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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
today announced that the Division of Criminal
Justice is distributing $3.5 million to
over 500 New Jersey law enforcement agencies
to purchase or replace body armor vests
for their officers.
A
total of $3,513,558 is being provided to
state, county and local law enforcement
and corrections agencies from the state’s
Body Armor Replacement Fund, which was established
by legislation in 1998 and is funded through
a $1 surcharge on traffic tickets and forfeitures
of bail. Checks for the 2010 round of annual
funding were mailed to participating agencies
late last week. Grants were provided to
all 544 agencies that applied.
“We
are pleased to restore dedicated funding
for this year to a level consistent with
the history of this valuable program, so
that law enforcement agencies can purchase
lifesaving body armor vests for their officers,”
said Attorney General Dow. “Police
officers devote their lives to protecting
us, and we need to do all that we can to
make them safer.”
“This
$3.5 million goes directly to the purchase
of bullet-resistant vests, which will help
shield law enforcement officers from the
dangers they face as they serve the people
of New Jersey,” said Director Taylor.
“This brings the 13-year funding total
for the program to over $45 million.”
The
cost of body armor varies, but the minimum
grant amount is $500. The state has a multi-vendor
contract with distributors that enables
law enforcement agencies to purchase the
make and model of vest that best meets their
needs.
As
a condition of the state grant, agencies
must purchase vests from a list of vests
certified by the National Institute of Justice,
the research arm of the U.S. Department
of Justice. There are hundreds of approved
vests on the list. The New Jersey State
Police, for example, is purchasing a vest,
together with certain accessories, at a
state contract price of $739.28 per vest
package.
Since
the inception of the Body Armor Replacement
Fund Program in 1998, the Division of Criminal
Justice - Grants & Program Development
Section has provided more than $45 million
to the New Jersey statewide law enforcement
community to purchase thousands of new vests.
The
following amounts have been distributed
in prior years:
- 1998
- $2,055,323
- 1999
- $3,296,390
- 2000
- $3,860,170
- 2001
- $3,690,778
- 2002
- $3,770,409
- 2003
- $3,755,622
- 2004
- $3,806,901
- 2005
- $3,698,166
- 2006
- $3,947,155
- 2007
- $4,563,086
- 2008
- $4,095,934
- 2009
- $1,300,190*
*
In 2009, program revenue was significantly
reduced in addressing the state’s
budget crisis.
For
more information on the Body Armor Replacement
Fund Program log on to the Division of Criminal
Justice Web site at www.nj.gov/lps/BodyArmor.
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