Jones looks to tighten Richmond policy on take-home cars for officers

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones said yesterday that he's committed to tightening a policy that allows police officers to drive their vehicles home even if they live well outside the city limits.

City Council members blasted the policy as excessive after learning this week that take-home vehicles have been authorized for officers who live as far out as Fredericksburg, Jetersville and Bumpass.

"I think the thing that we need to acknowledge is there is a problem," Jones said. "We certainly are concerned about our police cars being in distant localities."

The mayor said he expects to work quickly with Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood to revise the policy so it focuses on keeping police vehicles in the city. Jones said he believes that presence helps to deter crime in the neighborhoods where the officers live.

"The gray area is what's going on outside the city," he said.

Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, chairwoman of the council's public-safety committee, agrees that changes are needed.

"The policy in place is not fair, especially when officers are not going to get a [pay] step increase" in the next fiscal year, she said.

The police department has 261 marked and unmarked vehicles assigned for take-home use, according to a May 4 memo from Norwood to Trammell. The memo lists the number of vehicles by the officers' home ZIP codes.

Based on its review, Trammell's office has estimated that perhaps two-thirds of the vehicles regularly leave the city. Many are driven to Henrico and Chesterfield counties, but others go to Powhatan County, Providence Forge, Montpelier, Columbia, Amelia Courthouse, Studley, Maidens, Williamsburg, Aylett, Petersburg and Moseley.

Norwood responded to questions about the take-home policy with a brief statement that his department was working with the city administration and council "to meet budget mandates and provide public safety to the city of Richmond."

The police department technically has separate policies for marked and unmarked take-home vehicles, and both were approved in 2007 by then-Chief Rodney Monroe. Take-home assignments are made at the chief's discretion but are intended in part for on-call officers.

In March, Norwood tightened the rules for marked vehicles by prohibiting travel outside the city, instead of outside the region, unless approved by a supervising major. He did not offer clarification.

Councilman Chris A. Hilbert has estimated that allowing police vehicles to leave the city could be costing taxpayers as much as $600,000 per year. Trammell said she thinks the figure is higher.

Hilbert agreed the policy needs tightening but said certain situations may justify take-home vehicles for officers living outside the city. But in those cases, he said, the city should limit how much it contributes.

"People can live wherever they want to live, but you can't rely on the taxpayers of the city of Richmond to subsidize your commute," he said.

Because of budgetary constraints, the Henrico County Division of Police has been phasing out its policy of assigning take-home vehicles to officers who live outside the county, said Lt. Doug Perry, a police spokesman. To qualify, officers have had to live in localities contiguous to Henrico.

In Chesterfield, take-home vehicles are assigned to officers who live in the county, but at least two exceptions have been made for officers living elsewhere, said Ann P. Reid, a spokeswoman for the Chesterfield Police Department. An official with the Hanover County Sheriff's Office did not respond to questions about its policy.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .