CUIRAZZ ARMOURED VESTS

Cuirazz Body Protection takes a more holistic approach to protecting frontline personnel against violent attacks. We also believe in dispelling the myth in regard to 'bulletproof vests', 'stabproof vests', 'needleproof vests' and 'spikeproof vests' in that there is no such product that can give 100% body protection against violent attacks. 'Bulletproof vests' and 'stabproof vests' are a misconception and often give the impression that the wearer could be 100% protected. This is not the case and we try to educate people in that fact that 'bulletproof vests' and 'stabproof vests' do not exist.

The Cuirazz philosophy is that modern body armour should provide defence to the attack threats of knife, needle & spike, ballistic, shrapnel (including flying glass) and blunt trauma (including being hit with pipes, other hard objects and being kicked). This is corroborated in the 2007/8 National Crime Statistics revealing that some form of weapon, including blunt objects, knives, needles, screwdrivers, firearms and kicking were used in 24% of all reported violent incidents in England & Wales.

Gun and knife attacks are all too common in today?#8364;™s society. 2007/2008 figures show that gun crime has risen 4% (approx. 10,170 cases) with approx. 410 of those being serious or fatal injuries. The types of firearms being used differ, but statistics show that the use of shotguns has risen 8%, whilst imitation firearms have risen 4%. This means that as general crime may be falling, the use of guns ?#8364;“ especially high powered guns, is on the rise and body protection is a must. Knife crime had approx. 20,000 recorded cases in 2007/2008, yet many people think that as many as 4 out of 5 knife crimes are never reported. Therefore, there could potentially be as many as 100,000 knife crimes in the U.K every year.

Cuirazz Body Protection armoured vests are manufactured in a UKAS accredited ISO 9001:2000 facility based in the United Kingdom. The core defensive element of the armoured vest is a polymer coated Aramid fabric pack that is unique, in that it retains its resistance properties even when wet unlike most traditional body armour and also dissipates energy which results in lower blunt trauma levels.

In addition the polymer coating provides resistance to the specified attacks even when wet, which is unlike traditional Aramid armoured vests. The armour pack has a manufacturer's warranty of 10 years which is double the industry norm and a 1 year manufacturer's warranty on the cover.

All Cuirazz Body Protection armoured vests have been certified by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch. All body armour standards and certification, test reports and manufacturers product liability documentation are available on request. All Cuirazz Body Protection armoured vests carry the 5 Defences in 1 Armour logo indicating the capability to resist knife, needle, blunt trauma, ballistic, and shrapnel attacks. Cuirazz Body Protection armoured vests are produced in two types; Covert (worn under the garment) and Overt (worn over the garment).

Due to the myths and folklore surrounding body armour ?#8364;“ an expert is born every minute; Cuirazz Body Protection has provided detailed information on what considerations are required when selecting body armour. There are also legal ramifications and the potential loss of life if a wrong selection is made. Finally we have highlighted the pitfalls of buying 'cheap and cheerful body armour?#8364;™ including a personal experience, including buying Single Threat or Multiple Threat body protection.

OTHER CUIRAZZ BODY PROTECTION

It is essential for any security minded business or company to fully protect their personnel. The use of not only all in one armoured vests but additional body armour can help reduce the risks of injury even more. As well as the all in one armoured vests which replace the 'bulletproof vest' and 'stabproof vest', Cuirazz produce other body armour products to protect against all types of security and health risks. These products include safety glasses and protective slash and needlestick gloves which are all necessary for full body protection.

PUTTING TO REST THE BULLETPROOF VEST AND STABPROOF VEST MYTH

A common, yet often mistaken, belief is that there are 'Bulletproof Vests', 'Stabproof Vests', 'needleproof vests' etc. There is no body armour that is 100% "proof%; different body armour will perform to a certain level of resistance dependant on its construction and design to defeat a particular threat and a specified level of performance within a threat.

Be wary of buying '100% bulletproof vests' or '100% stabproof vests' as you can read below there are no such thing. We will discuss the performance against threats in more detail under the Standards and Certification section of this web page. Therefore, the term bullet-resistent vests will be used as opposed to a 'bulletproof vest', and stab-resistant will be used instead of 'stabproof vest'; but also it will only perform to a specification. An example is where it is unlikely that a bullet resistant vest will defeat a .44 calibre magnum revolver when it is designed to defeat a .38 calibre bullet. Another factor requiring consideration is the velocity of the projectile (the bullet).

Digby Dyke, a scientist and leading developer and investigator of body armour who has tested and examined hundreds of armoured vests as well as having developed state-of-the-art materials, comments; "I deplore the widespread use of the terms 'bulletproof vest' and 'stabproof vest' in body armour talk - especially in marketing. The correct terms are bullet-resistant and stab-resistant." Along with Digby Dyke, we ourselves do not use the terms 'bulletproof vest' or 'stabproof vest' when advertising our armoured vests.

BODY ARMOUR STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION

In the UK the accepted Body Armour standard is the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB). The HOSDB produces body armour standards and certification to levels of resistance against ballistic, knife and spike attack. These robust standards are consistently being reviewed and improved. The latest HOSDB standard is the 2007 standard, which now requires certified vests to be re-certified periodically. It is a common practice for vendors of body armour to imply certification by claiming their products meet a level of certification whereas the body armour has not been certified by the HOSDB. Best practice is to request a copy of the valid HOSDB certification prior to purchase.

As discussed in our section on corporate responsibility there is a duty of care and legal responsibility on employers to ensure their staff is provided with proper and adequate safety equipment. Employers can be more confident of the body armour provided to their staff if it has been tested and certified to an accredited standard. As body armour is in effect life saving equipment, a further consideration is to ensure certification of the manufacturing facility to a quality standard, normally ISO 9001:2000 by an accreditation body such as the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

Whilst certification to the HOSDB standards is vital, it is equally important to ensure the manufacturing facilities conform to proper accredited quality processes. Digby Dyke concludes our article with the following words of advice; 'The question, "what are you buying?" when providing body armour needs to be taken very seriously indeed, it is not straightforward at all.'

Digby Dyke is a scientist and leading developer and investigator of body armour. He has tested and examined hundreds of body armour vests as well as having developed state-of-the-art materials. He is Managing Director of both Lorica Research Ltd www.lorica-research.com and Digby Dyke Ltd www.digbydyke.com.