Justice Department Supports Local Police With Bulletproof Vests
Over 5,700 law enforcement and corrections agencies across the nation will receive funding for over 78,000 bulletproof vests this fiscal year through the Justice Department’s Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) Program
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), is distributing over $24 million to jurisdictions nationwide to provide for up to half of the cost of bullet-resistant and stab-resistant vests.
Since the program’s inception, Justice Department funding has assisted communities with the purchase of over 334,000 bulletproof vests. The program, which has had more jurisdictions apply each year, received 1400 more applicants than last year. Jurisdictions from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands applied for funding.
Under the initiative, each jurisdiction may purchase one vest per officer per year, and all vests must meet or exceed standards developed by OJP’s research and development component, the National Institute of Justice. The BVP program provides up to 50 percent of the cost of each jurisdiction’s bulletproof vest purchases with the jurisdictions providing matching funds.
The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program is run via OJP’s Internet-based Grant Management System, enabling law enforcement agencies or jurisdiction officials to gain access from any computer at any time during the application period. BJA also has a toll-free number to assist agencies using the application system. Rural jurisdictions without direct Web access were able to work through the National Center for Rural Law Enforcement (NCRLE), which helped those agencies find Internet access or process their applications by phone.
