Councilman says police should not take home cars in order to save money

first,woo-hoo

What?

Wow, take-home cars? I work in PA, and the idea of a take-home car is unheard of here.

$40 / month for unlimited use? Or just pay of gas? I'd pay that if it meant that I could keep the same cruiser on and off the clock. Not to mention that I'm still expected to be available 24 / 7, and to drive my personal to work and swap out a pool car with someone else. And "swap out" means change out all of the gear and hope that they left you with a full tank.

If you're griping about a modest fee like that, please, look at those of us elsewhere that do the same job and have to deal with pool cars every day. A take-home car is a luxury that I would LOVE to have, even if I had to chip in a modest amount to help offset current fuel costs.

Did Mr. Price get a ticket recently? Does he not watch the news? Does he think New Albany has money to spend on law suits the officers union will bring?

The take home program is a great benifit for those communities that have it. For a very low price you increase your visable police presence. Ask anyone who has ever been assisted by an off duty officer in a take home car, the program is worth every penny.

Maybe the area FOP's can help Mr. Price see the error of his way by picketing his home, business, and city hall. Wouldn't be ironic that is Mr. Price has his way and the New Albany take fleet goes away he it the first to suffer the slower police responce if some one broke in his home, assaulted him or his loved ones, stole his property? Some times Karma sucks, Mr. Price. Lets hope and pray you don't have to find out.

On a semi-related note, and being outside the Jefferson County area, I've always wondered how LMPD gets away with having so many of their cars "unmarked." State law is very clear on which publicly owned vehicles can be unmarked, it has to be for investigation - and come on, does the police chief or the division major do investigations? I have seen patrol sergeants driving unmarked cars, too. But then, i wonder, does anyone actually read the law on the issue? In fact, I suspect the provision was supposed to be for undercover vehicles.