When Martin O'Malley was Baltimore's mayor, he shaved money from the city budget by taking away take-home cars from workers who had come to believe the taxpayer-funded program was a contractual right. Baltimore police alone had 133 take-home vehicles, and O'Malley cut the number to 72. Somewhere between then and now, reports the Baltimore Sun, the city's law enforcement agency has increased its take-home fleet to 149.
Having a take-home car can be considered a perk, a privilege or a necessity, driven by title or duty, and while for some positions it seems an obvious requirement to respond to life-and-death emergencies, take-home cars for people in other positions (the deputy major in the fiscal division) can raise questions. Many police officials do need police vehicles at home--district commanders, homicide specialists, members of the bomb squad and hostage negotiators. But what about the head of planning and research (whose take-home car was taken away by O'Malley and later restored), or the major in charge of administration, or the head of personnel?
Posted by Who Needs Take-Home Police Cars? « The Crime Map
Friday, June 12, 2009 10:32
[…] Source: http://thecrimereport.org/2009/06/12/police-take-home-cars-who-really-needs-them/ […]