Police feeling gas pain

Soaring fuel costs mean adjustments, no public safety cuts

Friday, July 18, 2008

That’s the unenviable task for St. Mary’s County Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron (R), who, like many law enforcement officials, must juggle ensuring public safety with budgetary constraints.

‘‘Fuel is part of our operations because we’re mobile, so the sacrifice might have to be in other things other than fuel if that becomes an issue,” he said.

Some law enforcement agencies are taking drastic steps to cope with the high cost of gas. Anne Arundel County recently asked its officers to turn off their air conditioners except in oppressive weather. Other agencies are restricting or eliminating take-home vehicle privileges, purchasing more fuel-efficient cruisers or encouraging more foot and bicycle patrol.

The police agencies in Southern Maryland are taking similar measures.

Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans (R) instituted a policy last year to increase foot patrol and shut the vehicle off at least 15 minutes per hour. Charles County Sheriff Rex W. Coffey (D) distributed a list of gas-saving tips to his deputies, which includes avoiding rapid acceleration and abrupt braking to reduce fuel consumption. La Plata’s police department has trained three bicycle officers to patrol neighborhoods.

Altogether, ever-rising fuel costs are eating up law enforcement agencies’ budgets at a time when public safety remains a top priority.

‘‘We do know that from coast to coast, gas prices are putting a strain on police budgets,” said John B. Townsend II, manager of government and public affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. Nationwide, police officers patrolling on motorcycles, bicycles and horseback are becoming more common.

High gas prices are having an impact at all levels of law enforcement.

The Maryland State Police adopted a policy 18 months ago restricting troopers’ off-duty use of their vehicles to within 25 miles of their residences. It also aims to have troopers stationed near their homes. Both measures helped the agency stay within its budget, despite spending more on fuel.

‘‘We make sure that if a trooper is working at an Eastern Shore barrack that that trooper lives on the Eastern Shore,” said deputy communications director Elena Russo. ‘‘We’re not going to send someone to the Eastern Shore who lives in Western Maryland.”

The state police has also curtailed the number of community events where its helicopter is on display.

Even with the escalation in gas prices, cutting back patrols — on or off duty — isn’t an option.

‘‘As far as I’m concerned, we make such good use of our guys driving our cars off duty in the county,” said Evans, whose deputies logged almost 1.6 million miles in fiscal 2008. ‘‘We have such high visibility in a small county. They are deterring crime when they’re out there.”

Evans’ office had to ask the county commissioners for an extra $120,000 last year to cover fuel cost overruns and budgeted additional money this year in anticipation of gas prices continuing to climb. Even if that’s not enough, Evans is confident that public safety won’t be neglected.

‘‘I think police work is one of those exceptions where hopefully the county will see the benefit of not taking the things that you expect to have,” he said.

Law enforcement isn’t the only public service affected by higher gas prices.

The State Highway Administration’s 3,700-vehicle fleet used roughly 2.4 million gallons of gas in fiscal 2008, less than the previous year’s total of approximately 2.5 million gallons, partly due to a mild winter. Still, the agency exceeded its $6.9 million fuel budget by $920,000.

Like law enforcement, SHA has been eyeing ways to save, said spokesman David E. Buck. That means not leaving vehicles idling at an accident scene or work zone, buying more fuel-efficient vehicles and carpooling employees to meeting sites.

But conservation isn’t possible when it comes to maintaining state roads.

‘‘Just as we can’t stop plowing and salting, we can’t pull our trucks to the side of the roads and not respond to emergencies and stop filling potholes,” Buck said.

About 60 percent of its fleet is considered heavy machinery — those that weigh more than a ton — such as dump trucks, front-end loaders, bucket trucks and mowers, which use more expensive diesel fuel. The agency is downsizing its mid-size vehicles and purchasing 25 low-emission Ford Escape hybrids to cut down on fuel costs.

On Tuesday, Gov. Martin O’Malley announced plans to replace the Maryland Transit Administration’s entire 650-bus fleet with hybrid fuel vehicles, contingent on state funding, that cost more up front but require less maintenance and use less fuel.

Coffey has gone a similar route in Charles County.

In November, he introduced the addition of Chevrolet Impalas to the fleet of police-standard Ford Crown Victorias, which he said would amount to an initial savings of $3,000 per vehicle per year and greater fuel efficiency of up to 5.5 miles per gallon more than the Crown Vic.

Cameron, however, isn’t sold on the Impala. The six purchased by his predecessor haven’t resulted in better mileage and they require different parts and maintenance than the standard cruisers, which can result in higher costs, he said.

Cameron hasn’t had to implement any cost-saving measures yet — the sheriff’s office budgeted significantly more for fuel in the current fiscal year — but said his office is monitoring fuel consumption on a regular basis.

‘‘We have a ... multi-tiered plan and we’ll put it in place as necessary, but what we don’t want to affect is any service to the public,” he said. ‘‘Public [safety] is a priority, but we want to use as much budgetary restraint as possible.”

Cameron said he is reluctant to alter the take-home vehicle policy because the presence of cruisers throughout the county is ‘‘an integral approach to policing the community.” Some deputies who work part-time security jobs to supplement their primary income use their police cruisers as a crime deterrent. It also allows them to respond more quickly to an emergency call when called upon. ‘‘I don’t know that a lot of our officers are using their take-home vehicles to run errands,” he said.

In Charles County, Coffey has adjusted the vehicle replacement schedule so cruisers are purchased less frequently and has been frugal in other areas to offset fuel cost overruns, said spokeswoman Kristen Timko.

‘‘All the adjustments we’ve made affect us as an agency, but nothing affects public safety or the services we provide the community,” she said. ‘‘Everyone’s really doing their part, but as prices continue to rise, we’re obviously going to assess our policies and procedures and look at any budget adjustments we need to make.”

State and local governments won’t let law enforcement entities sacrifice public safety due to high gas prices, Townsend said. ‘‘I think there would be a public outrage if they were to cut services because of that.”

And while Cameron said his office is trying to make do, the vast territory that his deputies must cover is unavoidable. ‘‘St. Mary’s is still fairly rural, so the necessity to drive a long way between points A and B is still a reality.”