Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body Armor National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard–0101.04
Supersedes NIJ Standard–0101.03, Ballistic Resistance of Police Body Armor dated April 1987.

FOREWORD
This document, NIJ Standard-0101.04, “Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body Armor,” is an equipment standard developed by the Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It is produced as part of the Law Enforcement and Corrections Standards and Testing Program of the National Institute of Justice(NIJ).

This standard is a technical document that specifies the performance requirements that equipment should meet to satisfy the needs of criminal justice agencies for high quality service. While purchasers can use the test methods described in this standard to determine whether a particular piece of equipment meets the essential requirements, users are encouraged to have this testing conducted only in properly accredited laboratories. Procurement officials may also refer to this standard in their purchasing documents and require that equipment offered for purchase
meet its requirements. Compliance with the requirements of this standard may be attested to by an independent laboratory or guaranteed by the vendor.

Because this standard is designed as a procurement aid, it provides precise and detailed test methods. For those who seek general guidance concerning the selection and application of law enforcement and corrections equipment, user guides have also been published. The guides explain in nontechnical language how to select equipment capable of the level of performance required by a purchasing agency.

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