2004-01-AU Hawai‘i County Police Department Vehicles

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that gasoline and oil consumption was 20% higher for private vehicles than the county -owned fl eet during the study period." Sl gni f cant operati onal data gathered duri ng the study exami ned vehi d e avai I abi I i ty /downti me, as wel I as crime statistics/traffic accidents in the Puna district and citizen reaction to the county -owned marked pol i ce cars. Duri ng the one -year Puna experi ment, " vehi cl a avai I abi I i ty" was defi ned as " the toted number of vehi d es avai I abl a for use on any gi ven shi ft." Duri ng the proj ect, there was a toted of 1,071 shi fts (357 days x 3 shi fts = 1, 071). Duri ng the proj ect peri od, the total number of vehi d e shi fts total ed 7,497 (357 days x 3 shi ftsx 7 cars= 7,497). For 38 of the 1,071 shifts, the number of personnel assigned to duty exceeded the number of avai I abl a vehi cl es, requi ri ng off cers to be sent home on compensatory ti me off. On 42 shi fts, the vehicles available equaled the number of officers assigned, with no spare vehicles available for emergenci es. " Downti me," representi ng the peri od of ti me a vehi d e i s out of servi ce, total ed 918 shi fts duri ng the pi I of proj ect. Routi ne servi ci ng and mall ntenance accounted for downti me of 357 vehi cl a shi fts; motor vehi d e accidents accounted the remaining downtime of 561 vehicle shifts. The study attributed extended downtime for vehicles involved in accidents to "the availability of parts for repairs." One car that sustai ned ml or trunk, ri ght tai I I i ght and rear bumper damage remai ned i noperati ve for 64 days. Duri ng the pi I of proj ect (A ugust, 1976 —Jul y, 1977) , the total number of cri mes commi tted i n the Puna Di stri ct i ncreased by 8.9% over the precedi ng 12 -month peri od. Traffi c acci dents i ncreased 16% duri ng the same peri od. The study cond uded: " Despi to stati sti cs showi ng an i ncrease i n cri mes and traffi c acci dents, there i s no supporti ve data to concl ude that the county -owned marked vehi d es had a negati ve or posi ti ve effect on cri mi nal acti vi ty and traffi c acci dents." The study stated that an " i nformal pol I" reveal ed favorabl e ci ti zen reacti on to the presence of county - owned marked vehicles, due to their "high visibility" and "resulting feeling security." Citizens also expressed concern over the absence of marked vehicles that they related to an absence of police protecti on. Commenti ng on thi s ci ti zen reacti on, a fol I ow -up audi t by Peat, M arwi dc, M i tchel I & Company observed that " thi s I after statement woul d appear to be true for a f I eet of unmarked, pri vatel y owned vehi cl es as wel L" The H CPD study stated that " these si tuati ons occur pri maxi I y as a resul t of heavy case I oads and mi ni mum watch strengths whi ch di rectl y affect the amount of general patrol." Cost and operati onal data gathered from the R I of Fl eet Study were subsequentl y compared to " what woul d have been expended to operate f fteen (15) pri vatel y -owned subsi di zed vehi d es duri ng the same peri od as the pi I of fl eet." At the ti me, monthl y al I owances for pri vale cars were $195 /month for Group I Officers and $165 /month for Group I I Officers. As it does now, the County then furnished gasoline for subsi di zed cars at the rate of one gal I on per ten mi I es of off i ci al duty travel; one quart of of I for every 500 off i ci al mi I es; and publ i c I i abi I i ty and publ i c property damage i nsurance. For these costs (car al I owance, $34,380; i nsurance, $2,025; gas & of 1, $21,417), the total cost of mai ntal ni ng a subsi di zed f I eet of 15 cars was $57,822, as compared to the pi I of f I eet cost of $60,173 ($61,852.88 mi nus the $1,680 cost of safety shi el ds). The tabl e shown bet ow summari zes the comparabl a cost i tems of a 7 -vehi d e county fl eet vs. a 15 vehi d e subsi di zed pri vale f I eet. 19