Cops hot under collar over body armour

New stab-resistant police body armour is not going down well with cops on the beat. The new armour has, literally, got police officers hot under the collar.

"Once the body armour came in we were getting large numbers of complaints about people getting serious problems breathing," says Greg O'Connor from the Police Association.

Now police bosses have been forced to admit their new stab-resistant armour doesn't work with the present uniform - because it causes the wearers to overheat.

Specially-designed shirts have to be bought so police can wear the two-kilo, kevlar-plated vests."We're looking at around 35,000 shirts as an initial order," says Superintendent Tony McLeod from Police HQ. The hi-tech clothing is not going to be cheap.

"It needs to be a more modern material and one that will wick away sweat and moisture from the core of the body," says McLeod. Police admit they have no idea how much the shirts are going to cost."I can't comment on that yet, it will all depend on what the industry comes back to us with," says McLeod.

To placate unhappy officers, police headquarters has agreed ties don't have to be worn with vests."The tie just doesn't fit with them, it's totally uncomfortable," says O'Connor.

The armour can stop screwdrivers, syringes, knives - even small calibre bullets.But there have been long delays issuing the vests and 1,700 are in storage because they are too small.

"It hasn't been the smoothest of rollouts, it's taken a lot longer than any of us would have hoped for," admits McLeod. Police chiefs say they and frontline staff still have faith in the armour, despite the hiccups.

They hope all officers will have the vests - and new shirts to go under them - by the end of the year.

Fisheries officers' vests

And soon police won't be the only ones with stab proof vests as fisheries officers will also have the option to wear them.

Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton says everyday the officers deal with people who carry knives, spear guns and other sharp objects and they're often used as weapons.

The body armour will be initially available to full-time officers with a view to making them available to part-timers in the future.