Knife crime concerns lead to stab vests trial

The Post Office is trialling stab vests for cash-in-transit crews following increasing concern that knife crime is on the increase. 


The CWU communications union reported that trials would begin last month, just days after a delivery moped rider was stabbed to death in north London. 


CWU national health and safety officer Dave Joyce said that over the past year, “both the company and the union have become increasingly concerned at the level of knife crime being reported in the retail environment and on UK streets in large cities”. 


Joyce said the Post Office’s annual robbery risk assessment concludes that the risk of armed robbery is low, but finds “a notable increase in the presence of blades during robberies and an increase in violence used in robberies at Post Office branches”. 


As well as providing physical protection to crew members in the event of a knife attack, the vests are also intended as a visual deterrent to criminals.


https://www.cwu.org/news/post-office-stab-vests-being-trialled-for-cash-in-transit-crews