Grenade launchers, anyone?

Up for grabs are grenade launchers and high-caliber weapons. And South Florida’s smallest police departments are the most likely to benefit from a newly revived federal program that gives agencies stronger firepower.

While some of the larger and more well-funded agencies, such as the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Miami-Dade Police, don’t use the program, police in North Miami and the town of Palm Beach say they use it to buy gear their budgets wouldn’t normally be able to cover.

“We’re budget conscious,” said Kirk Blouin, director of public safety for Palm Beach. “If I can get it on the cheap, we’ll certainly look at what’s available.”

An executive order President Donald Trump signed in late August repeals Obama-era limitations on police agencies’ access to camouflage uniforms, bulletproof vests, riot shields, racked armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft and vehicles, firearms and ammunition of .50-caliber or greater to police.

The policy change is another way in which Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are enacting a lawand-order agenda that sees federal support of local police as key to driving down violent crime.

Law enforcement agencies that use the program comb a database of surplus military equipment and purchase it for a fraction of the original price. For example, North Miami Beach bought a mine-resistant armored vehicle (known as an MRAP) originally valued at more than $700,000 for less than $1,000.

Other gear local departments have purchased over the years includes:

Fort Lauderdale’s purchase of Humvees (purchased for its SWAT prior to the ban)

Delray Beach’s purchase