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

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REPORT ON HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT VEHICLES :4 ,TF OF NF'N LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR -SOFFICE HAWAII COUNTYCOUNCIL February, 2004 Introduction Since its inception in 1943, the H awai ` i County Police Department (H CPD) has utilized a subsidized reimbursement program for the use of pri vale vehi cl es by its officers. Reports on file in the Legislative Auditor's Office indicate that the feasibility of continuing H CPD' s subsidized vehicle program vs. purchasi ng marked " bl ue & whi td' pol i ce cars has been eval uated by H CPD i n 1972, 1978, 1994 and 2003. Recentl y, a study ti tl ed " The Pri ce of V i si bi I i ty" prepared by West H awai ` i Cri me Stoppers, I nc. proposed that a phased two-year purchase of 351 police fleet vehicles would generate savings of $225,399 annual I y. The study further surmi sed that conversi on to a f I eet of marked pol i ce cars woul d i ncrease pol i ce vi si bi I i ty i n the communi ty and thereby deter cri me, as wel I as enabl a more effecti ve uti I i zati on of manpower and installation of the latest technological equipment in police cars. The report was submitted by A I an J. Pratt, presi dent of West H awai ` i Cri me Stoppers, I nc. and i mmedi ate past presi dent of Cri me Stoppers I nternati onal . M r. Pratt presented hi s study for consi derati on by the County Counci I at i is publ i c heari ng on the proposed FY 2003 -04 budget on M arch 19, 2003 i n Kona. Pursuant to the Counci I's di scussi on of the West H awai ` i Cri me Stoppers study, South Kona Counci I Member Joe Reynolds and former Council Member Bobby Jean Lei thead -Todd asked the Legislative Auditor's Office to review available literature and findings relating to H CPD' s subsidy program vs. a county -owned and mai ntai ned pol i ce fl eet. This report prepared by the Legislative Auditor's Office summarizes past report findings and seeks to shed I i ght on key i ssues and consi derati ons for pol i cy -maki ng rel ati ng to county pol i ce cars. Consi derabl e i nvesti gati on of nati onal practi ces and trends was undertaken to provi de obj ecti ve gui dance and i nsi ght. A s the Counci I gave no speci f c i nstructi ons by resol uti on to the Legi sl ati ve A udi for regardi ng the scope or f i ndi ngs of thi s i nqui ry pursuant to the Counci I's protocol for speci al studi es, the A udi tor' s Off i ce proceeded to organi ze i is fact -fi ndi ng i n f ve subj ect areas, as fol I ows: Section 1: Key Pr ovi si on s A n d Budgetary Overview of the Hawai` i County Police Department Subsidized Vehicle Program Section 2: Auditor's Office I nquiry to Corporation Counsel re. SHOPO Contract Section 3: Review of Hawaii County'sPast Studies on Subsidized vs. Fleet Systems Section 4: Police Visibility and Marked Police Patrol Fleets —A Review Section 5: PoliceVehicles— Practices, Specifications, Trends and Purchasing Guidelines