Texas giving out bulletproof vests to equip police in the state

In this state safety is one of the most important factors, texans don't take this need lightly. Texas is giving out almost $23 million in state funds to provide enough bulletproof vests to equip more than 40 percent of licensed law enforcement officers in the state.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, released a list of 453 agencies this week that will receive funding through a grant created by legislators last year after a sniper killed five police officers in Dallas during an otherwise peaceful protest against police shootings in 2016.

“The job of our law enforcement community is becoming more difficult as the threats our officers face continue to increase,” Abbott said at a press conference in Dallas on Tuesday — National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.

The money will equip nearly 33,000 officers with vests or body armor that can withstand gunfire from high-powered automatic weapons. These are factors the state took into consideration with the violence occurring more often than in the past.

There are approximately 77,500 licensed law enforcement officers in the state, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. The legislation was a priority for Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who joined Abbott and the bill’s author, state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, at the announcement.

“This grant program is one more step the state can take to enhance the safety of our officers and to make sure our police know that, in Texas, we back the blue,” Patrick said.

To receive funding under the grant, local jurisdictions were required to submit applications by September. In the application process, agencies were able to select which vests they wanted, which caused discrepancies in agency funding.

For example, Harris County being one of the largest counties in Texas, received the most vests of any jurisdiction. There were 4,385 for law enforcement officers including sheriff's deputies, constables and fire marshals. The county got more than $3 million to cover the costs. But the city of Houston was awarded more money for fewer vests.

Houston’s more than $3.9 million in funding will cover about 3,600 vests, placing the average cost per vest at more than $1,000 compared to Harris County’s $700. The average cost of vests per jurisdiction ranged from $220 to $2,100, according to the list provided by the governor.

Local agencies throughout Texas received nearly $23 million in state funding to equip about 33,000 law enforcement officers with bulletproof vests, according to the governor's office, including: Harris County, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Bexar County, Fort Worth, Laredo, University of Texas System, Lubbock, Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, El Paso County, Dallas County, Webb County, Cameron County, and Arlington.

*This article was curated from the Texas Tribune.

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