Body armour survey reveals security industry’s “knowledge gaps”

According to the PPSS Group’s CEO Robert Kaiser, it was of great value to establish what level of knowledge security professionals harbour when it comes to the body armour they’re either wearing themselves or otherwise purchasing for their members of staff who are working on the front line.

“I believe it’s absolutely essential that a security professional has a clear understanding of his or her body armour’s capabilities, limitations and life expectancy,” observed Kaiser. “Equally, it’s of the utmost importance for managers and procurement professionals to share all available body armour performance-related information with their front line staff, enabling these men and women to make the best possible decisions in accordance with any given body armour’s protection levels and capabilities.”

According to the survey, 39% of participants stated that the information given to them about the body armour they’re presently using isn’t sufficient. In short, it hasn’t been explained to them what levels of protection their body armour is actually offering (or, indeed, not offering).

Further, 45% of survey respondents stated they’re not aware of the fact that body armour performance levels in general are only being certified for a limited period of five years. The White Paper produced by the PPSS Group offers highly informative additional information on this very subject.

‘Blunt force’ protection

High levels of physical abuse perpetrated against security professionals are also highlighted in the survey results, with 78% of those practitioners completing the survey confirming that they’ve been assaulted on duty, and many of them on several occasions. This echoes the findings of another very recent and well-documented UK-centric survey that revealed security professionals are now facing unacceptable levels of physical and verbal abuse.

The White Paper highlights the need for body armour to provide certified ‘impact’ or ‘blunt force’ protection. A substantial 83% of security professionals completing the survey highlighted the fact they have suffered from severe bruising during physical confrontations.

52% of those who took part in the survey answered the question: ‘Would you benefit from further body armour training?’ by answering ‘Yes’. It’s reasonable to conclude, then, that individuals want to know more about their body armour’s performance, certification and limitations.

*The complete International Body Armour Survey White Paper can be downloaded from the PPSS Group’s website

*The PPSS Group is an international firm specialising in the design, manufacture and supply of high-performance body armour and slash-resistant clothing. Its products serve to protect both homeland and private security professionals worldwide