Any police officers - I have a uniform and safety question

[Widerthanathinblueline]

I have a question about police safety uniform and whether it is designed well for women.

I was reading this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3515856-aibu-to-feel-f-d-off-with-a-world-built-for-men and I was horrified to read that 'normal' stab vests don't fit women properly as they are designed for men and hence not for breasts.

However, I am not at all clear whether this is current practice or not.

Before I get worked up and fire off lots of Freedom of Information requests, can anyone tell me if most/all/none of the UK Police Forces buy stab vests made to actually fit women, rather than just small sizes of a 'unisex' version?

I'm a police officer and mine is definitely a female stab vest shaped differently at the front

I'm in the army and the shoulders on my body armour are too wide to allow me to put my arms above my head. I have to put my goggles on my eyes before I put my body armour on as otherwise I can't get them over my helmet due to restricted shoulder movement.

I don't really have boobs and I suspect I'm fortunate in that however, the body armour plates are too long for my body so when I sit in some aircraft seats, I get awful bruises on my hip bones. Most women wear the smallest "unisex" version of that style of body armour, the remainder of our clothes mostly just say "mens".

The helmets are a nightmare as well if you have hair that needs tying back. At my level I can just wear it in a plait but more junior women get such a hard time unless they have an advocate for a sensible approach

Genvonklinkerhoffen I am really sorry to hear that the Army hasn't managed to get female kit right. Not being able to lift your hands above your head when wearing body armour must surely reduce your ability to do your job? Being able to adjust your helmet/goggles/rub grit from your eye so you can see seem like fairly basic needs to me

Is there a way outsiders could raise this with MOD to get any result?

Gosh I hadn’t even thought the army wouldn’t get it right! I am quite happy to Freedom of Information the MoD rather than the Police. And if the results are not good I am happy to start a petition on the government website. May I PM you to ask a few more questions so I can target my questions correctly?

Sure, I know there are projects underway to address this but so slooowly.

My BFF is a frontline officer and her stab vest fits her perfectly and she’s got huge boobs. I tried it on and it hangs off me as I’m nearly a foot shorter with no boobs!

I was measured in about 50 different ways before being issued my vest and it fit just fine. Not anymore but that is because my weight is constantly changing

Thanks Gen I will think of a draft FoI and then run it past you to check it makes sense.

I understand police stab vests are made to measure.

There is a national police uniform contract, certainly used by the met and an increasing number of other forces - I suggest you start there.

PM sent, Genvonlinkerhoffen.