Report to the Attorney General on Body Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities. Supplement 1; Special rept

摘要

On November 17, 2003, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the Department of Justice's Body Armor Safety Initiative in response to concerns from the law enforcement community regarding the effectiveness of their armor. He directed the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to initiate an examination of Zylon(Registered trademark)-based bullet-resistant armor (both new and used), to analyze upgrade kits provided by manufacturers to retrofit Zylon(R)-based bullet-resistant armors, and to review the existing process by which bullet- resistant armor is certified to determine if the process needs modification. On March 11, 2004, as part of the Attorney General's directive, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) held a Body Armor Summit. At the same time, NIJ released its report, 'Status Report to the Attorney General on Body Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities .' NIJ continues to conduct research and testing to assess the performance of used Zylon(R)-based armor, to identify methods for measuring changes in ballistic-resistant materials and ballistic performance, to assess the performance of the manufacturer provided upgrade kits and to assess the existing body armor standard and compliance testing process. This reports supplements what is contained in the March 11, 2004, status report.