A bulletproof vest doesn’t expire like yogurt, but it’s not eternal either. This is open discussion in Alcalá de Henares, where the CPPM union (Municipal Police Professional Collective) denounces that local police officers continue to work with vests whose ten-year ballistic guarantee expires in May 2026. The union coincided with Local Police Day on September 23. Now El Mundo has collected the city council’s response.
What does the union want? According to the CPPM, those ten years appear in the supply company’s terms included in the municipal specification. Demand a letter from the manufacturer certifying that the vests maintain their performance or, if this is not possible, their renewal. This does not mean that they have stopped defending or that they do not want to raise the alarm: the request is preventive.
In the meantime, he advises them to continue using if they are in good condition, because they like that they don’t go without anything, although they can’t guarantee that they will do the same. He recommends that agents request a change from logistics and, if it is not accepted, leave it in writing to occupational hazard prevention and headquarters. The law obliges the employer to provide adequate protective equipment and, in accordance with Royal Decree 773/1997, to ensure its maintenance.
guarantee Here’s the funny thing. According to the US NIST, most vests sold to police officers in the US have a five-year warranty, so twice Alcala’s standard of ten. But NIST itself cautions that the term may not equate to “fit for use” for all vests, and an article in a military medical journal maintains that warranties limit the manufacturer’s liability, not measure useful life.
In NIST accelerated aging tests, PBO fiber vests lost 15% to 18% ballistic resistance, while PPTA (Kevlar chemical family) vests changed little. This study cautions that this cannot be generalized because every design is different. And neither the model nor the fiber from Alcalá has been made public.
Does the City Council respond? Safety sources agree that ending a warranty does not equate to a loss of safety, they see recognition from the manufacturer as advantageous and consider replacing them if it is not forthcoming. They say they will receive 30 vests and prepare another 30, but they don’t specify a delivery date or how many teams have expired guarantees.
If each officer carries one, the 60 vests cover more than a quarter of the 228 officers. As a reference, Orihuela tenders 30 vests for 31,000 euros and Alicante approves 250 for 196,473 euros: between 800 and 1,000 euros per unit, or between 24,000-31,000 euros (based on the ownership value of the 30 municipalities). At the end of the day, the union and city council agreed on the essentials: more games and an introduction or new vests from the manufacturer.
It comes long. In 2022, Mazda Honda unions condemned the vest from August 2010, whose warranty expired almost two years ago, in August 2020. In 2025, El Español reported that police officers in Campo de Gibraltar were carrying equipment dating back to 2011 with a ten-year warranty, according to police sources.
In addition, the CPPM adds damaged vehicles, without new uniformity for more than five years and agents who owe more than 7,000 euros, a figure that contrasts with the 55 million remaining that it attributes to the city council. He asked for an adequate municipal deposit, in his opinion.
Missing police officers. It is suspected that the shortage has been going on for a long time. Alcala had 203,208 inhabitants as of January 1, 2025: approximately 890 inhabitants per police force with 228 agents. The City Council blamed the staffing shortage on years of accumulated conditions and recalled the call for 14 positions, resolved June 26 and published in the July 3 BOE.
In opposition, the PSOE already condemned on October 21 that 14 applicants for the 2025 offer could not start the IFISE selection course that day because the process did not close in time, and maintained that only 17 police officers from the 2023 offer joined the legislature and there were no offers in 2024.
Cover image Flickr
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