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

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equi pment should be stored in the trunk; how many cubic feet of trunk space are required? What i n -car communi cati ons equi pment i s needed? The A udi tor' s Off i ce makes no assumpti on that " one si ze f is al I" wi th respect to the makelmodel , add -ons, or assi gned use of pol i ce vehi cl es. The Pot i ce Department i s best equi pped to make these determinations. It is entirely possible that some combination of marked f I eet vehicles and subsidized private cars may yield the best mix for the sake of public safety performance and economy i n vehi d e operati ons. (2) The Police Department undertakes an exploratory (and networking) training in police fleet purchasing and management. The upcoming August 2004 National Association of Fleet Managers1auv Enforcement Group conference in Las Vegas should be attended by the police chi of or a moti vated desi gnate, accompani ed by an experi enced purchasi ng agent from the Fi nance Department. Pol i ce Departments that excel i n fl eet management devel op ski I I sets —i n mai ntenance schedul i ng; i n I i felcost and depreci ati on anal ysi s, i n f ud economi es; i n I oss preventi on/dri ver educati on efforts to reduce I osses/d ai ms due to off cer acci dents; i n keenl y attuned moni tori ng of technol ogy trends and upgrade opportunities. These skills are not mastered quickly; there is trial-and-error and a I earni ng curve. The chat I enge begi ns when the task i s accepted. (3) A thorough ecami nati on of purchasi ng and/or I easi ng strategi es whi ch precedes any acti on to convert to a County -owned and operated pol i ce fl eet. Such exami nati on shoul d al so i nd ude exploring the possibilities of "piggy -back" purchasing in consultation with other counties. The sped f i cati ons of pol i ce cars purchased by the Ci ty & County of H onol ul u, M aui or Kauai may meet the needs of H aNai ` i County. Such a purchasi ng strategy i s empl oyed i n many states and has been shown to yi d d savi ngs. (4) H aNai i County upgrades i is mi crowave system to accommodate today's " smart" pol i ce package cars. Police car technology trends point to a vital synergy between police voi celdata radio systems, computers such as mobi I e data termi nal s, and the " backbone i nfrastructurd' provi ded by i nteroperabl a 800 MHz wireless communications systems. The 800 Megahertz upgrade deemed essenti al for county publ i c safety agenci es presents a daunti ng $24 mi I I i on Cl P fundi ng chal I enge. I t al so al I ows ti me for thoughtful , straeeg c pl anni ng for the depl oyment of the pol i ce cars of the future. 5