WASHINGTON -- Manufacturers call bulletproof clothing the 'ultimate in survival wear' -- the trend of the 1980s. Designer lines are cropping up and sales are jumping. But police say some of the customers are criminals.
Soft body armor, worn today by more than 50 percent of all law enforcement personnel, has proven very effective. A Justice Department report says it has saved the lives of about 400 policemen. Government and corporate officials, including President Reagan, are swearing by the vests.
But Rep. Mario Biaggi, D-N.Y., says criminals are increasingly customers. Biaggi, a former New York city street cop, has asked Congress to license the sale of bulletproof vests.
'I find it appalling that hardened criminals have routinely been provided with the additional protection of a bulletproof vest.'
Manufacturers object. They say sales are booming, yes, but not to criminals.
Bob Coppage, president of Progressive Apparel in Fairfax, Va., says increased sales are mainly due to law enforcement agencies. 'Civilians can approach us; it is possible for them to buy vests from us,' but they have to go through a grueling process to get a vest, he said.
Soft armor 'bulletproof' vests worn as garments are actually 'bullet-resistant' -- designed to protect against small-caliber handguns and knives but not against large-caliber handguns or rifles.
The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of New York recently reported finding more than 50 cases where bulletproof vests were found on criminals when arrested. It documented 12 cases from May 1982 to March 1983. Most criminals were wearing low-caliber vests.
Lt. Francis McGee of the New York Police Department's firearms division said from May 1979 to May 1983, 46 suspects arrested were wearing vests.
In Washington, D.C., the Police Department reports arresting at least 12 narcotics dealers wearing bulletproof vests in a two-month period this year. In some cases, the vests seized were of superior quality.
One department officer said, 'There is a definite feeling among police that criminals are wearing vests more often.'
But not all departments agree.
Capt. Jeffrey Frye of the Madison, Wis., Police Department, said, 'I don't think there's any indication of wholesale use of them. There have been incidents and there are rumors.'
In Arkansas, Little Rock police Capt. Tim Daley says, 'Access to body armor has been fairly well limited to law enforcement personnel and agencies. The manufacturers and sellers have fairly well restricted the sales.'
Biaggi says New York and Washington are the only two cities that keep track of criminals wearing vests.
Walter Bistrong, head of Point Blank Body Armor, whose company supplies the New York Police Department with bulletproof vests, said his vests carry serial numbers and are traceable.
'It's similar to buying a weapon, and in some states it's easier to buy a shotgun than to buy a vest.'
A vest that can be expected to stop a bullet costs between $250 and $300.
A spokesman for Point Blank in Freeport, N.Y., Richard Stone, said sales of body armor have been 'steadily' increasing in the past several years, up about 20 percent from last year.
Stone attributed the jump to 'increased consumer awareness,' and police officers beginning to feel that armor is a necessary item.
Progressive has expanded its line to include personal wearing apparel, such as suit vests, dress shirts, and women's blouses.
'Sales on these items have increased as the crime rate went up,' Coppage said. 'Sales have been progressively growing. We're probably doubling in sales annually.'
Calling his firm the 'Cadillac of the industry,' he added, 'If someone who has a perfect legal right to own one of these products to protect himself, they should be able to get one.'
'I have no compunction to selling to civilians who can justify their need.'
Coppage would not say how many articles of bulletproof clothing his firm sells annually, but said there was a potential market of a half million, and only 50 percent of the police market has been saturated at this time.
Another firm, Eagle Military Gear Overseas, USA Ltd. of New York, specializes in a line of designer bulletproof clothing. The firm is the American division of an Israeli manufacturer that makes law enforcement garments and protective military gear.
Designer Jon Jolcin calls his sportswear line 'the ultimate in survival clothing' and adds, 'Bulletproofing, like water repellency, is a practical function of active sportswear.'
The articles weigh about 4 pounds apiece, cost about $300, and include a $500,000 life insurance policy to be paid if the shield fails to perform.
EMGO President Abraham Silbershatz says the clothing can repel a .357 magnum bullet, and with additional panels, can even stop Teflon-coated bullets.
The firm, which opened in March 1982, says civilian sales have boosted its annual revenue to $16 million, twice its previous sales.
On fashionable Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., Bijan, an elite men's boutique, features designer bulletproof clothing. A spokeswoman claims Bijan was the first men's designer to make bullet resistant clothing, introducing it two years ago.
Bijan offers the bullet resistant lining as a free service to his clients, for domestic and foreign, who pay up to $4,800 for a cashmere topcoat.
'Many of our clients are public figures and highly visible personalities -- some kings, princes, high government officials,' the spokeswoman said. 'Since they are in the public eye they need protection.'
John Claytor, manager of Gene's Law Enforcement Equipment in Mongtomery, Ala., says sales of bulletproof vests are on the upswing to civilian executives and government officials.
'People are realizing that a bulletproof vest can be a lifesaver if they are put in a position where they can be injured,' Claytor said.
President Reagan, who was seriously injured March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley Jr. opened fire with a pistol outside a Washington hotel, wears a bulletproof vest during certain appearances before large crowds - more frequently since the shooting.
The White House won't discuss security arrangements for the president, but says he also has a bulletproof raincoat.
Under the Biaggi bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Daniel Moynihan, D-N.Y., the dealers, manufacturers and importers of bullet resistant body armor would have to be federally licensed.
People who order vests would have to wait 21 days to pick them up so law enforcement authorities could check the accuracy of information the purchasers would be required to provide. It would be unlawful for a felon, a fugitive, a drug addict, or anyone under 18 to buy a vest.
The bill would also impose stiff new penalties on any person wearing a bulletproof vest during the commission of a crime. The penalties of one to 10 years for the first offense and a mandatory two to 25 years for the second offense, would be added to any sentence imposed for the crime.
A licensed dealer who illegally sells a vest would face up to a five-year prison sentence, a $5,000 fine, or both.
Moynihan says, 'Bulletproof vests are valuable tools of law enforcement, but they can become lethal instruments of crime when allowed to fall into the wrong hands.'
Biaggi adds, 'Simply stated, police need every possible advantage over the criminal element if they are to succeed in the fight against crime. The soft body armor ... has provided such an advantage. But now that edge is being negated by the fact that criminals have easy access to those very same vests.'
New York last month made it a felony to wear a bulletproof vest while committing a violent crime armed with a gun.
But chances of the federal bill going anywhere seem slim. The legislation remains bottled up in the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime, where it idled last session.
Congress has yet to debate the issue, though it came up peripherally last year when the House Judiciary committee considered a companion bill banning bullets that can pierce soft body armor.
The Justice Department has no official position on the body armor bill, but at least one official said he doubted it had much chance of passage.
