Compliance Testing Program

The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) publishes and disseminates test results in the following formats:

• Bulletins, which summarize the test process and provide preliminary test data.
• Equipment Performance Reports (EPRs), which provide a complete listing of test procedures and detailed test data.
• Consumer Product Lists (CPLs), which list all models of products tested, by manufacturer, that are found to comply with the pertinent NIJ standard.

NLECTC staff provide technical and procurement assistance through:

• A toll-free 800 hotline.
• Specialized demonstrations or instructional presentations on request.
• User guides to assist agencies with the procurement process.

The NIJ Office of Science and Technology, through NLECTC-National in Rockville, Md., administers testing programs for commercially available law enforcement and corrections equipment to ensure that the equipment used in the field is safe, reliable and meets the needs and requirements of the user community.

Equipment testing priorities are developed with the assistance of NLECTC’s Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Advisory Council. Based on these priorities, two types of testing programs are being administered:

• Standards-based testing, where products are tested in accordance with commercial voluntary national performance standards developed through NIJ’s Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES), located at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This testing, conducted at NIJ-approved independent testing laboratories, confirms the equipment’s compliance with NIJ standards. Many law enforcement and corrections agencies require compliance with NIJ standards before the equipment is purchased.
  
• Comparative evaluation programs, where equipment is field tested and the test data is published, allowing users to select the product that best suits their needs and requirements.
  

Behind the Badge: Management Guidelines for Impacts to Body Armor

This NIJ-sponsored publication presents procedures to follow when a law enforcement officer has suffered an injury underneath his or her body armor.

The report features the work of an interdisciplinary review panel that examined the specifics of officers who have suffered “behind armor blunt trauma.” Specific guidelines for officer care have been developed as a result. Read more here: Behind the Badge: Management Guidelines for Impacts to Body Armor.

Contacts:

NLECTC-National
Alex Sundstrom, Testing Coordinator
Phone: (800) 248-2742
E-mail: rsundstrom@justnet.org

Office of Law Enforcement Standards
Mark Stolorow, Director
Phone: (301) 975-2754
E-mail: mark.stolorow@nist.gov

Last updated: Oct. 7, 2011