# Protective Vests Help British Police Dogs



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

AP Photo/ South Yorkshire Police​*New body armor helps protect dogs from knife crime.*

*By MARTYN BROWN *
_The Express_

POLICE dogs are being fitted with Robocop-style body armour to protect them against knife crime.
The specially adapted vests are made of chain-mail, which is lighter than traditional Kevlar.
They can even be cleaned in a washing machine.
Dog handler PC Rick Harrison, who spent months developing them, said: "The vests are lightweight and the open mesh construction makes them highly breathable. The dogs' speed and manouvrability are not compromised. Dogs are able to wear the jackets through the heat of summer without distress." Eight of South Yorkshire Police's 50 dogs have already been fitted with the GBP 500 vests. If the trial is successful police chiefs will splash out GBP 25,000 so all their dogs are protected.
Teeside police dog Zoltan was awarded a medal last year after he was stabbed trying to disarm a knifeman.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police dog training centre at Keston in Kent said:
"Fortunately not many dogs are injured but these vests are a good thing to have, especially with the increasing use of knives."








Wire Services


----------



## CJIS (Mar 12, 2005)

that's cool


----------



## Cinderella (Jun 17, 2005)

they look great!


----------



## BrickCop (Dec 23, 2004)

The last sentence in the story noted "the increased use of knives". I wonder how the unarmed UK cops feel about defending themselves against knife attacks with a truncheon (sp)?


----------

