The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, will hold a seminar on June 27, in Washington, DC, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., to discuss current work with standards developing organizations (SDOs) to ensure the safety and effectiveness of law enforcement and justice system equipment and technology through voluntary standards and conformity assessment.
The seminar will focus on NIJ's work to revise, test, and coordinate standards for biometrics applications, safety equipment certification, and civil disturbance unit personal protective equipment. NIJ promulgates standards that are consensus-based and designed to articulate the criminal justice end user community's operational requirements regarding equipment performance.
Panelists will represent the Fairfax County Police Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Safety Equipment Institute, Inc. (SEI).
"NIJ develops and publishes voluntary equipment standards that specifically address the needs of law enforcement, corrections, and other criminal justice agencies to ensure that equipment is safe, reliable, and performs according to established baseline performance requirements," said Mark Greene, division director, policy and standards, office of science and technology, NIJ.
Examples include standards for ballistic and stab-resistant body armor, restraints, bomb suits, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protective gear, and offender tracking systems.
"NIJ has also been engaging in recent years with private-sector standards developing organizations and conformity assessment bodies to leverage their interest in standardizing, testing, and certifying products used by public safety end users," said Greene, who will moderate the event. "NIJ looks forward to continued collaboration with the private sector to help meet the equipment and technology needs of the practitioner community."
Attend in person or livestream the event via the NIJ site. ANSI will share post-event coverage in the coming days.
NIJ's collaboration with private-sector SDOs was also the focus of a guest presentation by NIJ at the ANSI Board of Directors meeting in June 2016.