[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63225-63226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22057]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs

[[OJP (NIJ) Docket No. 1725]


Discontinuing the Metallic Handcuffs Compliance Testing Program 
and Request for Public Comment on Draft Minimum Scheme Requirements to 
Certify Criminal Justice Restraints Described in NIJ Standard 1001.00

AGENCY: National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 
Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) announces that it is 
discontinuing the metallic handcuffs Compliance Testing Program (CTP). 
The program is closed to new submissions effective upon publication of 
this notice. The metallic handcuffs Compliant Products List (CPL) will 
remain published for an additional year until September 14, 2017, after 
which time it will be taken down. In place of the CTP, 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. NIJ seeks 
feedback from the public on draft minimum requirements that a product 
certification scheme must contain for the certification of restraints 
described in NIJ Standard 1001.00, Criminal Justice Restraints 
Standard. The draft minimum scheme requirements are found in the 
Supplementary Information below, as well as in the document found here: 
http://www.nij.gov/restraints. NIJ anticipates recognizing 
certification programs that meet or exceed the minimum scheme 
requirements. NIJ also anticipates provisionally recognizing the 
certification program established by the 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. SEI added NIJ Standard 
1001.00 to the scope of its accreditation, with an effective date of 
October 7, 2015 valid through June 1, 2017. Further guidance on 
recognition of this certification program or others will be published 
in the Federal Register at a future date, to be determined. 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.

DATES: Comments must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on October 14, 
2016.
    How to Respond and What to Include: The draft minimum scheme 
requirements are found in the Supplementary Information below, or in 
the document found here: http://www.nij.gov/restraints. To submit 
comments, please send an email to the point of contact listed below, 
and provide contact information with the submission of comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Greene, Policy and Standards 
Division Director, Office of Science and Technology, National Institute 
of Justice, 810 7th Street NW., Washington, DC 20531; telephone number: 
(202) 307-3384; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following describes the minimum 
requirements that a product certification scheme must contain for the 
certification of restraints described in NIJ Standard 1001.00, Criminal 
Justice Restraints Standard. A product certification scheme includes 
the rules, procedures, and management required for carrying out product 
certification, which involves the assessment and attestation by an 
impartial third party that fulfilment of specified requirements has 
been demonstrated by a product. This is discussed further in ISO/IEC 
17067, Conformity assessment -- Fundamentals of product certification 
and guidelines for product certification schemes.
    The following is intended primarily for those considering becoming 
certification scheme owners for the purpose of certifying restraints, 
in order to provide greater confidence to the criminal justice end user 
community that the restraints products conform to the requirements 
specified in NIJ Standard 1001.00. It includes minimum reasonable 
expectations that a certification body should meet in order to operate 
a certification program for restraints.
    The following is also intended for accreditation bodies that 
accredit certification bodies which may be considering certifying 
restraints to a scheme that includes laboratory testing of products to 
NIJ Standard 1001.00.
    This document uses the following in accordance with international 
standards:

--``shall'' indicates a requirement;
--``should'' indicates a recommendation;
--``may'' indicates a permission;
--``can'' indicates a possibility or a capability.

[[Page 63226]]

