How come police department doesn't convert their motors to burn vegetable oil? It would save tons of money on fuel and still get the police officers to their destinations by reducing gas and well, so what if it smells like french fries.
NEWBERRY, S.C. --- With gasoline climbing toward $4 a gallon, police officers around the country are losing the right to take their patrol cars home and are being forced to double up in cruisers and walk the beat more.
The gas crunch could also put an end to the time-honored way cops leave their engines running when they get out to investigate something.
Some police chiefs think the money-saving measures are not all bad, and might actually help them do a better job. But they worry about the loss of take-home cars, saying the sight of a cruiser parked in a driveway or out in front of a home deters neighborhood crime.
In Newberry, population 10,000, Chief Jackie Swindler is telling his officers to turn off the ignition whenever they are stopped for more than a minute or so, and to get out and walk around more.
"It's not a rolling office that you stay in all day," Chief Swindler said. "You still need to get out and interact with the public."
Jonathan Taylor, a rookie officer in Newberry, said walking the beat in the region's oppressive summer heat might be a drag, but he added: "We're police officers. It's not supposed to be a comfortable job. If getting out and walking helps me do the best job I can, I'm all for it."
In Grainger County, Tenn., Sheriff James Harville planned for gas prices of $2.22 a gallon when he drew up his budget last year. He has since redrawn the patrol map for the two officers who work each shift, splitting his county in half. He now puts one officer in each half and makes them responsible for all calls in their area.
When shifts overlap in Apple Valley, Minn., officers pair up and supervisors send those cruisers to domestic disputes, burglar alarms and other calls that would usually require two officers to respond separately, said Capt. Jon Rechtzigel. Officers also have been asked to turn off their engines whenever possible.
"Years ago, you used to pull in a back lot to investigate something and keep your car running," Capt. Rechtzigel said. "You just can't afford to do that anymore."
The Georgia State Patrol has asked troopers to reduce the amount of time spent driving by 25 percent.
In Evansville, Ind., some officers will lose their take-home cars and others will have to pay more for the privilege.
In Allegany County, Md., Sheriff David Goad told elected officials seeking to limit his department's use of take-home vehicles that "it's a proven fact" that the sight of a patrol car on the road or in a driveway deters crime.
As the fiscal year comes to an end, chiefs and sheriffs are trying to predict how high gas prices will go and craft budgets that won't be blown.
Newberry's Chief Swindler, who joined the force as a patrol officer in 1975 -- back when "only people with rank had a car" -- said the return to old-fashioned police work could be a good thing in some ways, by bringing officers in closer contact with the public.
The chief is doing his part by riding the department's Segway electric scooter during festivals and other events, and is looking to buy smaller, lighter cruisers.
GAS-SAVING MEASURES
Though Columbia County sheriff's deputies are allowed to take their police cruisers home, the office recently instituted a gas-saving measure.
"We have made it policy that patrol cars will park a minimum of 10 minutes every hour and shut their vehicles down for a minimum of 10 minutes every hour in an effort to conserve fuel," sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said.
As fuel prices continue to rise, Capt. Morris said sheriff's officials will consider other gas-conservation options, but did not specify what those options might entail.
Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength said his deputies are allowed to take their cars home, but the vehicles are prohibited for personal use once officers are off the clock.
"We're monitoring our usage of gasoline, but the visibility of (patrol) cars is a proven deterrent to crime and citizens' safety is more important than the price of gasoline," Sheriff Strength said. Patrol car visibility also causes speeders to slow down, he said.
"Residents in neighborhoods love to see these marked units in their neighborhoods," he said.
He said allowing officers to use vehicles also saves taxpayer dollars because a change in policy would require new parking lot construction in order to secure vehicles.
-- From staff reports
PROPELLING PRICES
NEW YORK --- Americans getting an early start on the Memorial Day weekend found that gasoline prices again sprinted to a new record high overnight, reaching a national average above $3.83 a gallon. Some analysts predict gas will break past $4 as early as next week.
