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The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and possibly take action on a request to provide consent to submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bulletproof Vest Partnership in an amount not to exceed $24,400 for the purchase of replacement bulletproof vests for the Maricopa Police Department. There is a dollar for dollar match requirement. If awarded, the Maricopa Police Department will come before Council to request $24,400 from the General Fund, Contingency Funds in FY 11-12. Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) was created by the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998(Public Law 105-181). It is a unique initiative by the U.S. Department of to provide critical resources to state and local law enforcement. The BVP Act of 1998 requires at least half of all appropriated funds support applications from jurisdictions with populations under 100,000 people. Eligible jurisdictions include general purpose units of local government such as cities, towns, parishes, and municipalities. Also included are recognized Indian Tribes, the 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Eligible law enforcement officers for BVP Program purposes include police officers, sheriff deputies, correctional officers, parole and probation agents, prosecutors, and judicial officials.
BVP funds up to 50% of the cost of each vest purchased or replaced by law enforcement applicants. Only vest models that comply with the requirements of the Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice (NIJ) may be purchased with BVP funds. All vests have a usable life of around 5 years and the Maricopa Police Department began providing services on July 1, 2007.
Following two years of declining law enforcement officer line-of-duty deaths, the country realized a dramatic 37 percent increase in officer deaths in 2010. Fifty-nine of the 160 officers killed in 2010 were shot during violent encounters, a 20 percent increase over 2009 numbers. Due to the increase in the number of law enforcement officer deaths, coupled with renewed efforts to improve officer safety, the U.S. Department of Justice is committed to improving officer safety and has undertaken research to review and analyze violent encounters and law enforcement officer deaths and injuries. Beginning with FY10-11, in order to receive BVP funds, Jurisdictions must certify, during the application process, that all law enforcement agencies benefitting from the BVP Program have a written "mandatory wear" policy in effect. This policy must be in place for at least all uniformed officers before any FY 2011 funding can be used by the agency. There are no requirements regarding the nature of the policy other than it being a mandatory wear policy for all uniformed officers while on duty. BJA strongly encourages agencies to consult the International Association of Chiefs of Police's Model Policy on Body Armor and to strongly consider all recommendations within that policy. This policy change was announced in October 2010 by Attorney General Holder after consulting with and receiving input from the law enforcement community.
A ballistic vest, bulletproof vest or bullet-resistant vest is an item of protective clothing that absorbs the impact from firearm fired projectiles and shrapnel fragments from explosions. While a vest can prevent bullet penetration, the vest and wearer still absorb the bullet's energy. Even without penetration, modern pistol bullets contain enough energy to cause blunt force trauma under the impact point. Vest specifications include both penetration resistance requirements and limits on the amount of impact energy that is delivered to the body.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends submitting a grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bulletproof Vest partnership in an amount not to exceed $24,400 for the purchase of replacement bulletproof vests for the Maricopa Police Department.