Third Status Report to the Attorney General on Body Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities

In response to concerns from the law enforcement community, on November 17, 2003, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a Department of Justice (DOJ) initiative to address the reliability of body armor used by law enforcement personnel and to examine the future of bullet-resistant technology and testing. As part of this initiative, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) examined Zylon^®-based bullet-resistant vests (both new and used) and reviewed the existing process by which bullet-resistant vests are certified. As a result of NIJ's research and testing activities, on August 24, 2005, NIJ released a third status report to the Attorney General, issued a Body Armor Standard Advisory Notice, and introduced the NIJ 2005 Interim Requirements for Bullet-Resistant Body Armor.

• Executive Summary (Adobe Acrobat File)
• Q&A: Third Status Report to the Attorney General on Body Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities
• Fact Sheet: Third Status Report to the Attorney General on Body Armor Safety Initiative Testing and Activities
• Body Armor Standard Advisory Notice #01-2005, SUBJECT: Poly-p-phenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO or Zylon^®)
• NIJ 2005 Interim Requirements for Bullet-Resistant Body Armor