Vest allowances

[Bing_Oh]

Curious how other departments deal with paying for bullet-resistant vests. Do they pay for them? If so, is there a set cost/allowance? How does your department deal with paying for vests if they go over a set cost (paid for by the officer? uniform allowance? other fund/grants?).

[just joe]

I don't know what our vests cost. We issue you a vest, and replace it when it expires.

[Aidokea]

Both of the agencies I worked for, measured us and had custom body armor made, to issue to us.

About 30 years ago, when 158-grain RNL .38 Special ammo was still common on the street, the Portland Police Bureau issued me a level IIA vest.

About 15 years or so ago, when more powerful handguns were common on the street, the agency I was working for issued me a full level II vest.

A few years before I retired, that same agency purchased plate carriers with level III ceramic rifle armor for active shooter situations, but they were issued to each BEAT, not to individual officers. They got the smallest size, because some officers are small. A lot of officers were not familiar with the proper care of ceramic rifle armor and tended to drop them on concrete and such, so as they were passed from hand to hand, there was no way to know what kind of abuse had been inflicted upon the particular plates that I was carrying on any given night. Plus, level III plates cannot be counted upon to stop the extremely common Chinese military surplus steel-cored 7.62x39 projectiles often encountered on the streets. And the issued plate carriers had no practical ability to accomodate personally-owned magazine pouches, BOK (Blow Out Kit), or anything else. And of course, I'd have to adjust everything, at the beginning of every single shift.

So I purchased a very nice LBT (London Bridge Trading Company) plate carrier in the same color (black) as our department-issued plate carriers, level IV multi-hit stand-alone triple-curved "swimmer's cut" ceramic rifle armor plates in the proper size, installed my rifle mag pouches, my BOK, and so on, got the exact same "POLICE" patches, adjusted everything up perfectly for me, and squeezed it into my padded patrol bag. If a supervisor did a spot check, I'd show them my issued crap in the trunk, but at every gun call, I'd show up wearing my personally owned kit, and nobody ever noticed.

[Captain Max]

Mine paid for them directly, not out of clothing allowance, no reimbursement. Level III with trauma plates, and you got a new one upon expiration. I have no idea what they paid.

[Aidokea]

Cap, I think you mean IIIa. Level III body armor is rigid external rifle armor plates. Level IIIa is soft concealable pistol body armor.

[Captain Max]

By gum I think you're right.

[Kraut0783]

We have a choice from several vendors, when the dates of expiration come up you get a heads up from the PD and the companies visit the PD several times a year for measurements and orders. PD pays for the vest.

[GoldBadge]

Bro, your dept takes care of the officers. I saw the new digs and equipment.

[Kraut0783]

Yep, I cannot complain at all!

[angeredmgmt]

My department pays whatever the price was, which I don't know, for the Point Blanks we use. We got two internal carriers and two external carriers, and I don't know what level they are off the top of my head. They are pretty pliable, so I don't think they are anything special. We also have have shtf tactical vests with the ceramic plates, which I hope I won't have to ever wear again. No idea, again, how much that rig cost.

[Bing_Oh]

Well, suspicions confirmed...my department are [email protected]$$es.

[L-1]

In California, the vest is considered to be safety equipment. State law mandates that an employer provide employees with all safety equipment and no cost to them.

[Aidokea]

I suspect if push comes to legal shove, that would/could/should be the case everywhere.

[L-1]

Officers in each state need to lobby their Legislature to amend their Labor Code to reflect this requirement. It needs to be a push from the statewide POA and local POAs as well. There will be push back from whatever organizations represent cities and counties as this will create a tremendous budget increase for them as safety equipment can be interpreted to include firearms, extra mags, ammunition, handcuffs, baton, radio, Sam Brown belt, liner belt, pepper spray, eye glasses, body armor, wet weather gear, motor boots, - the list is endless. When you multiply this times every officer, each department's budget will take a huge jump.

[LA DEP]

In California, the vest is considered to be safety equipment. State law mandates that an employer provide employees with all safety equipment and no cost to them.

and as always, our lives depend on the lowest bidder.

Some areas do a voucher for a set amount, which allows the individual to add their own $$$$ for an upgraded vest though

[westside popo]

The last vest I had, I purchased because I didn't know how long it was going to take the city to approve the purchase of new vests. They liked the one I bought so they approved me order some for all the officers. At about that time the new city politicians were elected and they started spending a lot of money on us.

FWIW..

I got my vest from Safelife and got the IIIA+ panels. If you call them talk to their law enforcement liaison and you may be able to get a discount.

Before that I had a Point Blank IIIA vest. I had issues with the outer carriers from both.

[tanksoldier]

I’ve worked for 2 departments, about to start with the 3rd, and have been issued 4 vests…. 5 counting the mistake below…. and will be issued the 5th (6th) by the new department. All Level III-A, except one that was mis-ordered as a Level II-A but replaced when the error was discovered,.. and I got to keep the II-A, just couldn’t wear it on duty.

The very first vest was a spare they had from someone who was fired. It was expired by a few months, but I only wore it until my new vest came in about a month. I got to keep it, they didn’t want it back.

Two came with outer carriers if I wanted to use them in addition to the normal inner carrier. The second of these was ordered after less than a year of wearing the first one, the new chief didn’t like the old chief’s fashion choices.

I know one of the vests with only an inner carrier cost about $700.

None of the vests I’ve been issued, except that first one, have ever been kept long enough to expire.

None of them cost me anything.