Rob HorganPOLICE in Malaga are wearing bulletproof vests that are more than 20 years old.
The National Union of Police denounced the ‘expired’ clothing which dates back as far as 1993, following last week’s fatal shooting of a police officer in Vigo, northern Spain.
The union complained of a shortage of adequate safety equipment which is putting officers’ at risk.
A spokesperson for the NUP said: “It is unacceptable that an agent has to risk their life because they are forced to wear expired safety vests.
“It is absolutely unjustified that one agent has lost his life because of this.”
A bulletproof vest has an average life of 10 years and must undergo yearly checks.
Ignacio Cosido, Director General of Police, announced that over 21,000 vests are to distrubuted throughout Spain over the next two years.
He said: “The program represents an investment of more than six million euros which is an enormous fiscal effort in a time of economic crisis.”
Forgive my ignorance, but I don’t understand how a bullet-proof vest can have a sell-by date? Or were they inadequate in the first place? Have bullets got harder? Or is there a tasty little taxpayer-funded contract being offered up?