LITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock Police Department has asked the city for 36 new cruisers to replace vehicles in its aging fleet. If approved, the new cars would be the first update to the department’s fleet since 2008.
The cost of the cruisers — estimated at $815,842 — would be covered by revenue from the city’s new sales-tax increase, if the city Board of Directors approves the purchase at its Tuesday meeting.
The department’s aging fleet has affected response times and how officers are deployed around the city, police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said.
The department has about 300 vehicles, including cruisers, motorcycles and special vehicles. Many of those vehicles have more than 100,000 miles on them and even the newest models, purchased in June 2008, are starting to show their age, Hastings said.
“The older the vehicle, the less safe that response is,” Hastings said. “It’s a safety issue for the public, is what it is.”
The age of the fleet has “been an issue” for several years, Hastings said, with more and more officers reporting breakdowns in recent months.
Wendell Jones, director of the city’s Fleet Services Department, said the Police Department’s vehicles are serviced every six to eight weeks, compared with some city departments where vehicles are serviced just once a year.
Many police vehicles are used 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a strain most departments don’t put on their vehicles, Jones said.
“Certainly other departments have older cars but they have less mileage,” Jones said. “The police cars are old and have high mileage ... .”
The age and use of the vehicles have led to problems with transmissions, alternators and intake manifolds, Jones said. Some repairs, he said, can cost thousands of dollars.
A car that breaks down on the way to a call requires another officer to take the call and the driver of the stalled vehicle to wait for a wrecker, Hastings said. That officer is then out of the rotation until he can pick up a car from the city garage, he said.
Because the department has been having so many breakdowns, some officers have to double up in a patrol car, which cuts down on response times, Hastings said.
The Police Department’s vehicles would not be the first approved by the city since the sales-tax increase was passed. The Board of Directors in November approved the Fire Department’s purchase of two engines and one ladder truck, totaling $1.6 million.
The Fire Department vehicles were ordered before the city began generating revenue from the sales-tax increase because of a nine-month lag between the time the order is placed and when the trucks can be delivered. The vehicles are expected to arrive later this year, officials said.
Hastings said the Police Department’s new cruisers, if approved, would not be ready to roll out for “several months.” He said they would be part of a “package deal” from Steve Landers Dodge and would still need to be outfitted with radios and other accessories.
The department also plans to request funding for eight patrol motorcycles to replace all of those now in use, Hastings said. The department’s motorcycles have not been replaced “in years,” he said.
Motorcycle officers cover the entire city, he said.
“For a motorcycle and what we do with them, they’re very high-mileage vehicles,” Hastings said.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 03/18/2012