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

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W th the excepti on of pol i ce recrui ts, off cers on I i ght duty status and four motorcyd a patrol offi cers, al I sworn officers parti ci pate in the department's subsidized vehicle program. The 1994 report stated that "the philosophy of the program is one vehicle per officer." The report said that approved subsidized vehi des within the department ranged from "four -wheel drive multi- purpose vehicles (MPVH) such as Ford Broncos and Chevrolet Blazers to sporty two-door models such as Fort Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros." The subsidy rates in 1994, set by contract negotiations between SH OPO and the four counties, were $463 /month for Group I officers (patrol officers and sergeants) and $425 /month for Group I I officers (a11 other officers). The HCPD report stated that "officers of HCPD are at the point that they realize that the cost of purchasi ng and mai ntai ni ng a vehi cl a for the subsi di zed vehi cl a program does not equate to the monthly al I owance they receive." County costs for I i abi I i ty i nsurance for subsi di zed pol i ce vehi cl es total ed $320,021 i n 1994, or about $974 per car per year. Offi ci al mi I eage recorded by HCPD offi cers i n 1993 was 4,954,652 mi I es. The Kona patrol di stri ct had the hi ghest total off ci al mi I eage (839,645), fol I owed by South H i I o (510, 585), Puna (527,145) and South Kohala (313,481). The 1994 report stated that "most of the subsidized vehicles have gas mi I eage rati os above the 10:1 al I owed by the department, thus many off i cers consume the excess amount of fuel for off -duty purposes." The rel ati ve advantages/di sadvantages of the subsi dy program ci ted i n the 1994 report were as fol I ows: Advantages: ■ Enabl es acti vati on (di salters, etc.) of many personnel at one ti me ■ Ensures the avai I abi I i ty of a I age number of vehi d es at any gi ven ti me ■ No down time between shifts ■ Fad I i tates off -duty I aw enforcement ■ Less chance of empl oyee confI i cts over vehi d es ■ Pri vate ownershi p di scourages vehi cl a abuse ■ Burden and cost of repai rsimai ntenance i s pl aced on the offi cers ■ Department does not need a mai ntenance fad I i ty ■ 1 n most cases, the department does not bear the cost of repl acement vehi cl es ■ The probl em of f I eet and empl oyee parki ng i s avoi ded ■ V ehi d e storage i s not a probl em (off i cers take thei r cars home) Disadvantages: • Lack of uniformity in vehicles • V ehi d es do not meet the sped f i cati ons of the M i chi gan State Pot i ce (M SP) and I nternati onal Assodation of Police Chi ef s (IACP) for police work • U nmarked cars may be di ff i cut t for the publ i c to i denti fy i n ti mes of need • Off i cers more I i kel y to " baby" personal vehi cl es, unl i ke f I eet cars • Department i ncurs i nsurance I i abi I i ty for off -duty off i cers (and thei r si gni f i cant others) 25