For the first time since 1995, university safety uniforms have been redesigned for security and special constable officers on campus, according to Allan Burns, director of the department of university safety.
To beat the summer heat, the protective soft body armour vests security officials wear are now over their T-shirts as opposed to underneath them. The protective front and back panels are the same, but there is a nylon shell they also slide into, allowing for more “visibility and comfort,” Burns said.
According to Burns, they will be more breathable and easier to slip off while inside doing paperwork, whereas the old interior carriers are more cumbersome to get in and out of.
Since the vests are external carriers now, they are visible to the public, Burns said.
The vests are also bullet-proof and slash-proof, he added.
New labels for campus security and special constable officers are added to the back of the vests as well as their jackets, Burns described. Shiny golden name tags are also a new addition to the uniforms.
Burns described the name tags as a method for safety officers to identify themselves to the people they deal with in the community.
The funding for this improvement comes out of the annual base budget for uniforms. There are 30 new vests and 60 new labels. With the name tags at $3 apiece and the external carriers at $75 each, this revision was “not an expensive venture,” Burns said.