FAQ

The Vector is a life-saving de-escalation tool that can be used as a de-escalation safety barrier to protect the public, while at the same time, can be used as a shield to protect a law enforcement officer.

The Vector is the world’s first true de-escalation tool designed to create a peaceful interaction between the police and the public. It does this by providing a de-escalation safety barrier used in conjunction with de-escalation training so both citizens and officers can interact peacefully while both are protected.

Police officers have unfortunately been recorded by cell phones in the acts of pointing or raising their hands in what appears to be aggressive behavior to the public. These videos can unintentionally mislead the public into thinking police are acting aggressively even when they are not. Even though directional hand movements are a part of police work, the public may misconstrue directional hand movements as aggressive. A police officer being recorded while holding a Vector will appear less menacing and more in-control to the public because he or she is maintaining distance and establishing a demarcation safety zone. Officers will now be able to keep the public protected by a de- escalation safety barrier while the officers themselves are also protected at the same time by the same brightly colored, non-threatening de-escalation barrier.

The public needs to feel protected and safe. Police officers need new tools and community policing and de- escalation training capable of de-escalating tensions so everyone can communicate safely.

The physical use of the Vector will create a safer interaction for both an officer and a citizen engaging in conversation with an officer. Citizens will feel safer because the officer is not touching aggressive weapons or tools on his or her patrol belt during a conversation. The visual appearance of an officer wearing a patrol belt with a gun can be very intimidating to many citizens. Deploying what appears to be an aggressive tool elevates tensions and causes a breakdown in verbal communications between both an officer and a citizen which often results in turmoil. An officer’s patrol belt is usually outfitted with a combination of a Taser, baton, pepper spray, handcuffs and a gun, all of which are scary to most citizens.

The patrol belt normally contains tools that can cause harm to a person. The Vector is a protective safety barrier that can visually conceal an officer’s tool belt from view during an interaction thus alleviating unwanted tension. The officer will feel safer because he or she can use the Vector to intercept an attack and instantly transition to a tool on his or her belt if needed to de-escalate a situation, while tensions are not heightened by an officer hovering his or her hand over a firearm. Instead of an officer’s hand over a firearm, citizens will see a brightly colored pattern on a small safety barrier.

The Vector is a lot less-menacing than the sight of an officer hovering his or her hand over a firearm and a lot less threatening than the officer presenting a larger, more ominous militant looking riot or SWAT shield. By using Vectors, police officers across the country are now better equipped with a true physical life-saving de-escalation tool. Officers who attend Vector de-escalation training are trained to defuse potentially dangerous situations without deploying aggressive tools from their patrol belts. The Vector can be deployed at a moment’s notice, and placed physically between an officer and an aggressive person or pet in order to defuse an aggressive situation and maintain control without a police officer appearing hostile or aggressive.

During our de-escalation training, officers will be instructed in community policing and de-escalation principles. They will learn to incorporate these lessons into use with the Vector during a 4- to 6-hour “Train-the-Trainer” hands-on course curriculum. An officer, who is trained to stand in the police “interview stance” when addressing a person, will now be able to casually present the Vector in-front of the body in order to provide the public with a brightly colored, true visual demarcation safety zone. This visual safe-zone will aid the officer in making better decisions by reducing tensions between law enforcement and citizens. A protected officer is a safer officer.

During our class, officers are trained to deploy their brightly colored protective barriers outward and off of their bodies while speaking to a person or conducting an interview. An officer will be better able to calmly converse with both a non-aggressive or aggressive person after our class. By the officer placing a safety barrier outward and away from the body, he or she is able to provide a barrier of safety for him or her and citizens at the same time. The physical act of deploying a brightly colored barrier, and not a weapon, will allow both the officer and the citizen to have a conversation to naturally de-escalate aggressive behavior between both parties. The physical presence of the Vector will add a brightly colored protective, true safety barrier, as well as a visually marked safe zone for the citizen engaging in conversation with a more peaceful appearance by the officer than is currently projected.

An officer employing a Vector will no-longer have to stand and address a person with what appears to be an aggressive stance such as “blading-off” with his or her hand on a sidearm or by holding a pain compliance tool. The ability of the officer to safely interact with the public with a non-aggressive stance and brightly colored safety barrier may aid the officer in defusing a potentially volatile situation. Once the officer is at a safe distance from a person with whom he or she is speaking, and the Vector is openly used, the officer can now verbally de-escalate a threat. The officer is and will now feel protected inside the critical gap. A protected officer is able to make better decisions if he or she feels protected behind a true mobile, safety barrier. If the officer is suddenly attacked, he or she will be able to move the Vector according to training to intercept an attack, while transitioning to a less-lethal force option if available. The ability of an officer to stop a sudden attack and to transition to a less-lethal force option will result in a greater protection of human life for law enforcement and citizens.

Yes. The Vector safety barrier and de-escalation training has been used by federal, state and local law enforcement officers to stop machete and knife attacks, gun assaults, dog attacks and a myriad of close quarter encounters where both law enforcement and the public have been involved in what could have been deadly confrontations. To date, in every single one of these instances, officers, citizens and subjects were able to go home or were handled safely after the incident. Several or all of these incidents could have resulted in death for an officer or citizen, but none have thanks to the Vector safety barrier. Our shield and training has worked to successfully de-escalate violence and save lives in every single instance in which it has been used to date.

Yes, it does, but that is its strongest attribute and best kept secret. Our shields have been deployed down hallways, under beds, in bathroom stalls, around corners, in schools, in attics, at warrant services, on buses, carried on airplanes, deployed from backpacks, carried at the ready in riot situations from vehicles, been driven with during riots and carried safely around children and pets in homes and at parks.

No. All of our training works in conjunction with departmental SOP. Training is team, agency or department specific and tailored to meet the individual needs of the law enforcement agency we are training. We will ask your officers with what situations or events they usually work and provide training and de-escalation responses specifically suited for them in those scenarios.

No. The larger shields have their place. Vector de-escalation barriers work in conjunction with larger shields. Vectors are NU Level lll, and offer a higher ballistic rating than most larger entry or riot shields. The larger shields get you to the door or location. The smaller Vector tool gets individual officers safely through a house, vehicle or tight area and provides protection during a riot or while crossing an open area. Individual officers, as well as citizens, are all protected at the same time by our life-saving safety barriers.

Vectors are about a third of the cost of the next law enforcement shield up with usually a higher ballistic rating. Our training is the best in the United States as attested to by federal, state and local law enforcement and also citizens who support what we do. Our life-saving barriers and de-escalation training are made affordable with volume discounts. We keep our prices as low as possible to protect as many officers and citizens as possible, plus we finance.

Yes. Please speak to officers who use our barriers and training. We encourage it. Federal, state and local references are available upon request. Please advise if you would like to speak directly to an officer or chief who currently employs our tools and training. Our sales come from referrals from other officers and Command Staff, not from sales representatives using large advertising budgets. The public hugely supports our mission as well as law enforcement agencies.

We service US Border Patrol SOG, the USMS, the DEA, state police agencies including the MA State Police STOP and VFAS teams, the CT State Police Undercover Narcotics Unit and fugitive apprehension team. We service the MADOC as well as a myriad of local police and sheriff’s departments across the USA. The CT State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force deploys Vectors on every single warrant service they do. No other life-saving, defensive tool is utilized 100% of the time.