The Effingham County Sheriff’s Department will be getting new bullet-proof vests, thanks to a Department of Justice grant the county commissioners accepted this week.

“Every vest is 10 years old,” said Sgt. Ramsey Mannon. “What the program does is it allows us to look at what we have and what we need.”

The grant from the Justice Department is $5,445.

Bullet proof vests have a shelf life of five to seven years, he said. The grant will allow the sheriff’s department to replace vests that are no longer adequate.

Vests also are sized to fit individual officers. The department needs 22 vests.

“If they’re on the street, they need a vest,” Mannon said.