The National Institute Of Justice

NIJ stands for the National Institute Of Justice, and is the department responsible for testing body armor in the U.S. The NIJ acts as the research, development and evaluation section of the Department of Justice, and aims to improve knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through the use of science. In each of their specialized fields the NIJ's research and development teams are focused on producing results that are highly relevant, and also valid and actionable.

The NIJ works in many different areas, using science to combat and fight criminal challenges. The NIJ is funded by the U.S. government, and their research and innovations in areas such as forensic science and body armor technologies has helped to save lives and stop crimes. The NIJ's work has led to breakthroughs in many fields, and their revolutionary testing methods have helped companies to develop and improve the material and techniques used in making body armor.

The NIJ began testing body armor in the 1970's, setting out the standards that all the body armor that is sold in U.S. must meet. Body armor that has been tested by the NIJ has been shown to have saved the lives of over 3,000 police officers that were shot while in the line of duty since that time, and many others have been saved by stab proof pieces of body armor. The ballistic standards that have been developed by the NIJ for body armor are considered by most to be the benchmark in this area, and they are used by many other countries around the world to rate their body armor.

The NIJ works closely with the HOSDB, who are responsible for setting the body armor standards used in the U.K. They share best practice and testing methods for body armor, and a piece of body armor that passes the standards set by the NIJ will also pass the equivalent HOSBD standards. The NIJ publish their ballistic and stab resistant standards for body armor, and these detail the full levels of protection offered by each piece of body armor, with information regarding the stringent tests that are performed by the NIJ.

At SafeGuard ARMOR™ all of our body armor is manufactured to comply with the NIJ's safety tests, ensuring that they meet their required standards for protection. Please see our protection levels section for more details of the protection offered by our body armor.