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

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$18,917 per car, $1,4901 ess than the second I owest bi d. Thei r bi d i ncl uded a trade -i n val ue of $6,410 for 20 M PD vehi d es rangi ng f rom fai r to poor condi ti on, or $320 per car. The study reported that M PD patrol vehi d es were kept on an average of 2.3 years and unmarked cars for f ve years. The rel ati Ay short I i f of patrol vehi cl es was attri buted to a number of causes, i ncl udi ng: • expi rati on of warranti es after two years due to excessi ve mi I eage; • hi gh cost of repai rs after warranty expi rati on; • i rregul ar servi ci ng of vehi d es by deal ershi ps or pri vale shops, I eadi ng to ml or breakdowns as wel I as an " overal I shortened I i f of the vehi d es" ; • 24/7 use wi th hi gh turnover of dri vers handi ng off vehi d es to subsequent shi fts; and • dri ver abuse, c ted as an " i t' s not mi nd' atti tude, descri bed as dri vi ng on undesi rabl a roads, reckl ess and hi gh -speed dri vi ng, and care) ess parki ng [two vehi d es were reported " toted ed" i n earl y 1993 wi th " many others ei ther i n repai r shops or wai ti ng to be repai red'] The motorpool establ i shed for the M aui pot i ce fl eet provi ded schedul ed 5, 000 mi I e servi c ng of patrol and unmarked vehi cl es i n the Wei I uku di stri ct onl y. Outl y ng rural di stri cts uti I i zed pri vate shops. Problems were experienced in rural districts, particularly Molokai, due to the limited number of servi c ng shops. Where deal ershi p repai r was i ndi cated, added costs were i ncurred by shipping damaged vehicles from Lanai or Molokai. Towing of damaged vehicles by private towing companies to the Wai I uku motorpool, deal ershi ps or other repair shops cost $9,746 in 1992. Despite implementation of a departmental motorpool staffed by a full-time supervisor, one full-time and two part -time service attendants, M PD spent $208,632 on vehicle repairs and mai ntenance performed by outsi de agenci es i n f scal year 1991 -92. Other probl ems c ted i n M PD's f I eet program i nd uded: ■ Par k i ng. The confI ux of fl eet vehi d es, pri vate cars of off i cers commuti ng to each shi ft, and unserviceable vehicles was cited at both the Wai I uku complex and Lahai na station. In Lanai na, pol i ce consumpti on of avai I abl a parki ng stal I s i mpi nged on the space avai I abl a for c ti zen patrons of the pot i ce stati on and adj acent ci vi c center. Personal Conflicts. The study reported that some senior M PD officers made claims on preferred and newer Ford cars, ref egati ng of der vehi d es to j uni or off cers. A n i nformal study showed that most officers preferred the Ford Crown V i ctori as to the Chevrolet Caprice model s. I n some i nstances, offi cers worki ng overti me were cal I ed back to a stati on to be " rel i eved" of a parti cut ar vehi d e a seni or offi cer had grown attached to. I n other cases, damage to vehi cl es went unreported, I eavi ng supervi sors to pi npoi nt what off i cer on what shi ft was responsi bl e. ■ H ygi enetSmoki ng. ConfI i cts arose between offi cers compl ai ni ng of I itter strewn i nsi de cars and the assi gnment of vehi cl es d assi f i ed as " smoki ng " and " non -smoki ng." I n 1990, M PD conducted a study to assess whether a subsi di zed vehi d e program woul d be more cost - effective. The study estimated that MPD spent $938,235 annually to operate 126 fleet vehicles, whereas conversion to a subsidized program would cost the county $1,503,321 to operate 263 vehicles. It concluded that the fleet program saved approximately $565,086 annually i n di rect costs. 23