Unconventional Concepts Inc. Convenes Ground-Breaking Research Panel on Police Protective Equipment

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 23, 2005 -- Unconventional Concepts Inc. (UCI(R)) today announced that it has completed the second phase of a comprehensive, federally supported review of law enforcement protective equipment requirements to assist the Department of Defense in improving its technology transfer planning and execution efforts.

"Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, stakeholders from law enforcement and the protective equipment industry have established new requirements, standards, and operational procedures for protective equipment," noted UCI(R) President Michael J. Hopmeier. "However, no study has identified how individual standards and requirements relate to other systems," Hopmeier added. "What the UCI(R) panel has shown is that there are systems-level concerns that need to be addressed and coordinated."

As many as seven government agencies and professional associations address police protective equipment standards independently, examining in-depth issues such as ballistic protection, respiratory protection, thermal protection thresholds and helmet requirements, Hopmeier pointed out.

Hank Christen, UCI(R) Director of Emergency Response Operations, said that the law enforcement review panel convened earlier this month assessed current studies, evaluated systems and made recommendations. "The particular value of this study," he added, "was that a special emphasis was made on highlighting gaps and deficiencies -- what is unknown -- instead of duplicating previous studies and standards."

"The expert panel was similar to a panel that UCI(R) facilitated at the request of several federal agencies earlier this year to assess firefighters' needs," Christen added. The results of that study were released publicly on August 1.

The law enforcement project, which is also jointly sponsored by the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Defense, as well as by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is designed to help improve intergovernmental technology transfer and collaboration activities, Christen said.

The research is also being closely monitored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Office of Law Enforcement Standards, and by the National Institute of Justice's Office of Science and Technology, the two federal agencies sharing law enforcement research and development responsibilities. The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center/National Protection Center manages the Department of Homeland Security-funded effort.

The key issues addressed by the panel included:

* recognition of police officers as the center of the law enforcement response system, with their vehicles a significant part of that system;

* the inter-relationship between the patrol car and the officer, emphasizing the vehicle both as a primary "duty station" and as a frequent location of severe injury or death;

* the interface between the officer's personal protective clothing, equipment, and weapons, and the patrol vehicle's design/safety features;

* the poor protection offered by the work uniform from daily exposures to thermal and chemical hazards, and from biological risks associated with body fluid contact;

* gaps in national law enforcement standards; and

* the "politics of protection," which affects the distribution of funding for protective equipment and standards for emergency responders.

In addition, noted Michael Malone, UCI(R) Director of Civilian-Military Integration, the panel found that among the gaps found in the research was the fact that: "We need more injury data to compare the performance of experienced officers with new officers."

"Since 9/11, a major topic is the use of respiratory equipment," Christen added. "Although self-contained breathing apparatus is ideal for fire fighters, it is not practical for law enforcement officers." Although significant federal funding from multiple agencies is dedicated to studying respiratory equipment and updating related standards, Christen noted, "The bulk of the work does not effectively address the needs of the law enforcement community."

Rita Gonzalez, director of the National Protection Center, observed that law enforcement agencies "continue to respond to a wide spectrum of calls, themselves part of a coordinated response with other responders and their respective operational platforms (vehicles, response equipment) -- a common model in many communities."

"There are few studies on the compatibility of the law enforcement protective equipment subsystem that address performance at a human systems level," Gonzalez said.

The nuances of interoperability between other systems (vehicles, other responders, similar missions/different equipment), significantly impacts our ability to prioritize which areas need to be addressed, she added. "In fact, there is only limited effective analysis of existing technologies related to defined threats or requirements."

Unconventional Concepts Inc. is a Mary Esther, Florida-based engineering and scientific consulting firm that provides research, organization and technology integration services in chemical/biological incident response, combat-casualty care and medical support, crisis response and management, and integrated federal/civilian disaster response.