Support for Mandatory Body Armor and Seatbelt Wear Policies
Adopted at the 122nd Annual Conference
Chicago, Illinois
October 2015
Support for Mandatory Body Armor and Seatbelt Wear Policies
Submitted by: Highway Safety Committee
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WHEREAS, each year, traffic crashes and firearms-related incidents are the leading causes of death among law enforcement officers who are killed in the line of duty (1) and;
WHEREAS, in 2013, 59 of the 100 officers killed in the line of duty were killed in automobile crashes or shootings, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (2), and;
WHEREAS, traffic-related incidents were the number one cause of officer fatalities 13 of the last 15 years (3), and;
WHEREAS, preliminary reports for 2014 indicate that deaths due to these causes increased since last year (4), and;
WHEREAS, body armor and seatbelts have been proven to save lives and help reduce injuries to officers. Yet officers' use of body armor and seatbelts remains dangerously uneven. Research shows that:
- Between 2003 and 2012, 36% of the officers who were feloniously killed in the line of duty were not wearing body armor (5);
- When it is worn properly, body armor has been proven to be effective. Since 1987, more than 3,000 law enforcement officers have survived life-threatening injuries because they were protected by body armor (6). In one year alone, protective ballistic vests were directly attributable to saving the lives of at least 33 law enforcement and corrections officers (7);
- Seatbelt use among law enforcement officers is well below that of the general public. Studies indicate that seatbelt wear among the general public is at 86%, (8) whereas it is estimated that roughly half of all officers do not wear seatbelts while on duty (9), and;
WHEREAS, in 2012, 10 of the 26 (38%) officers killed in automobile crashes were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the incident. (10) Over the past three decades, 42% of the officers killed in automobile crashes were not wearing seatbelts (11); now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) supports the mandatory use of body armor and seatbelts in all law enforcement agencies, and is calling upon all law enforcement executives, employee associations, and police unions to join in this effort. It is critical that police leaders and employee representatives work together to adopt and enforce sensible mandatory wear policies and to develop strategies that will increase the use of body armor and seatbelts among officers; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP supports mandatory wear policies is conditioned on the following:
- Failure to comply with the policy should not be used by any police agencies or governmental entities as a basis for denying death or disability benefits to officers or their families.
- The language in some federal and state disability laws states that officers may be denied benefits if their deaths or injuries are caused by their intentional misconduct or gross negligence, or if their actions were a substantial contributing factor to the death or injury.
- We believe that this language should be amended to state that the failure to wear body armor or a seatbelt does not constitute the type of intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or substantial contributing factor that would warrant denial of benefits.
- Law enforcement executives should work closely with their employee associations and police unions when developing mandatory wear policies, and officers should be involved in testing and selecting equipment.
- Law enforcement agencies should provide their officers with up-to-date equipment that meets all applicable safety requirements. This includes ensuring that agency vehicles are in good working condition and making best efforts to provide the newest and best vehicles possible.
- Police executives and labor leaders should work together to develop strategies for increasing the use of body armor and seatbelts among officers. This should include: selecting body armor that is climate-appropriate, individually tailored, and meets gender-specific needs; providing tactical training on safe seatbelt usage; and implementing educational campaigns on the importance of wearing body armor and seatbelts; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, by working together to enact mandatory wear policies and to encourage body armor and seatbelt use among officers, police executives, employee associations and police unions can make a difference. We believe that mandating body armor and seatbelt use can reduce the number of officers who die in auto crashes and shootings by nearly half.
1 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Causes of Law Enforcement Deaths
http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer---fatalities---data/causes.html.
2 Ibid
3 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Drive Safely Campaign
http://www.nleomf.org/programs/drive/.
4 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Preliminary 2014 Fatality Statistics
http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer---fatalities---data/
5 Federal Bureau of Investigation: 2012 Law Enforcement Officers Killed & Assaulted
http://www.fbi.gov/about---us/cjis/ucr/leoka/2012/officers---feloniously---killed/felonious_topic_page_---2012
6 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs: Bulletproof Vest Partnership Initiative (Updated May 2014)
http://ojp.gov/bvpbasi/
7 Ibid
8 U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Seat Belt Use in 2013—Overall Results (January 2014)
http://www---nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811875.pdf
9 Below 100 Campaign
http://below100.com/below---100---frequently---asked---questions/
For police, not wearing seat belts can be fatal mistake (October 14, 2012), Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/for---police---not---wearing---seat---belts---can---be---fatal---mistake/2012/10/14/78a8dd10---f207---11e1---892d---bc92fee603a7_story.html
10 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Changing the Culture of Safety (June 2013)
http://www.nleomf.org/assets/pdfs/nhtsa/NSA---Traffic---Safety---Committee---June---2013_NHTSA---web---version.pdf
11 Ibid