Take-Home Cars

[white]

What are the advantages/disadvantages of take-home patrol cars? When do you use them and what do you do with them? (Eg. drive them to the grocery store?) If you do drive them around town, do you get frusterated when someone commits a traffic offense in front of you because you're off-duty?

[ChesCopPodz]

Advantages:
-you don't put miles on your personal car to get to and from work
-you don't spend the money on gas to put into your personal car to get you to and from work
-take home cars usually last longer because they are not driven 24/7 and the officer usually takes care of them a bit better because it's "theirs"
-no finding the leftover whatever under/in/behind the seat left by the last shift
-you don't have to worry whether or not the car you ride in for the day will be a rolling death trap or a good car
-you don't have to put every single piece of your equipment in to and take it out of the car each night
-things are adjusted the way you want it every time, no adjusting everything for 10 minutes at the start of each shift

Cons
-most departments require you to keep the car visible when you have it at home so it's easier to see where a cop lives

[Deputy757]

What are the advantages/disadvantages of take-home patrol cars? When do you use them and what do you do with them? (Eg. drive them to the grocery store?) If you do drive them around town, do you get frusterated when someone commits a traffic offense in front of you because you're off-duty?

Ches pretty much hit on all the pros. I really can't think of any cons. I garage mine as having it seen at the house isn't the reason they give us take home in the first place. I'm not sure what you mean by getting frustrated when someone commits a traffic offense in front of me when I'm off duty. They would pretty much have to hit my car before I stop them off duty, much less get frustrated about something!

[valycop]

Pro's-Money

[Star]

You all summed it up pretty good. It also helps cut down on crime in your neighborhood and makes people slow down when passing by your house.

[Piggy]

I had a take home car in a very small town I worked for, and I hated it. Everyone knew where I lived and I had to put a friggin sign on my door telling people if they were at my house for police business they would be arrested. I used to have people at my door at 6AM to file complaints, want vin checks, accident reports and other BS.

[valycop]

I had a take home car in a very small town I worked for, and I hated it. Everyone knew where I lived and I had to put a friggin sign on my door telling people if they were at my house for police business they would be arrested. I used to have people at my door at 6AM to file complaints, want vin checks, accident reports and other BS.

I never had piggy's problem because everyone in the neighborhood knew I was the meanest SOB around and they never dared to knock on my door. :D

[jarobins]

The pros are the same here.

Two negatives I can think of:

- The agency can place limits on where you reside, so as not to put excessive miles on the car commuting to work. I have to live in my assigned county or within 15 miles of its' border.

- New cars less frequently because it takes longer to put miles on the vehicle. However, for us this is offset by the fact that we have a large county. I average 1000-1500 miles per week. But we do have some areas that are interstate only duty posts and only consist of 20-30 miles of interstate. Area 48 is only 17 miles of I-95 and the 'mixing bowl' in Northern VA. Takes forever to put enough miles on a car to get a new issue (120,000 miles).

[SeVere]

The pros are the same here.

Two negatives I can think of:

- The agency can place limits on where you reside, so as not to put excessive miles on the car commuting to work. I have to live in my assigned county or within 15 miles of its' border.

- New cars less frequently because it takes longer to put miles on the vehicle. However, for us this is offset by the fact that we have a large county. I average 1000-1500 miles per week. But we do have some areas that are interstate only duty posts and only consist of 20-30 miles of interstate. Area 48 is only 17 miles of I-95 and the 'mixing bowl' in Northern VA. Takes forever to put enough miles on a car to get a new issue (120,000 miles).

Both of those are the case for me and I don't have a take home car. I have to live in the City I work in AND my car has over 100,000 miles on it.

[Nole795]

Neg: Some LE agencies have strict rules on take home vehicles. Some agencies have a zero tolerance for making stops prior to getting to your residence. So you literally have to drive home then get in your personal to run a 5 minute errand.

At the federal level, take home cars get a lot of agents in hot water.

[mcsap]

ONly the Chief and the Lt get to take cars home, the rest are on the road at least 12 if not 24 hrs a day.

I think I heard that Balt. Co MD PD allows it BUT you must have the radio on , if you are near a call , you have to go stand by until on duty troops show up ( within reason) and you can't leave the county. Please correct me if I am wrong someone.