Military surplus supplements police budgets; Federal program not being used by all.

PositionNEWS

Byline: Priyanka Dayal

WORCESTER - City police are not taking full advantage of a federal program that distributes surplus military equipment to local police departments.

In fiscal 2006, the U.S. Department of Defense re-circulated equipment worth more than $140 million to nearly 13,000 law enforcement offices around the country. About $2 million of equipment was distributed to 215 offices in Massachusetts.

The program allows police departments around the country to scan a database of excess and secondhand military equipment, ranging from automatic rifles to office furniture. Local police can request any available items, which are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. All items are free, except for the cost of shipping.

Known as the federal 1033 Program, it is intended as a supplement to local police budgets. Amid the long lists of office furniture, helmets and boots, local police sometimes can find serviceable rifles, helicopters and boats. It just depends on how hard they're looking.

In past years, Worcester police obtained protective clothing, furniture, cargo trucks and automatic weapons.

But this year Worcester has not used the program, Lt. Lawrence A. Sullivan, of the police department's Support Services Division, acknowledged. He said that with the dwindling number of military bases in New England, little useful equipment is available nearby.

Lt. Sullivan said the department doesn't want to pay the cost of shipping items from far-off bases that it has not been able to inspect.

"There aren't many military bases left in Massachusetts," said Lt. Sullivan, who oversees the department's involvement with the 1033 Program. "Personally, I wouldn't take something on consignment unless I saw it. I don't want to get stuck with something I have to return."

But Joseph E. Kelly, who coordinates the program for all Massachusetts police departments, said it remains "very, very active." Because of a lack of effort or manpower, he said, some departments don't utilize the program as effectively as they could, and may well be missing out on thousands of dollars in savings.

"You've got to be willing to do the work," Mr. Kelly said. "Some agencies are not willing to do that or cannot do that. You'll have departments that if they don't see what they want right away, they won't bother with it. There are other departments that will check five times a day."

Police Officer Michael F. Montiverdi, who monitors the database for Worcester, said he...

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