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  • Ews Release: Congress Restores Funding To Bulletproof Vest Program For Police Officers

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    Congress has restored $22.5 million in funding for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership, which subsidizes the purchase of bulletproof vests for state and local law enforcement. The program has supplied thousands of vests to Illinois law enforcement over the past five years. Police Chief Thomas Weitzel commented that approximately 150,000 officers nationwide do not have bulletproof vests that can cost between $400-700 each, and that the program allows jurisdictions to use funds to cover up to 50% of vest costs. The program has subsidized over a million vests nationwide since 1998, saving over 3,100 officers' lives.

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    Congress has restored $22.5 million in funding for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership, which subsidizes the purchase of bulletproof vests for state and local law enforcement. The program has supplied thousands of vests to Illinois law enforcement over the past five years. Police Chief Thomas Weitzel commented that approximately 150,000 officers nationwide do not have bulletproof vests that can cost between $400-700 each, and that the program allows jurisdictions to use funds to cover up to 50% of vest costs. The program has subsidized over a million vests nationwide since 1998, saving over 3,100 officers' lives.

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    11 views1 page

    Ews Release: Congress Restores Funding To Bulletproof Vest Program For Police Officers

    Uploaded by

    api-243850372
    Congress has restored $22.5 million in funding for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership, which subsidizes the purchase of bulletproof vests for state and local law enforcement. The program has supplied thousands of vests to Illinois law enforcement over the past five years. Police Chief Thomas Weitzel commented that approximately 150,000 officers nationwide do not have bulletproof vests that can cost between $400-700 each, and that the program allows jurisdictions to use funds to cover up to 50% of vest costs. The program has subsidized over a million vests nationwide since 1998, saving over 3,100 officers' lives.

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    NEWS RELEASE

    RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT 31 Riverside Road, Riverside, IL 60546

    24 January 2014
    Contact:

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


    Chief Thomas Weitzel
    tweitzel@riverside.il.us

    708.447.2127

    Follow RPD on Twitter @pdriverside

    Congress restores funding to bulletproof vest program for police officers


    Omnibus appropriations measure includes $22.5 million for vest replacement and new purchase program
    The Senate Budget Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee voted Thursday for a federal funding bill that includes $22.5 million for a life-saving bulletproof vest program. The Bulletproof Vest Partnership is a competitive grant program that subsidizes the purchase of bullet-resistant and stabresistant body armor by state and local law enforcement agencies. The program has supplied Illinois law enforcement with thousands vests in the last five years. The Presidents budget proposal for FY14 zeroed out funding for the program, but the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, pushed to restore it in the omnibus bill passed by Congress on Thursday. Police Chief Thomas Weitzel stated, About 150,000 officers, or 25 percent of our nation's officers, currently remain deprived of bulletproof vests, according to Congressional estimates. Why? Because many state and local governments simply cannot afford these vests, which each usually cost between $400 to $700. Thats why, in 1998, Congress began annually allocating $25 million to state and local law enforcement agencies to help them buy a total of 90,000 bulletproof vests each year. Administered under the Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP), the grant program allows each participating jurisdiction to use BVP funds to cover up to 50 percent of its total vest costs. I am extremely thankful that Congress has restored funding to this vital program. Thousands of vests have been purchased by Illinois law enforcement through the Partnership over its 14-year history, including over 2000 in the last five years. Nationwide, the program has subsidized more than a million vests, saving the lives of more than 3,100 police officers, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel was shot in the line of duty while working patrol in August of 1987.
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