(a) On written and sworn application by a sheriff stating the necessity for the purchase, the commissioners court may purchase equipment for a bureau of criminal identification.
(b) The equipment must be compatible with the equipment used for this purpose by the Department of Public Safety, the United States Department of Justice, or the United States Bureau of Criminal Identification. The equipment may include items such as cameras, fingerprint cards, inks, chemicals, microscopes, radio and laboratory equipment, filing cards, filing cabinets, and tear gas.

(c) A purchase allowed under this section must be made by the sheriff by requisition in the manner provided by the county auditor or, if the county does not have a county auditor, by the commissioners court.