NCJ Number
214601
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 54 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 83-87
Date Published
April 2006
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article reports on how 36 law enforcement agencies across the country are dealing with high gasoline prices in the management of police patrol.
Abstract
Two-thirds of the agencies report that rising fuel costs are adversely affecting their budgets; however, only one-third of them have imposed or considered mandatory or voluntary restrictions of various types. Some departments have geared patrol policies to specific fuel price ranges; for example, in one rural sheriff's department, when gas reached $3.00 per gallon, random and routine patrol and traffic enforcement was eliminated, and cars were used only in calls-for-service and in serving court papers. Other measures for reducing fuel costs are more use of foot and bike patrols, turning engines off when cars are parked for even brief periods, limiting the use of gas cards to emergencies and with the commander's approval, and the use of only agency-purchased gas, which is less costly than retail gas. Other popular measures for reducing fuel costs are to restrict the off-duty use of take-home vehicles to short trips and to limit the patrolling of each vehicle to specified geographic zones. Agencies of all sizes use a variety of purchase plans for fuel. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents report that they use fuel purchased under contracts that encompass all government agencies of their jurisdiction. Some smaller jurisdictions and agencies, however, do not have the facilities for storing bulk fuel purchases. Several Florida agencies have purchased hybrid cars to be used primarily for administrative duties and light patrol. None of the methods used to conserve fuel costs by itself is sufficient to address the problem. A combination of measures feasible for a given agency is required.