Fair Lawn Police Receive $5,388 Grant For Body Armor Vests

The Fair Lawn Police Department has received a $5,388.51 grant from the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice to purchase or replace body armor vests for its officers.

On Wednesday, state Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced the distribution of over $3.5 million to 544 state, county and local law enforcement and corrections agencies from New Jersey's Body Armor Replacement Fund, according to the Office of the Attorney General.

Since its establishment in 1998, the fund has provided more than $45 million to statewide law enforcement agencies to purchase thousands of new vests. Due to the state's budget crisis, just $1.3 million was distributed to law enforcement agencies in 2009, the lowest amount in the fund's 13 years.

"We are pleased to restore dedicated funding for this year to a level consistent with the history of this valuable program, so that law enforcement agencies can purchase lifesaving body armor vests for their officers," Dow said in a statement. "Police officers devote their lives to protecting us, and we need to do all that we can to make them safer."

Taylor said the vests will "help shield law enforcement officers from the dangers they face as they serve the people of New Jersey."

Agencies must purchase vests from a list of vests that is certified by the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. The full list of grants provided to New Jersey law enforcement agencies is available at www.njpublicsafety.com.