POLICE PARK CRUISERS AT CITY LIMITS

Buddy Davis' car tends to make other drivers hit their brakes, and his neighbors couldn't be more pleased.

"It doesn't really look like a police car, but I guess they can see the red lights sitting up on the dashboard," said Davis, who parks his unmarked patrol car on the street in front of his home.

Older neighbors have told Davis they like to sit outside and watch cars "nosedive" as drivers suddenly see his police car and step on their brakes.

Cape Girardeau police have gotten more drivers to slow down over the last year although they haven't always been around to see it. As more officers are assigned their own patrol cars, more people see them parked outside businesses and homes.

Empty patrol cars parked along Kingshighway and other streets are left by police who live outside the city limits, Davis said. For insurance purposes, the cars must stay within the city limits.

"We don't tell them to park here or there," said Sgt. Carl Kinnison.

As police increase their fleet of vehicles, which is now 53, parking patrol cars away from the police station is a practical necessity, Kinnison said. The parking lot behind the station doesn't have enough room.

If an officer wants to park his patrol car at a business after he goes home, he works that out with the business, Davis said.

"For an officer who lives in Jackson, it would be very convenient to park outside the Missouri Veterans Home," Kinnison said, "but we encourage our people to move their cars around."

There are 17 cars assigned to police officers, Davis said. The plan is to have 35 cars, one assigned to each officer, which should take three more years.

Before implementing the program last year, police operated with eight patrol cars that passed from officer to officer after each shift. A car would travel about 100,000 miles in 18 months, Davis said.

"They were running seven days a week, 24 hours a day," he said. "Now the patrol car can have its day off along with the officer."

Ultimately, this gives patrol cars longer lives and saves the city money, Davis said.

The savings allow the police department to purchase reconditioned patrol cars from companies that buy, fix and resell law enforcement vehicles. Another less expensive option is state Highway Patrol cars.

"The Highway Patrol lets them run up to 50,000 miles or so and sells them," Davis said. "When you buy from them you end up with some really nice patrol cars that have good service records."

Individually assigned cars typically stay in better condition, too, because police officers can take pride in their own vehicles, Davis said.

If drivers plan to take advantage of the empty cars, Davis said they might think again.

"We try to mix things up a bit," he said. "It's possible a car will be empty every day in a given week. It's also possible that it might have an officer sitting in there running radar."