Warren County Undersheriff Shawn Lamouree poses in front the department's mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, or MRAP, on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013, in Queensbury, N.Y. The hulking vehicles, built for about $500,000 each at the height of the war, are among the biggest pieces of equipment that the Defense Department is giving to law enforcement agencies under a national military surplus program. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (Yahoo News) |
Just why two mostly rural sheriff’s departments would need such massive war machines is not clear. St. Croix County has only 79 full-time deputies and 16 part-time deputies, and Juneau County has only 48 full-time deputies and 8 part-time deputies.
According to FBI-compiled crime statistics, St. Croix County had 30 violent crimes in 2012, 24 of which were aggravated assaults. That same year, Juneau County had 29 violent crimes, none of which were murders or robberies.
While the vehicles were given to local agencies for free, the cost of maintaining them is entirely the burden of the department’s budget.
President Harrison Ford: Kathryn, if you give a mouse a cookie...
Vice President Kathryn "Glenn Close" Bennett: It's gonna want a glass of milk.