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Version 1.2 by Ryan Larkin on 2017/07/31 16:48
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1 **Washington County Sheriff's Office**
2
3 **ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION**
4
5 Policy Manual
6
7
8 Volume: AF
9
10 Health and Safety
11
12 Chapter: 06
13
14 Personal Protective Equipment (Body Armor)
15
16
17 Replaces and/or Supersedes:
18
19 None
20
21 Published:
22
23 03/09/2011
24
25 Review Date:
26
27 03/09/2012 County Commission
28
29
30 Sheriff Cory Pulsipher
31
32 Undersheriff Bart Bailey
33
34
35 **__TABLE OF CONTENTS__**
36
37 AF 06_101 Definitions
38
39 AF 06_102 References
40
41 AF 06_103 General
42
43 AF 06_104 Issue
44
45 AF 06_105 Use
46
47 AF 06_106 Care and Replacement
48
49 AF 06_107 Training
50
51
52
53 **AF 06_101 __DEFINITIONS__**
54
55 1. WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
56 1. PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility
57 1. Field Activities: Duty assignments and/or tasks that place or could reasonably be expected to place officers in situations where they would be required to act in enforcement rather than administrative or support capacities.
58 1. Weapons Post: A position assignment or task that requires the officer to carry a firearm.
59
60 **AF 06_102 __REFERENCES__**
61
62 1. National Institute of Justice:
63 11. standard 0101.03.
64 1. Utah Counties Insurance Pool:
65 11. WC-III.E.
66
67 **AF 06_103 __GENERAL__**
68
69 1. Policy:
70 11. The WCSO shall regulate the selection and use of personal protective equipment.
71 11. The WCSO shall maximize officer safety through the use of body armor in conjunction with the practice of prescribed safety procedures.
72 11. Acceptable body armor vests include those which meet or exceed the minimum protective standards prescribed by the National Institute of Justice. Body armor shall provide front and back torso coverage (side panel protection optional).
73 11. Body armor should be concealable under the official uniform shirt.
74 11. Body armor shall allow full range of motion and shall not interfere with ability to perform assigned duties.
75 11. An officer in a weapons post may be reassigned to a non-weapons post if the officer does not possess approved body armor in good condition.
76 11. Body armor shall be labeled and clearly identify the:
77 111. Manufacturer;
78 111. Model;
79 111. Threat level protection;
80 111. Date of manufacture; and
81 111. Care instructions.
82 1. Rationale:
83 11. Personal protective equipment may have a wide range of quality or usefulness depending on the brand, model, or style. Thus, it is important for satisfactory standards to be established.
84 11. While body armor provides a significant level of protection, it is not a substitute for sound, basic safety procedures.
85 11. Body armor is considered one of the most critical pieces of equipment for an officer.
86
87 **AF 06_104 __ISSUE__**
88
89 1. Policy:
90 11. Body armor shall be issued to officers in Administrative Division and Patrol Division weapons posts.
91 11. Body armor shall not ordinarily be issued to officers in Corrections Division positions. However, officers will be allowed to supply and use their own body armor as long as they meet the requirements herein.
92 1. Rationale:
93 11. Officers in Corrections Division positions are less likely to encounter situations involving firearms due to the high-level security procedures and facility restrictions.
94
95 **AF 06_105 __USE__**
96
97 1. Policy:
98 11. Uniformed, weapons post officers shall wear body armor while on duty and participating in field activities. Officers may wear body armor at all other times.
99 11. Use of body armor shall be mandatory during:
100 111. Routine traffic, patrol, or law enforcement assignments;
101 111. Non-routine traffic, patrol, or law enforcement assignments whenever reasonably possible;
102 111. Routine or scheduled prisoner transportation assignments;
103 111. Non-routine or unscheduled prisoner transportation assignments whenever reasonably possible.
104 11. Officers shall wear only WCSO-approved body armor while on duty.
105 11. Officers may be exempted from wearing body armor when:
106 111. An agency-approved physician determines that an officer has a medical condition that would preclude wearing body armor; or
107 111. The officer is involved in undercover or plain clothes work that his/her supervisor determines could be compromised by wearing body armor; or
108 111. The Sheriff (or designee) determines that circumstances make it inappropriate to mandate wearing body armor.
109 11. Officers who are allowed not to wear body armor while on duty should maintain quick access to it (e.g., stored in trunk) in case of an emergency.
110 1. Rationale:
111 11. Law enforcement officers are assaulted everyday.
112 11. Body armor is designed to defend an officer against lethal force.
113 11. While wearing body armor cannot guarantee safety in every situation, safety risks are much greater without body armor.
114
115 **AF 06_106 __CARE AND REPLACEMENT__**
116
117 1. Policy:
118 11. Officers shall be responsible for ensuring that their body armor is worn and maintained as required.
119 11. Issued body armor that is worn or damaged shall be replaced by the WCSO. An officer may be required to reimburse the WCSO for the cost of replacement body armor if the cause for replacement was due to misuse or abuse by the officer.
120 11. Supervisors shall be responsible for ensuring that body armor is worn and maintained as required by this policy through routine observation and periodic, documented inspections.
121 11. Annual inspections of body armor may be conducted for fit, cleanliness, signs of damage, abuse, and wear.
122 11. Officers shall routinely inspect body armor for signs of damage and general cleanliness.
123 11. Each officer shall be responsible for cleaning personal body armor in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
124 11. Officers are responsible for the proper storage, maintenance, and care of body armor in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
125 11. Officers are responsible for reporting damage or excessive wear to their supervisor.
126 11. The WCSO replaces body armor periodically according to manufacturer’s instructions. If problems with fit arise because of interim changes in body size, it is the wearer’s responsibility to replace or otherwise maintain proper fit until the next periodic replacement.
127 1. Rationale:
128 11. Regular inspections may help detect damaged body armor.
129 11. Damaged body armor may not be as effective.
130 11. Proper care may help ensure the effectiveness of body armor.
131 11. Dirt and perspiration may erode ballistic panels.
132
133 **AF 06_107 __TRAINING__**
134
135 1. Policy:
136 11. The WCSO shall provide training on the proper selection and use of personal protective equipment. Training shall be coordinated by the WCSO Training Unit. The WCSO Training Unit shall be responsible for:
137 111. Ensuring that every officer issued body armor is trained in the proper donning and caring of their body armor;
138 111. Monitoring technological advances in the body armor industry that may necessitate a change in body armor;
139 111. Assessing weapons and ammunition currently in use and the suitability of approved body armor to protect against those threats;
140 111. Providing training programs that demonstrate body armor's stopping power under actual firing conditions and that emphasize safe and proper use;
141 111. Maintaining statistics on incidents where armor has or has not protected officers from harm, including traffic accidents.
142 1. Rationale:
143 11. Body armor may not be effective if not properly donned or cared for.
144 11. Body armor may not be as effective if not up-to-date with current technology.
145 11. Improper application of equipment may be more detrimental than the lack of equipment due to a false reliance upon the equipment.
146 11. Officers must be properly trained in order to know and understand how to properly select and use personal protective equipment.