The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will use the following definitions in providing guidance to your jurisdiction regarding the purchase of armor vests under the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998—

(a) The term program will refer to the activities administered by BJA to implement the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998;

(b) The terms you and your will refer to a jurisdiction applying to this program;

(c) The term armor vest under this program will mean a vest that has met the performance standards established by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) as published in NIJ Standard 0101.03, or any formal revision of this standard;

(d) The term State will be used to mean each of the 50 States, as well as the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands;

(e) The term unit of local government will mean a county, municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government below the State level;

(f) The term Indian tribe has the same meaning as in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)) which defines Indian tribe as meaning any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688) (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);

(g) The term law enforcement officer will mean any officer, agent, or employee of a State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe authorized by law or by a government agency to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, or investigation of any violation of criminal law, or authorized by law to supervise sentenced criminal offenders; and

(h) The term mandatory wear policy will mean a policy formally adopted by a jurisdiction that requires a law enforcement officer to wear an armor vest throughout each duty shift whenever feasible.