It can cost a pretty penny to keep each Kaplan police officer outfitted with the latest equipment.
"A few of our officers don't have updated bullet proof vests," Officer Irvin Cates said.
A bullet proof vest alone can cost close to a thousand dollars per officer.
"If the city would have to outfit every single officer every five years to every eight years when the shelf life of these vests go out....the cost would be astronomical for the community."
A few years ago Kaplan did purchase vests for officers for around $14,000. Today it is time for them to upgrade those bullet proof vests.
"After this event we're going to be upgrading those and it's probably going to be a little close to $700 per vest that we're going to outfit the officers with."
That event is the Louisiana Cajun FoodFest and it is taking place on Saturday, November 2nd at Turnley Park at 9am. The cost is $5 to get in and kids 10 and under get in free.
Over the years, Louisiana Cajun FoodFest has helped to offset the cost of keeping the department running and officers protected while on the streets.
"It's all about officer safety."
