Police Receive Grant Money for Bulletproof Vests

The Ridgewood Police Department received $4,000 to purchase or replace body armor vests for its officers, Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced Tuesday.

The state Division of Criminal Justice is providing nearly $3.6 million to more than 500 law enforcement agencies across New Jersey through the state's Body Armor Replacement Fund.

“They're used every day,” Ridgewood Police Chief John Ward said of the vests, which carry a five year warranty. “After Floyd we had to replace a lot of vests so we've been trying to stagger [the purchases] a little bit.”

The fund was established in 1998 and is paid for through a $1 surcharge on traffic tickets and forfeitures of bail. The state awarded grants to all 544 agencies that applied.

As a condition of receiving a grant, each agency must purchase vests approved the National Institute of Justice. There are hundreds of vests on the institute's list.

The cost of a vest varies depending on the model. The New Jersey State Police plan to buy vests for $759.80 apiece.

Bergen County agencies received $265,515.24 for the vests, split among 71 agencies. The grants were as high as $38,246.92 for the Bergen County Sheriff's Office to as low as $1,266.87 for the Harrington Park Police Department.

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in funding will help to ensure that one of their most crucial pieces of equipment—lifesaving body armor—will not be outdated and worn out when our officers hit the streets to protect New Jersey residents.”