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

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WH CS I ater prepared a "final revision" to its Price of Visibility study based upon a quotation provided by Ford M otor Company M uni ci pad Fi nand ng for the I ease/purchase of 382 pol i ce cars. For marked patrol cars, the WH CS study sel ected the Ford Crown V i ctori a (284 total); for unmarked cars, a Ford Taurus model (98 total). Over a five -year period, the WH CS report calculated the cost of its proposed fleet conversi on to total $1,868,850.28 per year, a sum I ess than the County's annual cost ($2,192,304) for 382 equi val ent subsi di zed cars. The report proposed that off i cers be al I owed to take home county -owned vehi cl es and summari zed the benef i is of a f I eet program i n a statement ti tl ed " Why Change From Present Subsi di zed V ehi cl es," quoted as fol I ows: ■ There woul d be pol i ce vi si bi I i ty and publ i c woul d feel safer. ■ Sl nce we are proposi ng a " Take home fl eet" off cers woul d not onl y be on cal I but woul d have superior equipment. ■ The fleet would be uniform as opposed to the many different types and colors of automobiles presently in use. ■ V i si tors and resi dents can easi I y i denti fy. ■ M arked pol i ce vehi cl es wi th the pol i ce package i nstal I ed are safer, faster, and provi de more safety to the off cer. ■ Sui tabl a for transportati on of pri soners. ■ M odern f I eets have a warranty of 100, 000 mi I es. ■ Pol i ce offi cers who dri ve marked cars have more pri de i n thei r j ob accordi ng to the chi efs we have contacted. ■ M ai ntenance apart from I ubes and si mpl e j obs can be contracted out. Further a pl anned program ensures the automobi I es are kept wel I mai ntal ned. ■ L i abi I i ty i nsurance shoul d be I ower i f marked cars are used wi th the pol i ce package i nstal I ed. ■ Equi pment such as I aptop computers, pri nters, fax machi nes and up- to-date radi o equi pment can be i nstal I ed. In its introduction, the Price of Visibility study al I eged that "unfortunately we still see the police administration finding excuses and making statements to the effect that a f I eet of marked cars is too expensive without studying the figures, already supplied and asking the necessary questions to move forward." H. Hawai'i Police Department Fleet vs. Subsidized Vehicle Report, 2003 Pursuant to the release of the West H aAtal ` i Crime Stoppers, Inc. (WHCS) Price of Visibility report, the H aAtal ` i County Police Department prepared its own updated study titled H awai ` i Police Department F I eet vs. Subsi di zed Vehi d e Report. The new H CPD report was essenti al I y a cost anal ysi s rebuttal to the earl i er WH CS report. I n compi I i ng the report, H CPD staff uti I i zed the same amount, make, model and base cost of the vehi cl es ci ted i n the WH CS study. 30