Firearms and protective equipment
HOSDB advises police forces and government on weaponry and protective equipment for police use, ensuring that officers have the equipment they need to protect themselves and the public.
Police Protection
HOSDB develops and publishes standards for a range of protective equipment including body armour, portable ballistic protection and protective equipment for use by public order officers. These standards, produced in collaboration with ACPO and the Police Federation, ensure that forces are able to select equipment that meets their operational requirements. Equipment is tested against our standards at test houses in the UK, Germany and the US. These are based at:
UK - Engineering Systems Department
Cranfield University, Royal Military College of Science
Shrivenham, Swindon
Wiltshire SN6 8LA, England
Tel: +44 (01793) 785330
LLC 7447
West 33rd Street
North Wichita, Kansas
USA 67205
Tel: 001 316832 1600
Germany - Beschussamt Mellrichstadt
Lohstrasse 5
Mellrichstadt
Deutchland
D-97638
Tel: +49( 9776) 9889
Body Armour database and forum
HOSDB publishes a searchable database containing details of body armour that meet its specifications. We also manage a dedicated body armour forum where we welcome your views and input.
These links will take you to our body armour database and forum and will open in a new window.
New equipment on trial
A new routine patrol helmet has been designed which affords officers increased protection from head injuries. HOSDB is managing its trial in a number of forces throughout 2005.
Police Weaponry
The Police Weaponry Programme continues to develop performance specifications for handgun and rifle ammunition with the Nordic Police Technical Commission to meet our shared requirements, where technical performance is considered in context with international humanitarian law. This work helps to improve police procurement of ammunition by offering the police service greater reliability and consistency in performance, and encouraging a more competitive market and greater standardisation between forces.
Less Lethal Weaponry
HOSDB’s Firearms and Protective Equipment Group has had a programme of work examining how various less lethal options meet the UK Association of Chief Police Officers’ Operational Requirement since 2000. This programme has led to the deployment of the UK L21A1 baton round and subsequently the Attenuating Energy Projectile as a less lethal option in support of firearms along with the X26 and M26 tasers. The work that has been necessary to achieve this has needed strong intergovernmental cooperation and the formation of the Northern Ireland Office led steering group has provided a vehicle for this. This Steering Group together with the utilisation of HOSDB technical input and expertise from other areas of the UK government, for example the biomedical expertise of dstl Porton Down, has been central to the fast pace of the programme and the vast amount of original work that has been carried out.
Less Lethal Weapons Database
We also have strong international ties with the National Institute of Justice in the United States, the International Law Enforcement Forum and the European Working Group on Non-Lethal Weapons. HOSDB have produced a database to record the use, development and research into Less Lethal Weapons which will provide convenient online access to original source information regarding less lethal weapons and technologies. The database can be found at www.ilef.org, although currently you must register as a Law Enforcement or Research Organisation and contribute data to the database to gain access.
