The Juneau Police Department is asking to increase its fleet of marked patrol cars so more officers can take them home after their shift.
A request to purchase five new cruisers for about $210,000 will go before the Juneau Assembly on Wednesday.
There would be benefits for both the department and the community, Juneau Police Lt. David Campbell said.
“You know, they last longer because they don’t get driven 24/7 and officers tend to take care of them a little bit better when there’s a sense of ownership of the car,” Campbell said. “But for the community what’s really important is that you end up having more police presence and more police cars out on the streets, so it’s a good way to increase our visibility.”
The police department will have four vacancies in its patrol division at the end of the month. A take-home car program, Campbell said, sweetens the deal when it comes time to recruit new officers.
“Some police departments have take-home cars and some don’t and when we’re looking to recruit, having a take-home car program also makes us a little bit more competitive with other agencies.”
Currently about half the department already has take-home cars.
Those include administrators, investigators and school resource officers who are constantly on call.
Adding five cars to the fleet of 22 marked cars would cost at least $109,000 annually.
It’s unclear how the Assembly will receive the proposal.
The city is currently grappling with a $1.9 million deficit and looking for ways to cut spending to balance the budget without dipping too far into reserves or raising taxes.
