LEMITFreeman, Kevin2019-08-122019-08-122019-06-0120191864https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11875/2642Law enforcement agencies are faced with situations and circumstances within the communities they serve that if they had specialized equipment, they could resolve those situations more effectively. However, because cost is a determining factor, departments are unable to purchase items that would otherwise assist them with performing the variety of tasks their communities expect from them. Some of these roles may be from a tactical perspective such as providing ballistic protection for officers involved in an active shooter event or that of a search and rescue role during a natural disaster. An ever present argument from those in the citizenry that oppose law enforcement agencies acquiring military equipment is the perception that police agencies are no longer police, but rather military in appearance. To offset this often negative perception by the public, it would necessitate that agencies should not only engage in educating their communities as to how these resources would be utilized by the agency, but also how these resources would serve the citizens in the event of critical incidents. Agencies that choose to participate in the Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) or the 1033 program as it is frequently referred are choosing a more cost effective method to acquire specialized equipment and are also exercising forward thinking strategies to serve their communities.application-pdfenProduced under the auspices of LEMIT. Quotations from this paper must be cited.Police--Equipment and SuppliesPolice-Community RelationsText