Riot suits historically protected against blunt force and nothing else, which forced an ugly choice when a crowd event carried firearm risk: wear the riot suit or wear the vest. The Enforcer MP eliminates the choice with an integrated multi-function ballistic carrier that accepts four panel types. Knowing what each type does is how departments spec the right insert for the assignment.
Soft Panels
Soft armor panels are flexible layered fabric systems rated against handgun threats. They are the everyday base layer: light enough to wear for a full deployment, flexible enough not to fight the suit's mobility, and appropriate for the majority of crowd control assignments where the realistic ballistic threat is a handgun. The National Institute of Justice publishes the ballistic resistance standard that panels are tested against, and procurement should always confirm the rating level of the specific insert, not the carrier.
Hard Plates
Hard plates, ceramic or polyethylene, defeat rifle rounds that soft armor cannot. They add real weight, so they are an intelligence-driven choice rather than a default: elevated threat assessments, incidents with known armed actors, or perimeter positions with rifle exposure. The Enforcer MP carrier accepts plates without modifying the rest of the suit, so upgrading protection mid-operation is a swap, not a re-dress.
Spike Armor and Butterfly Panels
Spike-rated armor defeats improvised stabbing weapons, which makes it the standard insert for correctional extraction teams, where shanks are the primary threat and firearms are rare. Butterfly ballistic panels are shaped panels that extend coverage around the torso's sides, closing the gaps that flat front-and-back panels leave. Corrections units typically run spike armor full time; riot teams add butterfly panels when the assignment involves close crowd contact where side exposure is constant.