ILEAS Accepting Ballistic Shield Applications to be awarded to 11 recipients.
In June of 2022, ILEAS began utilizing funding received from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to supply officer safety equipment to police in Illinois. ILEAS conducted a statewide survey, and the responses indicated a need for both a lightweight, easily deployable ballistic shield AND a need for a heavier, rifle-rated shield. Based on experienced SWAT professionals and bid packages, ILEAS chose the United Shield III+ paired with the United Shield MXV. Both have light packages added. ILEAS has already trained and distributed 29 sets of shields (58 total) to regional tactical teams as well as individual law enforcement agencies.
ILEAS currently has 11 sets (22 shields) ready to be deployed to applying agencies. The shields are awarded in pairs. Each award consists of one lightweight and one heavy rifle rated unit.
Beginning December 4, 2023 – online applications will be open for these shields. The application will be open thru December 22nd.
- Log in to your ILEAS Membership Front Page at www.ileas.org and navigate to the box titled Ballistic Shield Application.
ILEAS will be accepting applications from law enforcement agencies/tactical teams who are able to document sufficient need and a willingness to share the shields when requested. A committee will be assembled to review, assess and prioritize the applications. The committee will consist of Subject Matter Experts, ILEAS staff and at least one ILEAS Governing Board member. ILEAS will only accept applications from LE agencies who have:
- adopted the most recent version of the ILEAS Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Agreement,
- paid their ILEAS annual dues, and
- are current with their agency resources online within the last 90 Days. (If necessary, go in and update them before you start the application.)
ILEAS WMD Special Response Teams have been outfitted with this equipment capability. This does not preclude any individual agency participating in a Special Response Team from applying - especially if you are part of another multi-jurisdictional team.
Awardees must agree to send a representative to the mandatory 5 day, 40 hour basic shield training at the ILEAS Training Center at a date TBD. Upon completion of the training, agencies will leave with the equipment. Recipients must comply with State & Federal regulations governing the use, reporting and inventorying of the equipment. If there are any questions about the extent of these requirements, please reach out to ILEAS at any time.
ILEAS is committed to this initiative and plans to continue purchasing and distributing law enforcement protective equipment, such as tactical shields, as long as funding is available. ILEAS will make every effort to keep this program viable as ILEAS believes that officer safety during high risk encounters is vital for both the first responders and the citizens they serve.