SYDNEY, 15 Oct 2018:
Police officers in the Australian State of Victoria will soon be fitted out with 14,000 new and improved ballistic and spike protection vests.
Manufactured by Australian Defence Apparel, the state government has spent A$36 million on the new personal protection equipment – saying the lightweight vests will provide better mobility and comfort for front-line officers.
“These vests have already been tested in the field and provide increased movement, improved access to equipment and are more comfortable to wear in a vehicle,” Victoria state minister for police Lisa Neville said in a statement today.
“We’ve been equipping the police with new technology and equipment … and these new vests will cater for those technological advances and demands of modern policing.”
The cutting-edge design even has inbuilt thermal management which allows it to adapt to warm and cold temperatures.
Part of a wider investment in new technology for the policing sector, officers are also set to receive 11,000 hi-tech body-worn cameras and about 10,000 mobile communication devices.
All uniformed officers in the state will be equipped with the new vests, along with Protective Services Officers, Police Custody Officers, Highway Patrol teams, Crime Scene Services, investigators and the Mounted Police Branch.
“We’re working closely with the Victoria Police to fund the equipment police officers need to stay safe as they go about the important jobs,” said Neville.
– Bernama