Office of Justice Programs July 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) announces publication of Minimum Scheme Requirements to Certify Criminal Justice Restraints Described in NIJ Standard 1001.00. The minimum scheme requirements are found in the Supplementary Information below, as well as in the document found here: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/250566.pdf. NIJ Standard 1001.00, Criminal Justice Restraints Standard, was published in the Federal Register on November 19, 2014, and may be found here: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-27367. All references to ``Criminal Justice Restraints Certification Program Requirements, NIJ CR-1001.00'' in NIJ Standard 1001.00, including in Section 1.1.1 of that standard, shall be understood to refer to the Minimum Scheme Requirements published here. NIJ has been working with conformity assessment bodies to develop acceptable criteria by which NIJ would recognize a product certification scheme operated by a certification body in the private sector. Certification better ensures that quality restraints are available to criminal justice practitioners. In the interest of officer safety and public safety, NIJ anticipates recognizing certification programs in the private sector that meet or exceed the minimum scheme requirements. Certification bodies that are interested in developing a product certification scheme for restraints described in NIJ Standard 1001.00 should contact NIJ at the contact information listed below. As previously noted (https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-22057), Safety Equipment Institute (SEI), which is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity assessment Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services, has established a certification program for restraints described in NIJ Standard 1001.00. ISO/IEC 17065 is a joint endeavor of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Further guidance on recognition of this certification program or others will be published in the Federal Register at a future date, to be determined.