Since its inception in 1968, the Police Emergency Squad has responded to countless crisis situations. In addition to their case load, the Emergency Squad has rendered occasional assistance to the Drug Squad and Bureau of Criminal Intelligence (B.C.I.Q.) in the apprehension of suspect or wanted persons. The usual criteria for involvement in these operations was information that the suspect was armed and considered dangerous, had a history and convictions for offences relating to assaults and the use of firearms.
Multiple Body Bunkers. Image Courtesy of John J. Daly, “Entrance and Apprehension Teams”, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin August 1986/11.
In this type of operations the Squad used special tactics designed to overcome armed resistance by exercising of maximum force and aggression with a strong emphasis on firepower. Throughout the 1980s, similar tactics were used by the Boston Police Department Entrance and Apprehension Teams. In addition to heavy firepower, Boston policemen used ballistic shields, which made highly dangerous operations safer for the officers involved.
In the light of the introduction of harsher penalties for offences under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 in Queensland, the level of violence during arrests was on the rise. In order to increase security of the officers, ballistic shields called ‘Body Bunkers’ used by the Boston Police were adopted by the Queensland’s Emergency Squad. The shields weighed about 30 pounds (14kg) and were not designed to be carried for a long distance, but to give officers the best protection possible. The shields stopped a range of bullets mainly of smaller calibre.
Body Bunker in Use. Image Courtesy of John J. Daly, “Entrance and Apprehension Teams”, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin August 1986/11.
In Boston the apprehension teams generally consisted of six men. These men were trained to enter any door in 3 seconds and take complete control of a room in 10 seconds. Each officer performed a particular role in the ‘entrance and apprehension’ scenario. During an entry, two officers wearing bulletproof vests were the ‘sledge men’ and stood on the either side of the door to be entered. Behind these men followed three officers carrying ballistic shields and revolvers. The last person to enter the premises was the sixth men armed with a shotgun.
In Queensland the assault team used the shields for building and room entry, diversion and apprehension tactics. As the Body Bunker shields provided protection from small calibre bullets, they were always used in conjunction with protective body armour.
In Boston the Body Bunker shields have been used for considerable time in a range of emergency situations, “and in every instance they have accomplished their objective without an exchange of gunfire or one injury.”
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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available. The article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova.
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – The Body Bunker, 1980” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode