Body Armor for Law Enforcement - What's the best option?

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gmar

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My brother is graduating from OSU OKC with his Associates in Law Enforcement (not sure of the actual name of the degree) and he's wanting to become a police officer. My parents are wanting to buy him some body armor as a graduation present. What's the best option out there?
 

Fyrtwuck

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Depending on the department, they may issue vests. When I retired in 2007, the best were made by Safariland and Second Chance. Depending on the threat level they are designed for, they can get expensive.

The current trend is a vest that goes on top of the uniform shirt instead of underneath. I saw one recently the looked just like a uniform shirt. I had to do a double take to make sure it was a vest and not a shirt.
 

ef9turbo

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I would avoid buying body armor just because if he does get onto a department, they may purchase it for him. If he plans on getting on with a small dept., they probably won't buy him a vest, so he can get his own. I would at least wait until that because vest have a 5 year expiration. If your parents are adamant on buying one, we currently are issuing the new Safariland armor. There are a few different armor choices, but the thinnest is the hardwire. It's literally 2mm thick and perform very well, though there isn't much flex as it contours to your body. You need to get professionally sized and most police stores can do that for you. It stopped every handgun round we threw at it and even stopped some rifle rounds. It's pretty pricey though.

http://www.safariland.com/products/body-armor/covert-concealable-body-armor/ballistics/
 

gmar

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I appreciate all of the advice! I talked to my dad today and they will wait until he gets hired somewhere before buying anything.

New question:

Do agencies normally provide a duty gun or do the officers have to purchase it themselves?
 

Foghorn

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Most agencies provide their officers vests and require the officer to wear the issued vest. Buy him a plate carrier with good quality plates for if the poo really hits the fan. Most agencies are still not providing those. A trauma pack with qclot and good tourniquet is also good idea for anyone to have around


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JesseR

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All the agencies I've worked for provided our vests and change them out every 24-36 months. Soft armor is provided, they can buy him a trama plate, but he will be uncomfortable after several shifts in a car.
 

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