    Nothing in the following is intended to create any legal or 
procedural rights enforceable against the United States. Moreover, 
nothing in the following creates any obligation for conformity 
assessment bodies to follow or adopt this voluntary standard, nor does 
it create any obligation for manufacturers, suppliers, law enforcement 
agencies, or others to follow or adopt voluntary NIJ equipment 
standards.
1 Scope
    1.1 This document describes the minimum requirements that a product 
certification scheme must contain for the certification of restraints 
described in NIJ Standard 1001.00, Criminal Justice Restraints 
Standard.
    1.2 This document includes provisions for NIJ to file urgent 
complaints with a certification body regarding products it certifies to 
protect criminal justice end users of restraints products, such as 
police officers and correctional officers, if NIJ believes that a 
hazardous condition exists.
    1.3 This document includes provisions for NIJ to file urgent 
complaints with an accreditation body regarding conformity assessment 
bodies it accredits in the certification scheme to protect criminal 
justice end users of restraints products, such as police officers and 
correctional officers, if NIJ believes that a hazardous condition 
exists.
2 Normative References
    ISO/IEC 17000, Conformity assessment--Vocabulary and general 
principles
    ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing 
and calibration laboratories
    ISO/IEC 17030, Conformity assessment--General requirements for 
third-party marks of conformity
    ISO/IEC 17065, Conformity assessment--Requirements for bodies 
certifying products, processes and services
    ISO/IEC 17067, Conformity assessment--Fundamentals of product 
certification and guidelines for product certification schemes
    ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, Principles and rules for the structure 
and drafting of ISO and IEC documents, Seventh edition, 2016
    NIJ Standard 1001.00, Criminal Justice Restraints Standard
3 Terms and Definitions
    For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given 
in ISO/IEC 17000, ISO/IEC 17065, ISO/IEC 17067, and NIJ 1001.00 apply.
4 Scheme Requirements
    4.1 The product certification scheme shall follow the guidelines in 
ISO/IEC 17067.
    4.1.1 The product certification scheme shall be of scheme type 5 as 
described in 5.3.7 in ISO/IEC 17067.
    4.1.2 The scheme shall include provisions for the certification 
body to assess the client's management system and quality assurance 
processes upon initial certification and during surveillance.
    4.1.3 The certification body shall issue a mark of conformity to be 
displayed on certified products in accordance with ISO/IEC 17030.
    4.2 Conformity assessment bodies shall be accredited.
    4.2.1 Certification bodies shall be accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 by 
an accreditation body that is a signatory to the International 
Accreditation Forum (IAF) Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA).
    4.2.2 Certification bodies shall have a scope of accreditation to 
include NIJ 1001.00.
    4.2.3 Testing laboratories shall be accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by 
an accreditation body that is a signatory to the IAF MLA.
    4.2.4 Testing laboratories shall have a scope of accreditation to 
include NIJ 1001.00.
    4.3 NIJ may request information from the certification body.
    4.3.1 NIJ may request in writing directly from the certification 
body a list of all actions taken against specified current or 
previously certified products, such as termination, reduction, 
suspension, or withdrawal of certification.
    4.3.2 The certification body shall provide in writing the 
information requested by NIJ in 4.3.1 by the next working day.
    4.4 NIJ may bring urgent complaints to the certification body.
    4.4.1 NIJ may bring urgent complaints regarding certified products, 
or products believed to be certified, directly to the certification 
body if NIJ believes that a hazardous condition exists.
    4.4.2 Should NIJ bring an urgent complaint to the attention of the 
certification body, NIJ shall articulate the complaint in writing.
    4.4.3 The certification body shall provide an expedited response in 
writing to NIJ within five (5) working days, articulating how it plans 
to proceed with the urgent complaint, including actions it may take to 
determine the validity of the complaint, and an estimated timeline to 
determine the validity of the complaint.
    4.5 NIJ may request information from accreditation bodies.
    4.5.1 NIJ may request in writing directly from an accreditation 
body a list of all actions taken against a conformity assessment body 
that it accredits in the certification scheme, such as termination, 
reduction, suspension, or withdrawal of certification.
    4.5.2 The accreditation body shall provide in writing the 
information NIJ requested in 4.5.1 within five (5) working days.
    4.6 NIJ may bring urgent complaints to accreditation bodies.
    4.6.1 NIJ may bring urgent complaints directly to an accreditation 
body regarding conformity assessment bodies that it accredits in the 
certification scheme if NIJ believes a hazardous condition exists.
    4.6.2 Should NIJ bring an urgent complaint to the attention of an 
accreditation body, NIJ shall articulate the complaint in writing.
    4.6.3 The accreditation body shall provide an expedited response in 
writing to NIJ within five (5) working days, articulating how it plans 
to proceed with the urgent complaint, including actions it may take to 
determine the validity of the complaint and an estimated timeline to 
determine the validity of the complaint.
    4.7 Accreditation bodies shall notify NIJ of any changes in the 
accreditation status or scope of accreditation of any conformity 
assessment bodies in the certification scheme.
    4.7.1 Changes in accreditation status include suspension, 
withdrawal, or reduction of the scope of accreditation.
    4.7.2 The accreditation body shall notify NIJ in writing within 
five (5) working days after such action is taken.

Nancy Rodriguez,
Director, National Institute of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2016-22057 Filed 9-13-16; 8:45 am]
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