WASHINGTON, D.C. – Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Katie Britt (R-AL) to provide next generation body armor tailored to best meet the coverage, fit, and functionality needs of female law enforcement personnel at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has passed the Senate. Recent ballistic testing by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified that body armor typically used by DHS officers can allow bullets to deflect off the chest of the armor and hit the throat area, leaving female officers, and some male officers, vulnerable. The bill would require all agencies under DHS to provide law enforcement personnel with appropriately fitting improved ballistic body armor to keep them safe. The bill was approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where Peters serves as Chair. It now moves to the House for consideration.
“Law enforcement officers deserve protective body armor that keeps them as safe as they keep us. My bill will ensure that all officers, regardless of gender or body type, will have access to the most advanced and effective safety equipment,” said Senator Peters.
“The brave law enforcement personnel at the Department of Homeland Security need equipment that keeps them safe and ensures they can return home to their families every night. Unfortunately, their current body armor sometimes misses the mark—requiring some officers to wear equipment that does not provide the full protection they deserve,” said Senator Britt. “With the passage of the DHS Better Ballistic Body Armor Act, we are ensuring every man and woman in the line of duty has the best equipment necessary to protect them. I am thankful for the unanimous passage of our legislation, and I look forward to seeing this bill pass the House and ultimately be signed into law.”
In 2022, the FBI conducted ballistic testing using updated procedures and improved body molds that accounted for different body types. The testing found that the commonly used body armor, when tested on female and certain male molds, was vulnerable to a bullet, or other projectile, ricocheting off the top center of the front armor panel and into the throat area, which could kill an officer. Since the testing, improved ballistic body armor has been created and is available, but DHS does not provide this potentially life-saving body armor to their officers.
The bipartisan DHS Better Ballistic Body Armor Act would require all agencies under DHS to provide their female law enforcement officers, and any law enforcement personnel, with improved ballistic body armor to better protect them in the line of duty.
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