Why Take Home Police Cars?

1. Reduce Wear & Tear and Replacement.

Police pool cars are subject to stop and go driving that tends to wear cars out every 12 to 18 months. However, the take home cars have less down time and repair because they are used less and the police officers treat them as their own. We have 2003 and 2004 take home patrol cars that are still being driven daily. This has saved the City thousands of dollars.

2. Critical for Availability for Holidays and Special Events.

A number of times a year during holidays, weekends, and special events we have tens
of thousands of people who come to the Beach. These large numbers require all of our police officers to be on duty to answer the large number of calls. Four or five pool cars would leave the city in a dangerous situation.

3. SWAT call outs.

The three beaches have a combined SWAT Team that is called out on a regular basis to emergencies and search warrant operations. The ability for the SWAT Officer to answer such calls quickly requires a dedicated car.

4. Other Emergency Situations.

All officers are needed to respond during storm events like tropical storms and hurricanes. It is critical for each officer to have a car to respond in protecting the public. The same is true for call outs for major crimes in progress.

5. Mutual Aid Calls.

Most all Police Departments in the State of Florida have mutual aid agreements with near by cities. If the Cities didn’t have take home cars, they wouldn’t be able to respond to mutual aid calls and at the same time maintain police patrol in their own cities.

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