San Antonio, Texas — At the recent FBINAA National Conference in Seattle, Washington, FORUM-DIRECT announced new outerwear specifically designed for female patrol officers — its latest addition to the growing line of Advanced Products for Law Enforcement. Ike and standard styles of the popular GORE-TEX® Lightweight Patrol Shell and the GORE® WINDSTOPPER™ Patrol Soft Shell have been specifically tailored for female officers. Like the styles that are available for male officers, these lightweight products are engineered specifically to protect you from the elements when outside and keep you comfortable when you are in the car or the station. With this combination of protection and comfort, you can keep it on throughout the entire shift.
As the chair of the Delaware State Police’s uniform committee, Major Melissa Zebley understands the importance of having women’s sizes available for officers. “A professional appearance is very important to our agency, which means we want everyone wearing the same high-quality uniforms. For more than 18 months, we have been evaluating jackets that provide comfort throughout a 12-hour shift as well as protection from the elements. Beyond the obvious need for well-designed styles and durable performance, fit and the ability to customize the jacket were essential to our selection. If we give our female officers a man’s size small, they are still too big and look unkempt.
Customization means selecting a jacket available in a range of both men’s and women’s sizes so everyone looks professional and is comfortable. We selected a jacket that enables us to add key features such as reflective trim to improve the officers’ safety, stitched-on badges so the officers don’t have to move their badge from their shirts to their jackets, and a Velcro strip for a name badge — customization that leads to professional uniformity.”
Captain Laura O’Sullivan, Patrol Commander with the New Castle County Police Department, agreed with the importance of a professional appearance and comfortable fit, and she also stressed the crucial issue of safety. As the vice president of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Women in Law Enforcement (MAAWLE), she has heard many stories about problems with uniforms. “I’ve been on the force for almost 23 years, working patrol and SWAT for most of that time. I was usually provided men’s size small jackets, but I ended up not wearing them because they could compromise my safety. The sleeves were too long and usually covered my hands. Between that and having my duty belt covered by the extra bulk from the jacket being too long, it was difficult to access my radio, Taser, or weapon quickly. When dealing with a suspect, this could result in me being injured. For the past year and a half, I have had a jacket designed for women and that has made a big difference.”
To ensure a comfortable and fit and professional appearance, the FORUM-DIRECT jackets for women can be ordered in Small to 3X sizes and in one of three lengths — petite, average, and long. For more information about Forum’s complete collection of law enforcement products, visit http://www.forum-direct.com or call 855-88-FORUM.
About FORUM Industries
Based in San Antonio, Texas, Forum Industries manufactures high-performance outerwear with GORE-TEX® and WINDSTOPPER® fabrics for law enforcement. Forum works closely with the law enforcement community to develop garments that can be worn individually or as part of an advanced layering system, enabling officers to create a personalized system to meet their individual requirements for comfort and weather protection. Through FORUM-DIRECT, law enforcement agencies and individuals can purchase quality outerwear directly from the manufacturer at an affordable price — eliminating costly distributor and dealer mark-ups. For more information, visit www.forum-direct.com.
