The Jaffrey Police Department will be able to replace one of its daily pieces of life safety equipment – its bullet-proof vests – with assistance from a federal grant.
The police department cycles out its bullet-proof vests about every five years, Police Chief Bill Oswalt said in an interview Tuesday. Over the next two years, the department plans to purchase 10 new vests to replace its current inventory. About half the cost will be covered by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
That’s a significant cost savings for the department, as new vests cost about $900.
The grant will provide $3,905 over the next two years for the vests, with the rest covered by the police department’s budget.
In order to access the grant, the vests purchased must adhere to the standards of the National Institute of Justice, and the department must have a “mandatory wear” policy, meaning uniformed officers must wear a vest while on duty at all times, not just when entering a potential volatile situation. That’s a policy the Jaffrey Department already has in place, Oswalt said.
“For our officers on patrol assignments, this is mandatory wear,” Oswalt said. “They’re wearing it every day.”
The program has been in place since 1999, to assist both state and local law enforcement.
Since its founding, the program has awarded more than 13,000 agencies to purchase 1.3 million vests.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.