TRIALS by police officers in Blackburn of special bullet and stab-proof body armour could pave the way for the equipment being issued throughout the county force.

There is no doubt that our policemen and women need and deserve the best protection available in what is frequently a dangerous job.

And this step at Blackburn - the first time that body armour has been available to Lancashire officers on a day-to-day basis - underlines Chief Constable Pauline Clare's commitment to the safety of those in the frontline of the fight against crime.

Nonetheless, the actual necessity for this equipment is a sad commentary on how violent our society has become - when, once, the blue serge of the police uniform alone was, as a respected symbol of the law and each constable's authority, all the protection an officer required.

Now, the lives and persons of police officers are at risk as never before as a new generation of criminals increasingly arms itself with lethal weapons and does not shrink from using them.

But if the daily use of body armour by the police is a sensible and inevitable response to this departure, should not the brave officers who now routinely face this threat have another form of armour - that of the fullest penalties being applied by the courts in every case of assault on the police?

That way, if criminals got the message that long spells in prison are the automatic upshot of attacks on officers, body armour might become a useful police accessory rather than vital equipment - and the force and society might feel much safer too.

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