New York City school safety officers to get bullet-resistant vests, NYPD says

New York City school safety agents will receive bullet-resistant vests as the New York Police Department tries to battle the increase in youth violence. 

The department ordered last week for school safety agents, which are unarmed NYPD employees, to be "issued a durable and lightweight ballistic resistant vest, funded by the department," according to The New York Daily News. 

An NYPD spokesperson said the vests will be mandatory for all on-duty safety officers after a pilot program showed the vests were successful. 

Nearly 4,000 safety agents work in New York City schools. 

"This is something we’ve asked for many years after weapons collections increased," school safety agent union president Greg Floyd said.

School safety agents recovered almost 7,000 various weapons last school year, according to Floyd.  

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.