The Mapping Police Militarization (MPM) project, which went live last July, is a great resource for those trying to track equipment transfers to law enforcement agencies under the 1033 program from 2006 through 2013. The 1033 program, the federal government’s Law Enforcement Support Program, allows police to acquire surplus military equipment at no direct cost to use in counter-drug and counter-terrorism activities. Since the early 1990s, the Defense Logistics Agency’s 1033 program has transferred a wide range of excess military equipment; available equipment includes general law enforcement supplies (e.g., handcuffs, riot shields, holsters, binoculars, and digital cameras), and general office materials (e.g., office furniture, kitchen appliances, exercise equipment) as well as specialized military equipment including armored vehicles, aircraft, and weapons. [Emphasis added]
The MPM data are geocoded to U.S. counties or county equivalents in an interactive map. Each equipment transfer records the equipment details (type, amount), the date the equipment was provided, and the government’s estimated value of the equipment. To streamline analysis, the data are also coded into one of six broad equipment types (Weapons, Protective Equipment, Communications/Surveillance, Non-armored Vehicles, Armored Vehicles, and Miscellaneous).
The site maps the data by county. Selecting individual counties produces: a summary window that contains the 1033 program usage along with that county’s population and a link to download a detailed account of program usage across all years for the selected county. 1033 program usage for individual years can be found by selecting the year of interest from the list.
As MuckRock has noted, the Defense Department was previously loath to release detailed data for the 1033 program, particularly regarding which individual departments have received weapons, aircraft and other tactical equipment. In December 2013, the Defense Logistics Agency released two years of state-by-state transfer data to MuckRock, while the New York Times obtained data down to the county level in May 2014.
The DLA continues to make the information publicly (f you can find it…) available, updated quarterly, in a spreadsheet.