Picture Kansas City’s neighborhoods blanketed day and night with more than 1,000 police patrol cars.
A new report does just that, recommending that the Police Department invest $10.2 million to buy 470 additional vehicles so every patrol officer and sergeant can take cars home.
Similar take-home car policies have proved popular in communities across the country by cutting operational costs, saving officers’ time, improving response to major emergencies, and providing residents with the peace of mind that comes from having a police car parked down the block.
“My neighbors love to see that car in our neighborhood,” said Lt. John Eichkorn of the Kansas Highway Patrol, which provides take-home cars for troopers.
Although the plan carries a hefty upfront price tag, and an additional annual cost of $1.7 million for increased mileage, it actually could save money over the long haul, according to a study done for the department by Berkshire Advisors Inc.
The department would buy the same number of cars eventually, so that cost remains the same. The savings comes from officers taking better care of take-home cars, according to the report.
That’s proved true in Tulsa, Okla., where police adopted a take-home car policy about 15 years ago. Officers have more of a “pride of ownership” attitude, said Capt. Travis Yates.
“That’s their office for eight hours every day,” he said.
Other departments with such programs extended the life of each patrol car by three to five years, according to the Berkshire report.
That keeps cars under warranty longer and provides additional savings in repairs and upkeep, said Lt. John Bieniakowski of the Galloway Township, N.J., Police Department, which adopted a car take-home policy 20 years ago.
The plan also can save an officer’s time.
Routine maintenance can be performed on the officer’s day off, instead of spending time on duty shuttling cars to and from the department’s garage.
Officers would also save 45 minutes per shift because a daily roll call to assign and equip vehicles would not be necessary and officers would not need to return to the station after each shift.
In rare situations such as a tornado, the department could activate all sworn officers from their homes directly to the scene.
All the driving to and from work, and to errands if that is allowed, would increase visibility for residents. Officers would also be expected to have their police radios on while in their take-home car so employees would “be more aware of activity in the city and often would be immediately available.”
Jackson County sheriff’s deputies, who have take-home cars, have intervened in a number of incidents while driving to and from work, Deputy Rhonda Montgomery said.
“Once you’re in the car you’re working,” she said. “You can’t put a price on deterrence.”
Ron Orr, president of the Kansas City Police Officers Association, said officers support the take-home car idea. He agreed with the report that it would increase visibility for residents, and criminals, and boost officer morale.
“It’s tough to recruit new officers these days,” Orr said. “And take-home cars would help.”
Deputy Chief George Roberts said a similar plan was proposed and a pilot program launched in the Northland in the 1980s. He said the program was overwhelmingly popular with residents, but the upfront costs were too high to continue at that time.
The City Council would have to agree to give the department millions of dollars to implement the program. That could be tough to get, if recent history is any guide.
For the fiscal year 2005-06, the department requested $2 million to begin replacing older patrol cars. The city allocated the department $991,000, less than half what was requested.
Except for Jackson County and the Missouri and Kansas highway patrols, larger departments surveyed in the Kansas City area have limited vehicle take-home policies.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, and Kansas City, Kan., Overland Park and Olathe police departments all reserve take-home cars for ranking commanders or members of specialized units such as detectives who are on call when off-duty.
Across the country, most departments with liberal take-home programs limit how the cars can be used for personal business.
Until recently, Salt Lake City officers were allowed unlimited use of their police vehicles if used inside the county surrounding the city. Officers who want to take part in the department’s take-home car policy are charged a monthly fee that ranges up to about $35. The amount is determined by how far they live from the center of the center, and about 90 percent of the 400 officers in the department participate, according to department spokesman Detective Joe Cyr.
But the city has adopted new restrictions as part of an effort to save money on fuel expenses, and officers can only use the cars for personal business if it is while driving between home and work.