Sheriff's Department acquires much needed equipment through grant programs

On Tuesday May 31^st, the Bates County Sheriff’s Office took possession of a Military Grade Humvee.  The Humvee was acquired from the Department of Defense’s surplus property.  The Humvee is valued at $40,000 and did not cost the tax payers of Bates County any additional taxes. 

Sheriff Anderson began the process of obtaining the surplus property from the Department of Defense after the large amount of snow Bates County received this year.  When the snow hit Bates County the Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the National Guard to aid in answering calls for service throughout Bates County due to the roads being impassable.  The Humvee has a 6.2 diesel engine and with it being a 4x4 is very capable of travel in extreme conditions.  This Humvee is a personnel carrier and is capable of transporting medical personnel to citizens that need medical services in extreme weather conditions. 

Humvee acquired by grant from the Department of

Defense for use in Bates County emergency situations

The Sheriff’s Office intends on utilizing the Humvee for search and rescue, water rescue, drug eradication, patrol in extreme weather conditions and to aid in extraction of citizens in locations normal vehicles can’t reach that need medical treatment. 

The Sheriff’s Office also received 6 laptop computers from the Department of Defense for the command center.  The estimated value of the laptops was $6,000. The Sheriff’s Office will continue to identify equipment the Department of Defense has in surplus that will aid the Sheriff’s Office in protecting and improving the quality of life for the citizens of Bates County.  The equipment that is acquired through the surplus program is given to the Sheriff’s Office at no cost.

The Bates County Sheriff’s Office was also awarded a grant through the Missouri Police Chiefs Association.  The grant was applied for back in October of 2010 and was for additional laptops for patrol vehicles.  The Sheriff’s Office was awarded three laptops through the grant.  The grant includes the hardware to mount the laptops, mobile data service plans for one year and cost to cover labor for installation.  The grant was a non-matching grant valued at $18,000.  The Sheriff’s Office is currently working with Acting Chief Randy Beshore with the Butler Police Department to assist in obtain equipment for his agency.  The Sheriff’s Office extends it offer to assist any agency in Bates County with grants to obtain equipment as needed.