TRENTON
– Attorney General Stuart Rabner announced
today that the Division of Criminal Justice
is distributing nearly $184,000 to 21 local
police departments to replace potentially
defective bullet-resistant vests with new
protective vests.
The grants are being provided to ensure
that all law enforcement and corrections
agencies in New Jersey have replaced any
vests containing Zylon®. Vests containing
that brand of synthetic fiber have been
declared potentially unsafe by the U.S.
Department of Justice because some have
been found to degrade more quickly than
forecasted, reducing their ability to stop
a bullet or a knife.
The
Division of Criminal Justice provided notice
about the special round of grants to all
eligible state, county and local law enforcement
and corrections agencies, as well as the
Administrative Office of the Courts, which
oversees probation officers. It fully funded
every request received that was based on
a need to replace body armor vests containing
Zylon®.
“Police
officers put their lives on the line each
day to keep the people of New Jersey safe,”
said Attorney General Rabner. “It’s
only fitting that we do all that we can
to keep our officers safe. This round of
grants caps a comprehensive outreach and
replacement effort that has sought to ensure
that no New Jersey officer is vulnerable
because of defective body armor.”
“Staff
members from the Division of Criminal Justice
have been working diligently since late
2003, when safety concerns were first raised
about these vests, to ensure that agencies
throughout the state were informed and provided
with opportunities to replace the vests
with body armor meeting current federal
standards,” said Division Director
Gregory A. Paw.
More than $3.5 million was distributed in
each of the last three years from the state’s
Body Armor Replacement Fund, which was established
in 1998 by legislation and is funded through
a $1 surcharge on traffic tickets and forfeitures
of bail. The special funding announced today
is in addition to the regular annual round
of grants, which will be announced later
this year.
In
addition to providing dedicated state funding,
the Attorney General’s Office, through
the Division of Criminal Justice, has alerted
affected agencies in New Jersey about federal
grants and has worked with the National
Association of Attorneys General in legal
actions to get manufacturers to reimburse
agencies for defective vests or provide
warranty exchanges.-2-
The
cost of body armor varies, but the minimum
grant amount is $500. The standard vest
issued to troopers by the State Police costs
$659.
The
following grants have been awarded:
- Avon-By-The-Sea
$12,000
-
Belleville $5,038
-
Beverly $649
- Cranford
$8,351
- Elmwood
Park $4,524
- Franklin
Township (Hunterdon Co.) $1,382
- Freehold
Township $22,239
- Haworth
$4,250
- Jackson
$21,134
- Long
Branch $6,151
- Manasquan
$903
- Metuchen
$500
- Neptune
Township $33,392
- North
Arlington $1,574
- North
Wildwood $1,947
- Phillipsburg
$9,030
- Point
Pleasant Borough $13,881
- Rockaway
Township $3,894
- Sea
Bright $5,126
- Trenton
$20,119
- Washington
Township (Morris Co.) $7,900
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