POLICE FLEET: HIGH MILES, LOW FUNDS

The magic number for automobiles is 100,000 miles, according to a mechanic at the Cape Girardeau Department of Public Works. After that point all sorts of little things start going wrong, he said.

Considering that all nine squad cars in the Cape Girardeau Police Department's patrol rotation have topped the magic number, it's no surprise that patrolmen sometimes have to scramble to find vehicles to replace those in the shop.

Thursday, three patrol cars were in dry dock at the Department of Public Works garage. One is out of commission indefinitely after a collision July 14 with another vehicle. The accident report indicates brake failure as the major contributing cause.

Capt. Steve Strong of the Cape Girardeau Police Department declined to comment on whether he feels the fleet is mechanically unsound but said the mileage is starting to build up. Three of the patrol vehicles -- one third of the regular rotation -- have topped 150,000 miles.

The department last purchased new vehicles two years ago. Last year five used cars were purchased from the Missouri Highway Patrol. Because those cars were already high in mileage they were given to the detective division, where they will not be driven as much.

New vehicles, Strong said, cost $16,700 each. That price does not include installing emergency lights and radio equipment.

The department is looking at getting new vehicles. Under budgetary constraints, the department could afford to buy three or four new vehicles or lease as many as 10 or 11. However, the three-year lease option could prove more costly in the long run, Strong said.

Cape Girardeau officers do not keep their vehicles when they are off duty because they share with officers on other shifts. With some cars used 24-hours a day, adding 2,000 to 3,000 miles a week to a vehicle is common.

The newer cars are used more often and may hit 80,000 miles in a year, while 40,000 miles a year may be put on the older vehicles.

When several patrol cars are down, officers often have to search to find a spare vehicle that can pinch-hit as a squad car. The entire police fleet consists of more than 20 vehicles, none with fewer than 60,000 miles.

"If we had everybody in we couldn't get them all in cars," Strong said.

Great care is taken to keep the cars in good working order. They are inspected at the Public Works Department twice a day and undergo frequent routine maintenance and repair.

The city's insurer, the Missouri Public Employers Risk Fund, recently conducted a routine safety inspection of the police fleet and found no significant problems, according to Dan Ward, the city's human resources director and risk manager.

The vehicles were checked for general wear and tear and to make sure key systems such as brakes and steering are in safe working condition.

"If they had concern about a particular vehicle they would request it be taken off the front line," Ward said.

MOPERM is a state-established insurance pool designed to help local governments control costs. Ward said the city pays around $45,000 a year to insure the police fleet. That premium, he said, has declined over the past two years because the city has not made many big claims.

If there is a problem with squad cars frequently landing in the shop it is understandable, Ward said, because "the cars get a lot of hard use."

But, he added, employees often are hard on company cars.

"Police officers have to have the units but do not always have to drive like they're going to a Code 3 emergency," Ward said.