets.
The firm was set up by two former British special forces officers after they got fed up with the bulky bullet-proof vests they had to wear.
Mr Faulkner added: "Police forces need to embrace the new technology to stop another officer dying unnecessarily."
-YUSUF Jama, 19, has been charged with the murder of WPC Beshenivsky. Police are still hunting his brother Mustaf, 24, and Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah, 25.
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Thailand develops silky bullet-proof vest
tony007 | 20 May, 2009 05:10
Thailand's defence ministry and a local technology institute have developed a bullet-proof vest using Thai silk, famed for its softness and brilliant colours, researchers said Friday.
"The highlight of this invention is the long life of the vest because silk can last for more than 100 years," said Somprasong Parsapratet of the Rajamangala Institute of Technology.
The Bangkok institute was approached by the Defence Ministry last year to help produce locally-made bullet-proof vests that would be cheaper and better than imported products.
Researchers developed a vest using 36 layers of Thai silk thread, instead of the synthethic filaments used in imported products.
Most imported bullet-proof vests have a five-year lifespan before they must be replaced, said Somprasong.
After six months of research, a prototype was tested last week and proved capable of withstanding three types of ammunition including .22, .38 and .45 calibre bullets.
"It can't stop all types of bullets yet, only the first level, making it appropriate for police use," said Somprasong.
Using only local materials, the vest weighs four kilograms and costs about 8,500 (230 dollars) to make compared to the 25,000 baht price tag on an imported product.
Rajamangala Institute researchers are working on further improving the product by reducing its weight.
Thailand Defence Ministry has announced that it expects to start mass-producing the bullet-proof vest for the military and police early next year, although it is still unclear if production will be handled by the private sector or the ministry.
"Our first priority would be to supply Thailand's police department," said Somprasong. "Every policeman in Thailand should have a bullet-proof vest because in Thailand anyone can buy a gun." dpa pj fz
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Canada customs officers in Ontario received a delivery of bullet proof vests from Rochester police
tony007 | 20 May, 2009 05:01
LLOYD ROBERTSON: Now to a story of cross border cooperation
with a strange twist. Today Canada Customs officers in Ontario
received a delivery of bullet proof vests to protect them in the
line of duty. But the vests didn't arrive from Ottawa, instead they
were donated by police officers from Rochester, New York. CTV's
Peter Murphy has more on an act of generosity some say is an
embarrassing display of charity.
PETER MURPHY [Reporter]: It was a public relations coupe for
Canada Customs officers at Fort Erie across from Buffalo. All of
the local media were there as Roy Adams of the Rochester New York
Police Pistol Club donates 100 used bullet proof vests to officials
at the Customs Officer Union.
ROY ADAMS [Rochester Police Pistol Club]: And they come from
various donors in the western New York area. Individual officers
and other law enforcement agencies.
MARK LEONARD [Vice President, Custom Excise Union]: This is
important to us. We feel our officers are in an amount of danger.
MURPHY: There are 3,500 customs officers across Canada. And while
not all of them are on the front lines, those that are have been
pushing Ottawa for six years now to supply them with bullet proof
vests.
JOHN JOHNSTON [Canada Customs]: If an officer requests a vest we
will attempt to supply them with one but we don't do general
distribution because the job, based on risk assessment, doesn't
require them.
MURPHY: Of the 300 customs officers in Fort Erie and Niagara
Falls, only about two dozen have bullet proof vests. Some are so
concerned they've bought vests with their own money.
JASON KENNY [Reform Critic]: I guess it says that Canadian
customs officers are having to rely on charity from our American
friends.
MURPHY: Dave Vanhelvert has been asking Canada customs for a
bullet proof vest for six years and now he has one.
DAVE VANHELVERT [Customs Officer]: The one I'm holding in my hand
that was donated today is the first vest that I've ever had.
MURPHY: While Vanhelvert accepted the gift, he says it makes him
angry.
VANHELVERT: It's very much embarrassed that we have to rely on
charity from other law enforcement officers.
MURPHY: Charity or not, 100 Canada customs officers now have the
bullet proof vests they've been asking for for years. Peter Murphy,
CTV News, Fort Erie, Ontario.
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