Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe said yesterday that experts have not yet been able to develop soft body armour that can stop a bullet from a rifle like the AK-47.Slowe, the police expert on firearms, refuted claims by a few persons who had criticised the force for purchasing inferior bullet proof vests for its ranks, who must confront heavily armed criminals who use deadly assault rifles. There were allegations that the police force was sacrificing safety for cheapness.The criticisms came in the wake of disclosures that Constable Oslen Glasgow was fatally wounded although he was wearing body armour issued by the police.But, according to Slowe, the Guyana Police Force is equipped with what is called “level three body protection armour,” which is standardised around the world.This, he said, is determined by an international agency that rates body armour. He explained that the level 3A body armour has the capability to stop bullets fired from weapons that use up 9mm and .45 calibre ammunition.“So, even the people that go to Afghanistan, even the people that go to Iraq, what they have is soft body armour up to level 3A,Jerseys From China,” the police firearms expert told this newspaper.He stated that the police do not fit steel plates into the body armour,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, as was suggested in yesterday’s edition of this newspaper.Slowe explained that the force would purchase level 3A body armour and would also purchase what is called a ceramic plate which is designed to fit into the bullet proof vest to upgrade it to withstand rifle bullets.“Once you put in the ceramic plate that is what brings up the level, and that is what can stop rifle and other similar calibre bullets,” Slowe explained.He said that one can also request certain specifications when purchasing body armour, to include additional protection for special parts of the body that are not protected by the normal vests. These include additional features to protect the neck and groin.Slowe, who along with former Commissioner Winston Felix was part of the force’s procurement team in 2002, said that Guyana had ordered specific body armour from a Miami,Cheap Soccer Jerseys, USA firearms store, since there was evidence that criminals were using high calibre rifles.He said that the Crown Agents in Britain have never supplied the Guyana Police Force with bullet proof vests, as was suggested in yesterday’s article.“In 2002, at the height of the crime spree,Discount NFL Jerseys, the President sent the then Deputy Commissioner Felix and me to the factory to make the purchases.We saw the whole process… and we asked for certain specific designs. The ones that we bought have the groin protection and the throat protection.We bought ceramic plates, so that if you are going on an assault mission, you are given the maximum protection that there is to be offered,” Slowe said.This newspaper was reliably informed that,Cheap NFL Jerseys, although the ranks have the ceramic plates at their disposal, most of them opt not to use them because of the added weight.One of the plates weighs about 14 pounds, and in most cases a rank will have to use two — one for the front and another for back protection.“This is one of the worldwide issues they have in law enforcement-to get officers to wear this thing all the time. It is very uncomfortable, especially in countries like ours,” Slowe said.He told this newspaper that very often he has had to chide ranks for not utilising the ceramic plates provided for their safety.He stated that the force has completely done away with the old type of vests that it had in its inventory and which were not suited for today’s fight against crime.“Since we encountered AK-47 after the jailbreak,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, we have only bought the 3A and the ceramic plates to go with it.It doesn’t matter where it comes from. They all meet the international standard,” Slowe told this newspaper.According to Slowe, the Guyana Police Force has adequate level 3A body armour and the ceramic plates to go with them.