As president of the Georgia State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, I have one primary concern: the safety of our law enforcement officers. When our officers have the training and equipment they need to safely perform their duties, they do a better job of protecting the citizens and communities they serve. When they receive needed equipment at a fraction of the cost, the officers and taxpayers benefit.
Section 1033 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1997, commonly known as the 1033 program, enables law enforcement agencies across the country to purchase surplus Department of Defense equipment, also known as “military-grade equipment,” at greatly reduced costs to support law enforcement activities in a variety of areas. For Georgians, changes to this program would be a mistake.
Some have raised the issue of accountability regarding purchased surplus equipment. I can assure you, no agency in Georgia has a problem complying with such a demand. When the issuing agency requests an audit, the door will be wide open. We have nothing to hide in law enforcement.
The police are not the military, nor do they want to be. But when surplus military equipment becomes available and fills a void that will make law enforcement officers’ jobs safer, why would we not take advantage of it?
Law enforcement’s equipment needs are often affected by limited budgets, even to the point that the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police maintains a program called “Protecting the Protectors.” It provides ballistic vests to smaller agencies that can’t afford to purchase them.
One of the most common requisitions from military surplus equipment is the heavy-duty, four-wheel-drive vehicle. These vehicles are vital during inclement weather, such as last winter’s ice storms, and in operations in rough terrain across Georgia.
Law enforcement is an ever-changing profession with ever-changing threats. Officers need a variety of equipment to meet these threats and return home safely at the end of the day. We now live in a society where people carry assault rifles into schools and courthouses, intending to cause chaos and mass casualties.
In the past, law enforcement officers had only their sidearms and shotguns, which greatly limited their ability to respond to threats of this nature. Today, a variety of weapons — weapons to which criminals have long had access — are required to meet threats that officers encounter.
And since the standard police patrol car offers little protection, armored vehicles have become necessary to safely transport officers into high-threat areas. Without 1033, the cost to taxpayers for a vehicle that meets this requirement would be astronomical.
The nomenclature for surplus military equipment can be misleading. Recent reports speak of agencies obtaining grenade launchers. While the name is technically correct, law enforcement agencies neither possess nor have a need for grenades. These launchers are used for deploying tear gas in riot situations.
Too many times, individuals with little or no law enforcement experience want to sit back in the safety of their offices and decide the needs of brave men and women of law enforcement on the street.
I would hope wisdom will prevail, and before any changes to the 1033 program are made, law enforcement leadership is consulted and allowed to have input.
Carlton Stallings is president of the Georgia State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police.
