Check to see if your body armor really fits

December 21, 2009 06:41 AM •

Submitted by: Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith

When was the last time you checked your soft body armor?

Our bodies change and so does our gear; if you’ve lost or gained weight, started using a new duty belt, transitioned from wearing your armor next to your body to putting it in an outside carrier or made some other change that may affect how your vest fits, you need to take a good hard look at those panels that may someday save your life.

Does your vest ride too high, too low, or maybe not wrap around like it used to?

Do you dread putting on your armor, or worse yet, have you stopped wearing it because it’s so uncomfortable?

It may be time for a new vest. Even if the department won’t pay for one, if your vest does not fit, you need to get one that does! It also doesn’t hurt to check the expiration dates, they don’t last forever, but ask the hundreds of “saves” out there: soft body armor works, but it has to fit and you have to be wearing it properly. Check yours out.

Officer Safety Patrol Issues Police Training

Betsy Brantner Smith

My column is undergoing a bit of an identity crisis. I’ve been writing for the Street Survival “Newsline” and the P1 Newsletter for several years. As a Street Survival seminar instructor, I write about officer safety and survival, but I’m also a supervisor, a mom, a trainer, a cop’s wife, and dare I say, a woman, so I’ve got a lot to say about any number of topics (what woman doesn’t?!), and I’ve always received great feedback from our readers. So when Police One approached me and asked me to author a monthly column dealing with women’s issues, I enthusiastically agreed. “What a great opportunity” I naively thought “to bring issues to light that both women and men in law enforcement could all relate to, perhaps discuss at roll call, and ultimately learn something from each other.” Yeah, just call me Sergeant Pollyanna…I forgot that by calling it a “women’s” column, not only will most of our male readers skip over it, but so will at least half our female readers. What?! Why in the world wouldn’t women read a “women’s” column?! Because, there are a lot of female crimefighters out there like me who have spent a lot of years just trying to blend in, to be “one of the guys” if you will…to be perceived as and conduct ourselves as “warriors,” not “victims.” We don’t want special treatment; we just want to be cops.