It takes just a matter of seconds for a protest to gyrate into a riot, and it is the law enforcement personnel who are called upon to control the situation. To counteract the rioting mob, law enforcement personnel and police need to be swift in action and have the proper equipment to control or disperse the mob. Shields have become an important piece of equipment for law enforcement and police officers to provide themselves with a cover against stone-pelting and brick-batting rioting mob. These shields enable the police to control the mob without getting injured.
Not only in riot situations, but in armed standoffs with convicts and terrorists, shields with ballistic protection have proved to be effective for the law enforcers. With growing insurgency and armed attacks where police officers are the first responders to the emergency situation. They find themselves ducking for cover against the heavily armed attackers, and call out for tactical squads to handle the threat.
By the time the tactical squad arrives, the standoff has worsened as first responding police officers are not able to control the attackers. If the first responding police officers would have handheld lightweight ballistic shields to cover up their significant vital organs and bodily regions that remain unprotected by body armor, they would have the advantage in gun-fighting scenarios against the armed attackers. Handheld ballistic shields can cover the entire silhouette of the police officer in situations where the origins of the shot are untraceable. Rather than waiting for the tactical squad to arrive, the first responding police officers can team up behind a ballistic shield and approach the standoff area safely to encounter the armed attackers from close range effectively.
Not only ballistic shields are able to tackle threats from handguns, shotguns and submachine guns, wheel-mounted shields offer protection from higher threats like rifles. In close combat encounters, a handheld ballistic shield not only provides effective cover to the law enforcers but can also be used by them to breach open doors and knock down obstacles. However, in hostage and rescue scenarios, police can also use a linear configuration of trolley-mounted ballistic shields to form a safe passage to guide the rescued civilians to safety from the armed attackers. They can also use the trolley-mounted shield as a fire position against threats from elevated positions.
Quite contrary to body armour shields, the shock or trauma of the bullet is absorbed by the shield and is not transferred to the person holding the shield. That’s why ballistic shields have become a unique choice for law enforcement personnel during armed standoffs and public order situations.
Just like with body armours, ballistic shields too are heavy, which becomes a disadvantage for police officers to hold the shield and fire handgun simultaneously. Keeping such challenges in mind, MKU has designed ballistic shields leveraging their 6th Generation armoring technology which is light in weight and offers enhanced protection. A lightweight handheld ballistic shield will let a police officer hold the shield steady while firing his weapon simultaneously to subdue the attackers. The handheld or wheel-mounted ballistic shield offered by MKU has innovatively designed ambidextrous handles for assault or defense positions and is easy to carry.
Therefore, in today’s highly volatile scenario, a ballistic shield should not be confined for usage by tactical forces only. Rather, every police patrol team should have a ballistic shield issued that they can carry in their cars. And in the case of active shooter response, they would have the advantage to act swiftly without calling in for the tactical team to take over.