Body Armor

More than 3,000 police officers' lives have been saved by body armor since the mid-1970s when the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) began testing and developing body armor and performance standards for ballistic and stab resistance. Recognition and acceptance of the NIJ standard has grown worldwide, making it the performance benchmark for ballistic-resistant body armor.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as bulletproof armor. Body armor can provide protection against a significant number of types of handgun ammunition, but law enforcement personnel must keep in mind that armor is categorized and rated for different threat levels. Additional protection should be worn for SWAT team operations, hostage rescues, or Special Operations assignments, when officers may be exposed to a weapon threat greater than the protection provided by regular duty armor.

The report, Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body Armor, describes the minimum performance requirements and test methods for the ballistic resistance of personal body armor, categorizes the types of body armor available, and describes the various threat levels. Note: Armor categories may change in updated Standards .