This act established a federal program that provided financial assistance to local law enforcement agencies for firearms training and purchases. The act also prohibited local governments from enacting laws that would restrict law enforcement officials’ possession or use of firearms. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 was enacted in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This act created the Department of Homeland Security and established the Federal Bureau of Investigation as the national police force. The act also authorized law enforcement agencies to purchase firearms and ammunition. In 2012 there was the passage of the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA). It allowed for the arming of law enforcement agencies with military-grade weapons and ammo; this law was put in place in response to the Boston Marathon bombings.

There was another law that was passed in 2013, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), which created a grant program that provided funds to states for the purchase of firearms and ammo for law enforcement officers; this law was put in place response to the rise of the #MeToo movement

The reason the history of all these laws is relevant is that the increasing use of firearms by police is directly correlated to the adoption, use and purchase of body armor. With scale, came innovation and better designs, and better standards for certification. As a result of all these laws, the acquisition of firepower by US law enforcement agencies dramatically increased from 1960 until now, and at the same time the on-the-job shootings increased as well. In 2010, firearms were used in 61% of all line-of-duty fatalities compared to just 38% in 1993.

As the use of body armor put human lives at stake, regulations had to be put in place soon. The National Institute of Justice, a division of the US Department of Justice stepped in to monitor and regulate standards that governed the testing of police armor.