By Alexis Aguirre
The presence of marked law enforcement vehicles being used for personal matters while officers are off-duty has some Hays County citizens up in arms.
Some are questioning whether take home vehicles are a good idea, or just a waste of government resources.
One woman, who spoke with Barton Publications in September, has reported seeing officers using their vehicles to take their children to school and make trips to grocery stores while off duty.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, said that the concept is a drain on taxpayers. But what is the policy regarding law enforcement officials taking cruisers home?
The concept of a take home cruiser allows officers to take home a vehicle and then drive themselves back to work. That’s opposed to having a shared fleet of vehicles that is rotated between officers during their shifts.
The Buda Police Department does not currently allow officers to take their cruisers home; they instead have their officers share a fleet.
The Kyle Police Department and the Hays County Sheriff’s Office participate in some version of the take home program.
Neither Kyle Police nor Hays County supply officers or deputies with their own cruisers.
In order to participate or be eligible to take home a cruiser, both Kyle Police and Hays County require their officers to live within certain parameters.
Officers in Kyle must live within a 10-mile radius of the city, while Hays County deputies must live within 15-miles of the county’s limits.
Both entities send vehicles home with officers or deputies in different ways. According to HCSO Captain Mike Davenport, every marked car has the potential to be taken home. He said the process is all based on assignment.
Unlike Hays County, Kyle Police cruisers are on a rotation. Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said newer vehicles will be used as a shared fleet for patrol purposes. Older vehicles, according to Barnett, will have to reach over 50,000 miles before being considered to transition to take-home vehicles.
Barnett said the policy for Kyle Police officers is fairly strict.
Along with the distance requirement, vehicles are given to officers based on assignment. If the officer has a need to potentially be on-call or might be called in the middle of the night, they would be eligible to take the vehicle home.
Barnett said every officer is eligible for a take home cruiser, but not every officer who is eligible takes one home.
The vehicle is to be used for business only or off duty security jobs on a case-by-case basis. Violation could result in disciplinary action and loss of privilege of take home vehicles.
The program also lessens strain on patrol vehicles. Barnett said the average patrol cruiser can spend anywhere from 15 to 20 hours per day idling as officers trade vehicles between shifts. He said vehicles that are taken home have time to cool off.
This option also aides the police department space wise. Without a garage to keep vehicles, the take home option eliminates two vehicles, the cruiser and an officer’s personal vehicle.
According to Hays County Chief Deputy Jaime Page, law enforcement officials who take home vehicles “begin to understand the operation of the vehicle.”
“The longer the officer has the vehicle, they are able to notice changes in the behavior of the cruiser,” Page said. “If any issues arise with the vehicle, an officer is able to address the problem at once before it gets bigger.”
The thought process behind take home vehicles is that it cuts down in response time to emergency information. It eliminates the drive to the station to pick up a cruiser and increases the longevity of the vehicle.
While there is no true take home car program for Kyle, there is also no chance of creating one in the near future due to the upfront costs, Barnett said.
