H.P. White Laboratory Inc., the world’s largest independent test laboratory for body armor, has contracted to work with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) to conduct comparative ballistics resistance testing on new and used law enforcement body armor for the research study: Physical and Environmental Effects on the Performance of Body Armor. The study is funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and is designed to identify materials that stand up to a range of real-world physical and environmental stresses and maintain intended levels of protection over the life of body armor.

The 18-month study will integrate data collected in a two-phase process. In phase one, PERF will conduct a survey to evaluate how body armor is used, maintained and stored over time. In phase II, used soft body armor samples (and usage histories) will be collected from officers in 30 agencies across a range of U.S. climates.

Through a series of abbreviated tests based on the NIJ 0101.06 standard, HP White will then conduct comparative evaluations to match the ballistics properties of used body armor samples against an equivalent control group of new body armor samples. The comparative data will identify the variables that contribute to armor failure.

Source: H.P. White Laboratory Inc.