The Fort Lee Police Department learned this week it would be receiving about $8,000 to purchase or replace body armor vests for its officers. The funding comes from the Division of Criminal Justice, which is distributing nearly $3.6 million to over 500 New Jersey law enforcement agencies.

According to Criminal Justice Director Stephen J Taylor, a total of $3,586,827 is being provided to state, county and local law enforcement and corrections agencies from the state's Body Armor Replacement Fund, which was established by legislation in 1998 and is funded through a $1 surcharge on traffic tickets and forfeitures of bail.

"Last year, upon taking office, this administration restored millions of dollars in dedicated funding for police body armor which the prior administration had diverted as a stopgap for unrelated state budget expenses," said Attorney General Paula T. Dow. "Under my watch, funding from the Body Armor Replacement Fund, which totals nearly $3.6 million this year, will be used to stop only one thing: the bullets that threaten our devoted officers in New Jersey."