stab vests

[PaBlueDawg]

I just want to know how people feel about wearing stab vests?

[Tinkplink]

Every staff member should of had these 15 years ago.. Every staff member....

[Kebemt]

Becarful of what you wish for!! We had them in DE... They were HOT and so bulky that the inmates knew that we had them on... SO they would go for our necks.... the way I saw it... I would rather give them the bigger target and hope they didnt hit anything big rather then give them the smaller target that if they hit it you were ****ed!!

[OfficerPedde]

I'm all for being proactive, I would rather wear one my entire career and never needed it than to take one to the gut and wish I had it.

[KBCraig]

I've always been opposed to them in the BOP, because as soon as they are "optional", some jerkwad will make them mandatory. I believe any staff member should be allowed to wear whatever protective equipment they've comfortable with, but none of it should be mandatory. And of course the "mandatory" stuff will be lowest common denominator. Instead of every officer being issued a fitted personal vest, there will be one of each size in the unit office (just like body armor on perimeter patrols and armed escorts). And just like the body armor, they will be 100% stank and funk, and probably permanently creased from being stood in a corner instead of properly hung up.

From the bigger picture, I believe there were four BOP staff stabbed in 2008 before Jose Rivera lost his life. I honestly can't recall four staff stabbings in total in the BOP in my previous 16 years, other than Scott Williams and the other officers who were cut in that incident. If any happened, they weren't known around the Bureau.

I keep smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in my house. I carry spare tires and jacks in my vehicles. I carry a gun while off duty, and always have several readily at hand at home. I buy life insurance. I hope to never use any of those things, but having them is not much of an inconvenience. Should I ever need any of them, it's better to have them that not.

A stab vest is a major inconvenience, and would actually get in the way for most of my job. As others have noted, it's hot. It's heavy. It's not like wearing lightweight flexible body armor. The inconvenience:reward ratio has an infinitesimal gap.

I'm as outraged as anyone else over Jose Rivera's death. I just don't think stab vests would provide a reasonable degree of protection in 99% of BOP cases.

[Movementarian]

Stab vests are a good idea, but perhaps not ones that resemble second chance vests and fit under the uniform. It would probably be better to go for something like the British police wear on patrol.

[PaBlueDawg]

I just wanted to know what people thought, and should they be mandatory or optional if at all.

[Gaoler]

I have to disagree with the thoughts of "if you wear it then a thug will just go for your neck instead". I agree that it's obvious if you are wearing a vest, there's no getting around that. I also agree that it might make them attempt to attack you in an area not covered by your vest. But the vest is cover the largest portion of your body. Any areas that are vital that are not covered by the vest are rather small. The likely hood of the being able to successfully attack you in a vital non covered area are extremely small. In addition some of these thugs will not understand the protection of a vest and think that they are "strong enough" to puncture it. Overall I think the benefits of wearing a vest far out weigh the risks. It's similar to some of the arguments people give for not carrying a gun out on the street (the bad guy will grab your gun and use it against you. Sure it's a possibility, but the odds are so low it's not even worth considering really).

I want to say that I think they should be mandatory to wear, but some people are adamant about not wearing them and I'd rather not force it upon them. I most assuredly believe it should always be optional. No way an agency should not allow you to wear one if you want to.

[Craven Moorehead]

It should be YOUR choice to wear one. I'd buy my own if I worked in a crazy joint....a Second Chance.....There the best, Had one when I was a Deputy Sheriff. (They have both...Ballistic and stab. And some that protect against BOTH)

My view is that If I'm "Wearing" I can concentrate on protecting the vital areas of my body not covered.....Neck up, femoral arteries, don't have to concentrate on protecting the "Golden column" (Your centerline)

Anyway....I don't think they shoul be mandatory. Y'a know....the Bureau being all concerned with image.....They could use it to their advantage. "Well, we give them the option of wearing a protective vest...." Would be the first thing they say WHEN it happens again. (I say when because it WILL happen again if they don't change things!)

[Nevin67]

The only problem that I see with stab vests is that we won't get anything decent. We will get some crap that unicor makes. It will be like wearing the tin man costume from the Wizard of OZ.

Some of the staff that haven't seen a gym or track in a while will probably have heat strokes in them. Or they may sweet off 30 or 40 pounds. But rest assured the vests will be garbage just like the ballistic vests that we have now.

If we do wear stab vests we should be given an allowance just like with the uniforms and be able to buy our own. In Delaware they made the vests mandatory and were gung ho on them until it came time to start replacing the vest as they reached the end of their life cycle. then all of the sudden it was no big deal again and they took the vests away.

We are only as valuable as the bean counters say we are. They can pay a lot of line of duty death benefits for what it will cost to give everyone a vest.