Stab Vests For University Security Professionals

With a noticeable increase of young people moving away from home and beginning life on campus, university security professionals are absolutely essential, in order to ensure the personal safety and protection of our students. These men and women often wear stab vests, due to the risks involved when providing security patrols, surveillance, and emergency response.

In fact, organisations such as the U.S. basedIACLEA (International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators) and UK based AUCSO (Association of University Chief Security Officers) have specialised themselves in, and dedicated themselves to improving the safety of universities and higher education colleges.

However, it is rather saddening to see those countries, such as my home country Germany, still don’t see a need for dedicated security teams protecting these institutions.

Why do we have teams of dedicated security professionals here, but not in many other European countries?

I would love to hear from those in charge of university or college security, and include their comments, and update my article in response, if permission has been granted.

Why stab vests for university security professionals is essential?

• Questioning the presence of strangers within the university campus/complex represents a clear operational risk especially if their behaviour can be classed as ‘suspicious’.
• Conducting night patrols (with many universities being based near city centre locations and having an active night life the presence of intoxicated members of the public is reality).
• Securing the buildings (buildings that often harbour multi-millions of pounds worth of technical and scientific equipment, which may well be of great interest to members of the criminal community)
• Taking on additional responsibilities, such as the control of anti-social behaviour and the confiscation of alcohol and other substances etc.
• Monitoring and identifying any attempts of any political or religious extremist’s groups to influence or manipulate students, often with the clear objective of ‘recruiting’ new followers in an environment where individuals are still looking for their chosen life path.

Engaging with any member of public during those activities potentially means engaging with a person who can be intoxicated, mentally ill, have clear hostile intentions, or who will do whatever it takes to avoid either identification or arrest.

I remember when one security guard was stabbed several times whilst trying to apprehend three trouble making teenagers on the campus grounds of Leeds Metropolitan University several years ago.

I also remember the incident in which a University of Bolton security guard found himself dealing with knife-wielding burglar Anthony Web who was subsequently sent to prison, as well as the two brothers, who kicked and stamped on a security guard after he caught them breaking into University of Hull building.

Well, the USA had their fair share of well documented attacks within colleges or universities. A rather interesting list of all attacks within US based sub-secondary schools (universities and higher education colleges) can be found on Wikipedia, and I must admit it was quite an eye opener for me: click here

I think it is rather sensible to acknowledge that security professionals, charged with patrolling university campuses, and engaging with ‘persons of interest’ put themselves at risk when going about their daily duties. This ‘higher risk level’ especially during unavoidable face to face interactions, usually justifies or requires dedicated conflict management training as well as personal protective equipment in the form of stab resistant body armour, especially offering certified levels of protection from blunt force trauma injuries. Statistically ‘blunt force trauma injuries’ are the most common injuries most security professionals will suffer from, hence stab vests for university security professionals should offer SP1 certified spike protection. Getting punched, kicked, or hit by a blunt object is more likely than being shot or stabbed!

Several University professionals have been enquiring as to the use of our unique stab resistant vests within their line of work due and subsequently issued their frontline staff with this particular type of personal protective equipment (PPE). In my opinion they have done the right thing, they taken precautionary steps, rather than being reactive and waiting for an incident to happen and then having to deal with the operational, financial, moral, and legal nightmare they may well face after such incident.

PPSS Stab Vests Video

If you are working within this specific environment, can I please ask you to take the protective panel out of its body armour cover, and check the date your body armour has been produced?

The raw materials used to produce body armour do degrade. The handling and storage of body armour will also have a significant impact on the life expectancy of a body armour.

The certification of body armour is valid for up to 5 years. The certification is invalid following the ‘expiry date’, meaning a) the level of protection can no longer be guaranteed, and b) the legal consequence for an employer would be much more severe if such body armour failed, as the body armour is no longer certified and no longer complying with laws, regulations, or directives.

In case you have any technical questions about stab vests for university security professionals, please feel free to contact us or engage with Colin Mackinnon, my firm’s Technical Director. He has indisputably become one of this country’s leading experts on body armour. Following a 26-year career in law enforcement (counter terrorism, covert operations, surveillance, firearms etc.). Colin is now attending all our commercial meetings, advising university and hospital security teams, government agencies, private security firms and other enforcement agencies on this subject matter.

Or please feel free to ask me any questions or simply comment.

Stay safe.