LEWISTON — While an Associated Press investigation found that many small towns across the country are gobbling up surplus military equipment and then not using it, abusing the federal program, that is not happening in Maine.

According to Scarborough police officer John Gill, who is Maine’s point of contact for the 1033 Program, known as the military surplus program, police departments here are conservative in making requests.

Morven, Ga., over the past decade has received more than $4 million worth of surplus goods, including a shipment of bayonets and a $200,000 decontamination machine. Lewiston has received $429.

Morven has a population of about 700; Lewiston, 36,491.

According to Lewiston police Chief Michael Bussiere, about a decade ago the department received some surplus rain jackets and rain gear that officers use for training at the range. And, according to Gill, Lewiston is still required by the Department of Defense to track the use of a robot explosive ordnance and charger unit, which is a remote-control robot used in tactical situations.

Many departments across the country requested and received these robots, Gill said, when a load of them became available once the drawdown on the war on terror began.

In fact, according to the AP investigation, the surplus equipment giveaways — which fall under the National Defense Authorization Act — have grown drastically in recent years as the military has scaled down. At the same time, municipal budgets have become strained, so making the surplus available gets it out of military storage and into active use by departments.

Last year, $546 million worth of property was distributed by the DoD to local, county and state police departments across the country.

The Norway Police Department has received $5,403 worth of equipment — a Chevrolet Blazer and rifles — in the past decade, according to the DoD. The Blazer was sold after the town fulfilled its obligation to use the vehicle, and the rifles were replaced several years ago with AR-15s, Chief Rob Federico said.

The Rumford Police Department has received $1,088 in surplus gear, including night-vision goggles and a computer system, and the Farmington Police Department has received $200.

According to the DoD, Auburn has never asked for surplus goods.

The military surplus program, which Gill said is commonly referred to as the “war-fighter to crime-fighter” program, was created in 1997 to disburse excess or unused equipment to police departments in need. The primary intent, Gill said, is to use the equipment for counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism. The equipment is available only to police departments.

Gill, who receives and approves all requests made in Maine, said no request from fire departments is considered and he once turned down a request from a town manager for equipment because the town did not have a police department.

“We’re very careful in screening these things,” he said, “trying to keep people focused on law enforcement-focused acquisitions.” And, he said, “some agencies around the state have made really good use of it.”

For example, the Oxford County Sheriff’s Department acquired specialty outdoor clothing and equipment to aid deputies working in remote areas of the county, he said.

Since the program was enacted, 120 Maine law enforcement agencies have participated, Gill said. The most active among them has been the Caribou Police Department, which has received $1.6 million over the years.

In the past year, the department has been required by the DoD to track and report its use of a trailer generator, several pairs of binoculars, a platoon early-warning system — which alerts officers to movement or intruders — flashlights, laptops, a floodlight assembly, magazine cartridges, night-vision goggles and ballistics spectacles, a van, a plow blade and tents used for protection during prolonged emergency command centers, among other things.

Caribou has funded much of its information technology spending through military surplus, right down to print cartridges, Gill said, which helps ease local budget costs.

“That’s the absolute intent of the program,” he said, for departments to have access to materials they need and cannot afford. “Used properly, that’s the benefit of the program.”

Gill explained how the requests work: The Department of Defense maintains a database of all surplus materials and police departments around the country have password access to that information. When a department sees an item it could use, it makes a request to its state coordinator. In Maine, that’s Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall, although Hall has designated Gill to be the point of contact for all requests.

Once Gill receives the request, he reviews it to ensure it meets the program requirements, and forwards the request to the DoD. If granted, the requester is responsible for either picking up the item or having it shipped from wherever it is being stored.

Then, for the next year, the police department must account for the equipment’s use. Once that period lapses, the department is free to do what it wants with the equipment, unless there are special requirements attached to the disposition, such as there might be for armored Humvees.

Gill said Maine’s police departments can really benefit from this program by being proactive about what’s listed on the DoD database and match available equipment to department needs.

In Scarborough, Gill said the department requested three collapsible tactical stretchers that can be used to move people during a mass evacuation. The stretchers fold down to fit in the back of a police car and usually cost $2,100 apiece. Scarborough saw three of these stretchers available as surplus and requested them. The cost? Fifty dollars in shipping charges.

“It’s a good program, if managed properly,” Gill said. He is aware that there are “agencies that are just sucking up as much as they can, but we haven’t seen that in Maine. We’re fortunate about that.”

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