Military Surplus

This project looks at how much U.S. military surplus equipment has been transferred to law enforcement agencies. It uses data from from the “1033 program” handled through the Law Enforcement Support Office, which posts data quarterly.

When it comes to ordnance passed down from the U.S. military itself, local law enforcement don’t play. The Austin Police Department is in possession of the most expensive military surplus item - an $833,000 helicopter - among Central Texas counties. Mine resistant vehicles, night vision glasses and non-lethal weapons (such as rubber bullets and pepper spray) are also among the pricier pass-downs, according to data from the Law Enforcement Support Office.

Data Takeaways:

• Since 2010, all Texas law enforcement agencies have received about 19 thousand pieces of equipment from surplus U.S. military units, all worth approximately 124.5 million dollars.
• Houston, the largest city in Texas, tops the number of surplus military equipment received in the state with 2,359 items since 2010. The total worth of the equipment is roughly 5 million dollars.
• Despite its lower population among Central Texas agencies, the San Marcos Police Department has the second-most number of U.S. military surplus equipment worth nearly 3.2 million dollars.
• San Marcos and Bastrop are among local counties in possession of $733,000 dollar mine resistant vehicles, or transportation devices usually deployed during SWAT responses, owning one each.