Frequently Asked Questions

The Find Legal Help section of the American Bar Association (ABA) website is a tool you can utilize to help locate a lawyer in your area based upon your specific legal needs. Civil assistance may be available to you via the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). LSC funds civil legal aid programs around the nation to help Americans gain equal access to the judicial system.

In some states, there are offices called the Office of the Victim Advocate. You may wish to check with your state authorities to see if such an office exists in your state. See the State Support section of the Office for Victims of Crime website for state contacts.

Contact information for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is available on the Contact Us section of their website. An NIJ Staff Directory is also available.

The PoliceArmor.org website, jointly developed by the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance and operated by the Criminal Justice Testing & Evaluation Consortium, has information and resources on the selection, purchasing, and care of ballistic- and stab-resistant body armor. The site also has a section on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) that may be helpful.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Mark is an officially registered trademark of the U.S. Government (United States Patent & Trademark Office [USPTO] Registration # 5,906,126) that manufacturers of ballistic-resistant body armor models tested through the NIJ Compliance Testing Program (CTP) and found to comply with the requirements of the NIJ Standard can place on the label of production units of their armor.

The NIJ Mark is intended to provide purchasers of body armor with confidence that the products they are purchasing that bear the NIJ Mark have been independently tested, comply with applicable standards, and meet minimum performance requirements. To learn more about the NIJ Mark, see the NIJ Mark page on the Criminal Justice Testing & Evaluation Consortium website

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Compliance Testing Program (CTP) issues Advisory Notices when the CTP has concerns about a body armor model identified in the Advisory Notice, and Safety Notices when the CTP has identified a safety concern with a model of armor listed in the Safety Notice. Models identified in an Advisory Notice are temporarily suspended from the Compliant Products List until the issue can be resolved. Models listed in a Safety Notice are removed from the Compliant Products List.

Visit the NIJ CTP Advisory and Safety Notices main page to learn more about these notices, and contact the CTP at 919-485-2717 or by email at [email protected] for specific questions or concerns.

The following agencies perform full-scale performance testing on police patrol vehicles as part of their procurement process: the Michigan State Police (MSP) and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office (LACSO). Visit the MSP and LACSO websites for information on their testing programs and to obtain copies of test reports.

Standards for ballistic and riot helmets can be found on the Active National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standards and Comparative Test Methods section of the NIJ website. Watch the following NIJ video to learn more about this topic: NIJ Civil Disturbance Unit Standards: The Importance of Standards and Testing.

Additionally, see ASTM Standard E3111 / E3111-18, Standard Test Method for Ballistic Head Protection and the Criminal Justice Testing & Evaluation Consortium (CJTEC) Equipment Standards page to learn more.

For information on how often personal protection equipment should be replaced, see the Body Armor Care and Replacement page on PoliceArmor.org. Note that the recommendations on the page are specific to ballistic-resistant body armor; while ballistic-resistant helmets and shields are made from similar materials, the use and wear factors for these products are significantly different than for torso-worn ballistic armor. Additionally, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Compliance Testing Program does not currently evaluate helmets or shields for compliance to NIJ Standards. It is advised that you follow the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines for the use, care, and replacement of these items.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ)-sponsored grant report Physiological Model of Excited Delirium uses the following definition of Excited Delirium:

"Although the effects of conductive energy weapons (CEWs) on healthy, anesthetized swine and normal human beings appear to be transient, there have been concerns raised about their use in vulnerable populations. These populations include those individuals who have a compromised physiology due to a variety of reasons including drug abuse and psychosis. One of the most common terms used to describe individuals in this abnormal state is excited delirium (ED). Excited delirium has been defined as the onset of a temporary disruption in awareness and cognition along with aggressive or violent actions. Some signs associated with excited delirium include tachycardia (rapid heart rate), hyperthermia (elevated temperature), hypotension (low blood pressure), dehydration, and catecholamine (norepinephrine and epinephrine) release causing added stress on the heart."

This report goes on to state that "[t]here is much debate about the existence of this syndrome and its role in fatalities proximal to CEW use."