OLES Mission Statement

Unique among NIST's program offices, the Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) addresses the technology and metrology needs of the criminal justice, public safety, public security and greater homeland security communities. Since 1971, OLES's customers have been corrections personnel, forensic scientists and those who are today known as "first responders" – police officers, firefighters, and others responsible for the safety and security of people and property. Through our work on performance standards for critical technologies such as ballistic body armor, metal detectors, chemical systems and protective equipment, computer forensics, DNA analysis, and public safety communications, OLES has developed unique expertise. And through our working relationships with criminal justice, public safety and public security practitioners, universities, government agencies, professional and scientific organizations, and offices and laboratories throughout NIST, OLES has developed a vast network of resources that can be brought to bear on solving difficult technical challenges.

In 1999 that expertise and those resources earned OLES an invitation to serve on the Standards Coordination Committee of the newly formed InterAgency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability (IAB). Immediately, IAB asked OLES to address one of its highest priorities: developing requirement standards for respiratory protection equipment to ensure that emergency responders would survive chemical warfare agent attacks. This firsthand experience at tackling the challenges of CBRNE countermeasures prepared OLES for the roles it fulfills today. Following the events of September 11, 2001, OLES found itself leading several technical programs related to homeland security. OLES personnel have assumed key roles as managers and consultants at the Department of Homeland Security. OLES has led the efforts of NIST's Homeland Security Strategic Working Group. And, perhaps, most indicative of OLES's reputation and competence, the Office's operating budget, derived entirely from work with agencies outside NIST, grew from about $900,000 in FY1996 to more than $50 million in FY2006.

In addition to developing minimum performance standards, OLES develops reference materials (RMs) and standard reference materials (SRMs) for use in test procedures and to calibrate equipment. OLES develops technology and metrology to support the advancement of equipment and methods used to address the needs of criminal justice, public safety, emergency responder and homeland security agencies. OLES authors equipment user guides; designs methods for examining evidentiary materials; develops technology where appropriate and applicable; and provides technical advice and assistance to agencies throughout the criminal justice, public safety, emergency responder and homeland security communities. OLES staff members hold memberships in scores of technical and scientific organizations, chair technical and policy-making committees in several of those organizations, and work closely with technical experts throughout the public and private sectors.