VIDALIA — The Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office will use a $12,701 federal grant to purchase a variety of needed equipment, Sheriff Randy Maxwell said Wednesday.

The U.S. Justice Department has awarded more than $3.8 million in grants to 33 Louisiana localities to help fight crime and prevent drug abuse, Sens. John Breaux and Mary Landrieu announced Tuesday.

Concordia’s Law Enforcement Block Grant will be used to purchase such equipment as bulletproof vests and radios as well as handheld metal detectors for the Concordia Parish Correctional Facility.

&uot;There’s a lot of latitude in how these grants can be spent,&uot; Maxwell said.

&uot;These grants are very important in helping us to provide our officers with first-rate equipment,&uot; he added.

A total of $3,709,111 will go toward the improvement of public safety and crime reduction in 33 localities. In addition, the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse for Greater New Orleans will receive $100,000 to fight drug abuse.

Such awards help the sheriff’s office save taxpayer dollars for other uses, and are especially important given other financial hurdles the department has faced this year, Maxwell said.

For example, bankrupt Fruit of the Loom still owes the sheriff’s office $547,000 in property taxes. And the Louisiana Legislature cut the per diem it pays to local agencies for prisoner care by 62 cents this year.

&uot;That may not seem like a lot of money, but cutting that per diem has meant we’ve gotten $130,000 less this year,&uot; Maxwell said.

Fortunately, the sheriff’s office has been successful in obtaining grant to help offset such losses, he added.

&uot;We’ve worked extremely hard, and it has paid off,&uot; he said.

Concordia Parish was the only local parish to receive such a grant this year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.