Oil prices, meanwhile, fell Thursday after setting a new trading record of $135.09 overnight. A stronger dollar gave some investors reason to sell oil futures to lock in profits from crude's record run. But concerns about falling supplies and rising demand are expected to keep propelling prices higher in the days and weeks to come.
-- Associated Press
Comments
How come police department doesn't convert their motors to burn vegetable oil? It would save tons of money on fuel and still get the police officers to their destinations by reducing gas and well, so what if it smells like french fries.
Here in a Aiken county neighborhood we got enough police/county cars sitting in driveways and parked in streets to run the Newberry Police department.
Maybe getting back in touch with the citizens is a good thing...:-)
Deb, used cooking oil has to be filtered, the glycerine removed, and infused with methanol. It is a substitute for diesel fuel. It is not free. A walking policeman is more visible anyway. Whoever decided that all officers need to ride around all day to be effective? There are more crimes than just traffic violations and wrecks to respond to.
I just thought it would help save fuel cause a guy on Ft. Gordon gets all his used oil from restaurants for free and he converted his engine to run on it to save fuel. It was even in the paper at one time. I just think that with all the alternatives, and higher gas prices, we need to start looking for something that will work for everyones benefit. Or at least get our cops a bike to ride. Either way, it is like I said, perhaps turn our downtown into a drive free zone like Mackinac Island where people ride horses or bikes to get around the area of close spaces so the cops can perform better and still save fuel. Just a thought.
sort of a stupid response judge.cops walking beats downtown is necessary,but when you have rural areas as is newberry they're rendered useless.also, if 911 is called what good is a cop 500 yards from his vehicle?it only takes scumbags seconds to commit their cowardly crimes and run and hide.keep cops mobile and see how many lives may be saved.cut the money elsewhere.
What about small motor cycles?
deb, i appreciate the thought, but the diesel benz i looked to convert along with processing the fuel is astronomical! the biodiesel(what its called)is a hybrid of the two and only works on diesel vehicles. police cars are gas run. as for the prices on diesel fuel ABSURD! its cheaper to process than gas, only truck drivers are a huge commodity for the govt to pull money from. ahhh its all so disappointing. and for those of you driving massive SUV's thanks for helping with the war effort by further using mass quantities of fuel and oil. as for officers having their vehicles running, well in this ga heat i would rather see tax money go to them being air conditioned than dead of heat stroke for simply doing what we ask of them as public servants. not to mention police dogs need an air unit running when the officer isnt in the car, they have a job too. yes some of you do need a little more excercise, so lay off the biscuits and gravy, but by all means run your vehicles!
Hopefully soon North Augusta will pay attention to this as well. I wish the city would provide my gas to take my children back and forth to school every day. Pretty frustrating to see city police cars in the same line at the school! Then again the city of NA never stops watering the grass when water shortages are all around us, either!
Traffic or crimes, which are they there for? Traffic? Wrecks? Speeding? or to respond to property crimes and robberies to file incident reports? These guys do NOT solve crimes. How often do they actually encounter a crime in progress? Investigators may, if you have a clear video of the perp. Very little that they do actually requires that they be on the road, except for managing the road laws. And if they wanted to do a good job with that, all they would need do is set up random traffic stops, and confiscate the cars of the un-insured. Who cares about speeding, everyone speeds. Most of the police presence is for show, not showing up in time, and today that can be expensive.
When officers patrol in the city area, walking the beat makes sense; however, most communities in this area are rural and there is no such thing as 'walking the beat' given the distance. As for keeping the patrol car at the officer's home, that practice should be continued; however, the patrol car needs to be used for business purposes only and not to drive the family to the stores, personal appointments, etc. It makes me angry when I see the officer and his family get into the patrol car after shopping for groceries or clothes. I have to pay for gas just like the city/county offices do, but the difference SHOULD be the tax payer pays for services rendered, not personal services rendered.
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