Since 1999, over 11,500 jurisdictions have participated in the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) Program. Through BVP, $118 million in federal funds have been committed to support the purchase of an estimated 450,000 vests for America’s law enforcement community. In November 2003, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a Body Armor Safety Initiative in response to the failure of a bullet-resistant vest worn by a police officer in Pennsylvania. NIJ was directed to initiate an examination of Zylon®-based bullet-resistant vests (both new and used) and to review the existing program by which bullet-resistant vests are tested to determine if the program needs modification.
Having completed its latest phase of ballistic and mechanical properties testing, NIJ has determined that used Zylon®-containing vests may not provide the intended level of ballistic resistance. In response to this determination, NIJ has issued a body armor standard advisory notice concerning Zylon®, and has issued new interim requirements for its body armor compliance testing program that will become effective on September 26, 2005. Until the effective date of the interim requirements, jurisdictions that participate in the BVP program will be ineligible to receive payment for new orders placed for any body armor vest that contains Zylon(R). Once the NIJ interim requirements become effective, a list of vest models that comply will be maintained at: www.justnet.org.
Pursuant to the FY 2005 Department of Justice Appropriations Act, $23.6 million was made available for the purchase of vests through the annual BVP Program application process. To better meet the vest replacement needs of America’s law enforcement agencies this year, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will make an additional $10 million available immediately. This additional funding is available through a special BVP solicitation that opened on August 24, 2005 and will close on September 22, 2005. To apply for vest replacement funds, please log-in below at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bvpbasi/.
To review the latest BVP Program Fact Sheet, please visit the BVP Program website at: www.ojp.usdoj.gov