Fort Lee PD Gets Roughly $8K Grant For Body Armor

The Fort Lee Police Department learned this week it would be receiving about $8,000 to purchase or replace body armor vests for its officers. The funding comes from the Division of Criminal Justice, which is distributing nearly $3.6 million to over 500 New Jersey law enforcement agencies.

According to Criminal Justice Director Stephen J Taylor, a total of $3,586,827 is being provided to state, county and local law enforcement and corrections agencies from the state’s Body Armor Replacement Fund, which was established by legislation in 1998 and is funded through a $1 surcharge on traffic tickets and forfeitures of bail. 

“Last year, upon taking office, this administration restored millions of dollars in dedicated funding for police body armor which the prior administration had diverted as a stopgap for unrelated state budget expenses,” said Attorney General Paula T. Dow. “Under my watch, funding from the Body Armor Replacement Fund, which totals nearly $3.6 million this year, will be used to stop only one thing: the bullets that threaten our devoted officers in New Jersey.”

Fort Lee was awarded $8,083.47.  

“In these tough economic times, police are hard-pressed to find money for new equipment,” said Taylor. “This $3.6 million in funding will help to ensure that one of their most crucial pieces of equipment – lifesaving body armor – will not be outdated and worn out when our officers hit the streets to protect New Jersey residents.”

The cost of body armor varies, but the minimum grant amount is $500. The state has a multi-vendor contract with distributors that enables law enforcement agencies to purchase the make and model of vest that best meets their needs.

As a condition of the state grant, agencies must purchase vests from a list of vests certified by the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. There are hundreds of approved vests on the list. The New Jersey State Police, for example, is currently purchasing a vest, together with certain accessories, at a state contract price of $759.80 per vest package.

Since the inception of the Body Armor Replacement Fund Program in 1998, the Division of Criminal Justice - Grants & Program Development Section has provided nearly $50 million to the New Jersey statewide law enforcement community to purchase thousands of new vests. 

For a complete breakdown of the distribution list of the $3.6 million in grants to police departments by county and municipality, click here.