Police Body Armor
Perestroika and Suicide
Throughout history, to protect themselves from injury in combat and other dangerous situations, humans have used various materials from animal skins, to wood, to metal, to fabric. Soft armor-made of silk-- was first explored by the military in the late 19th century, but was effective only against low-velocity bullets. During World War II, the "flak jacket," constructed of nylon, provided protection from munitions fragments, but was not effective against most pistols or rifles.
Between 1966 to 1971, the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty rose from 57 to 129. Recognizing that most of the fatalities were inflicted with handguns, the predecessor to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) instituted a research program to develop lightweight body armor that police could wear full time. Working with private contractors (e.g. the Aerospace corporation, MITRE corporation) and other government agencies (the National Bureau of Standards, the U.S. Army, the F.B.I.) the program developed effective, light-weight body armor, using DuPont's Kevlar fabric that had been developed to replace steel belting in vehicle tires. The research program helped solve many of the initial problems of Kevlar (e.g. that it's penetration resistance was degraded when wet, and by sunlight, washing and drycleaning). By the mid-1970s, body armor was commercially available. In 2001, more than 80 manufacturers were producing body armor and participating in NIJ's voluntary compliance testing program.
Between 1973 and 2001, over 2,5000 "saves" were attributed to the use of body armor, most during felonious assaults, but also a substantial minority during accidents such as car crashes. A case-control study found that among officers shot in the upper torso area, 75% of those without body armor died, versus 18% who were wearing body armor. Between 1992 and 2001, no officer died from a handgun round that penetrated their body armor; 19 did die in incidents involving rifle rounds that their armor could not withstand.
Although the number of police more than doubled between the mid-1970s and 2000, the annual number of officer homicides fell from over 120 in the early 1970s, to slightly over 40 by the last years of the 20th century.
Moral: A concerted effort by private organizations and government agencies can have life-saving results.
Sources:
National Institute of Justice. Selection and Application Guide to Personal Body Armor. 2001. U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ 189633.
Czarnecki F, Janowitz I. Ergonomics and safety in law enforcement. Clinics in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2003; 3:399-417.
Alcohol is a risk factor for violent death, including suicide. The Soviet Union historically had a very serious alcohol problem, particularly among men. On June 1, 1985, Gorbachev introduced a major anti-alcohol campaign in the USSR. The campaign included a decrease in alcohol production and in the number of retail outlets for alcohol. The quantity of alcohol sold was limited to half a litre of alcohol per person monthly. The price of alcohol was raised 80%. Police patrols were reinforced and empowered to issue fines or arrest people found drunk in public places. If alcohol was consumed at work, the person in charge could lose his job. Workers showing the least sign of having consumed alcohol could be fired. Representatives of state authorities were urged not to drink alcohol toasts during public receptions. State TV promulgated the anti-alcohol message. For individuals to succeed socially, it became imperative to belong to an abstainers' club. Institutions were compelled to organize such clubs, whose activities were sponsored by the government.
Alcohol consumption plummeted in all fifteen Soviet republics; for example, consumption fell over 50% in Russia in 1986 compared to 1984. Suicides, and male suicides in particular, also fell dramatically in every USSR republic. Male suicides in Russia fell 44%.
Several natural experiments--such as Prohibition in the US, sharply increased alcohol prices in Denmark (1911-1924) and restrictions on the sale of alcohol in Sweden in connection with the introduction of ration books in the 1950s--have been associated with substantial falls in suicide. However, perestroika has been reasonably called "history's most effective suicide preventive program for men"(Wasserman 2001, 254). How much the fall in suicide was due to hope of a better future, greater freedom, or the strict alcohol policy is unknown, but the fall in suicides, and the fall in all violent deaths, was dramatic.
Moral: Reducing risk factors for injury can help reduce injury.
Sources:
Waserman D, Varnik A, Eklund G. Male suicides and alcohol consumption in the former USSR. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1994; 89:306-313.
Wasserman D, Varnik A, Eklund G. Female suicides and alcohol consumption during perestroika in the former USSR. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1998: 98(Suppl 394):26-33.
Wasserman D, Varnik A. Reliability of statistics on violent death and suicide in the former USSR, 1970-1990. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1998: 98(Suppl 394):34-41.
Wasserman D, Ed. Suicide-An Unnecessary Death. London:Martin Dunitz Ltd, 2001.