NCJ Number
239715
Date Published
June 2012
Length
1 page
Annotation
This video and accompanying transcript capture comments on a bullet-proof vest program by Deanna Rivard of the Minneapolis Police Department (Minnesota) at the 2012 NIJ Conference.
Abstract
Under the bullet-proof vest program, a law enforcement agency with a mandatory vest policy can apply to the Federal Government for reimbursement of a portion of their funds for their officers to be fitted for a vest that will be issued to them. ASTM International is joining with the U.S;. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in developing a standard for the fit and measurement of body armor. Ms. Rivard went to the first meeting, where the most wide-ranging complaint was that officers did not wear their vests because they did not fit properly. The NIJ approached the ASTM to develop a fit and measurement standard. In the mean time, wearing a vest, even if it does not fit properly, should be considered part of an officer's uniform that increases his/her chance of surviving a gun shot.