The Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP), created by the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998 is a unique U.S. Department of Justice initiative designed to provide a critical resource to state and local law enforcement.

Since 1999, over 13,000 jurisdictions have participated in the BVP Program, with $277 million in federal funds committed to support the purchase of an estimated 800,000 vests. The Office of Justice Programs' Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) administers the BVP Program.

NEW: The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is pleased to announce the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 BVP application funding period.

Applications for FY 2011 BVP funds will be accepted beginning Monday, May 16, 2011. All applications must be submitted online by 6:00 pm (Eastern Time), Wednesday, July 13, 2011.

Please note that FY 2011 BVP funds may only be used toward the purchase of vests ordered on or after April 1, 2011. Each vest purchased with FY 2011 funds must meet National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standards on the date it was ordered. Beginning with FY 2008 funds, the use period for BVP funds will be two years. To draw down FY 2011 BVP funds, vests must be received and the request for payment submitted to the BVP system by August 31, 2013. Each applicant should update their profile before filing an application for FY 2011 funds.

Planning Your FY 2011 BVP Application

• Check Prior Year BVP Funds
• Check Your Jurisdiction and Contact Information & Update if Needed
• Be sure that the vests you intend to purchase are on the NIJ compliant list
• FY 2011 BVP Funds can only be used for vests ordered after April 1, 2011.
• Have a written Mandatory Wear policy in place when application is submitted

For additional information, click here.

Important Information - New BVP Program Requirements for FY 2011 Applications

NEW! UPDATED Mandatory Wear FAQs

Following two years of declining law enforcement officer line-of-duty deaths, the country realized a dramatic 37 percent increase in officer deaths in 2010. Fifty-nine of the 160 officers killed in 2010 were shot during violent encounters; a 20 percent increase over 2009 numbers. The U.S. Department of Justice is committed to improving officer safety and has undertaken research to review and analyze violent encounters and law enforcement officer deaths and injuries. Due to the increase in the number of law enforcement officer deaths, coupled with our renewed efforts to improve officer safety, beginning with FY 2011, in order to receive BVP funds, jurisdictions must certify, during the application process, that all law enforcement agencies benefitting from the BVP Program have a written "mandatory wear" policy in effect. This policy must be in place for at least all uniformed officers before any FY 2011 funding can be used by the agency. There are no requirements regarding the nature of the policy other than it being a mandatory wear policy for all uniformed officers while on duty. BJA strongly encourages agencies to consult the International Association of Chiefs of Police's Model Policy on Body Armor and to strongly consider all recommendations within that policy. This policy change was announced in October 2010 by Attorney General Holder after consulting with and receiving input from the law enforcement community.

The IACP has very generously provided both its Body Armor Model Policy and position paper to the BVP program. In order to obtain a copy of the Model Policy and position paper, jurisdictions must be registered with the BVP program. To obtain a copy of the Model Policy, contact the BVP Customer Support Center at 1-877-758-3787 or email vests@usdoj.gov.

For additional information regarding this new BVP program requirement, click here.

BVP 50% Match Waiver: Jurisdictions with 2009 and 2010 BVP award funds may request a financial hardship waiver during the payment request process and receive up to 100% of the cost of each vest submitted for reimbursement. Previously, a jurisdiction was only able to request up to 50% the cost of a vest with their available BVP funds. Jurisdictions requesting a waiver of the 50% match requirement may not use BVP funds toward the purchase of any vest with a total unit cost greater than $1,200; excluding taxes, shipping and handling fees (if any) to maximize funding for all eligible jurisdictions. All standard BVP vest requirements apply to the eligible vest types.

Additionally, jurisdictions requesting a waiver have to meet criteria of financial or natural disaster hardship. The jurisdictions have to cite the source of their financial hardship during the waiver request process. Jurisdictions will be expected to keep documentation substantiating the financial hardship for four years and realize the waiver requests are open to Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office of the Inspector General audits.

Finally, all applicant jurisdictions, requesting a waiver of the 50% match, are required to certify that the jurisdiction's Chief Executive Officer formally accepts the request for the waiver and confirms the waiver justification provided. The certification must list the highest elected official from the requesting jurisdiction in order to be approved.

Notice - Check Prior Year BVP Funds: Prior to completing an application for FY 2011 BVP funds, it is strongly recommended that prior year participants log into the BVP system and check for prior year BVP fund balances and the "de-obligation date"/use expiration date for each year's funds. In some instances the use of prior year funds had been extended. All "Requests for Payments" must be submitted to the BVP system on or before the "de-obligation date" or the funds will be considered expired and will no longer be available.

The complete list of FY 2010 BVP awards can be viewed here.

Historical BVP award information for FY 1999 through the FY 2009 can be accessed here

Body Armor Safety Initiative - An Initiative of U.S. Department of Justice. In response to concerns from the law enforcement community, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an initiative to address the reliability of body armor used by law enforcement personnel and to examine the future of bullet-resistant technology and testing. As part of this initiative, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has examined Zylon®-based bullet-resistant vests (both new and used) and is reviewing the process by which bullet-resistant vests are certified.