Colleton County Council passed a resolution on April 5th to submit a grant application to purchase new bulletproof vests for the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Shalane Tindal, spokesperson for the CCSO, the Sheriff’s Office requested authorization to submit a grant application to the Bulletproof Vest Partnership for the fiscal year 2022 Grant Program for $35,671.20. CCSO requested approval for 50 percent of the funding to be transferred from the General Fund for $17,835.60 to aid in purchasing the vests.
The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for preparing the grant application. On average, bulletproof vests only last five years before they need replacing. The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998 is a U.S. Department of Justice initiative designed to provide this critical resource to state and local law enforcement.
According to the International Association of Police statistics, since 1987, the IACP/DuPont Kevlar Survivors’ Club has verified that bulletproof vests have saved the lives of over 3,100 law enforcement officers due to wearing the vests during an incident. The IACP’s also studied 18 law enforcement agencies, tracking officer injuries for one year. Officers wearing body armor missed fewer work days and had fewer rehabilitation days after an injury than those not wearing bulletproof vests. This data covers assaults, motor vehicle accidents, and other incidents.
According to Body Armor News, body armor is made of strong non-woven and/or woven fibers. The woven fibers stop a bullet, similar to how a net stops a tennis ball or volleyball and causes the bullet to slow down.
