Personal use of police cars reduced

The Richmond Police Department is allowing fewer of its cars to be driven home at night, and only a few go as far as King William and Goochland counties and the city of Hopewell.

Though a majority still leave the city limits, the number of take-home vehicles assigned to police employees has dropped from 255 to 220 after Chief Bryan T. Norwood tightened the policy this summer, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch review of data on vehicle assignments.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones and other officials had complained that the department was allowing some marked and unmarked police cars to be driven as far as Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, Jetersville in Amelia County, and Bumpass in Louisa.

Those long commutes have been reduced but not eliminated under the new policy, which was announced in July.

Victoria Pearson Benjamin, the police department's general counsel, said the department has not estimated the cost savings from the policy revision, but officials previously identified a $98,000 savings based on an initial plan to remove 28 vehicles from the take-home program.

The department previously reported 10 vehicles leaving the Richmond-Petersburg area, with two going to Amelia, one to Fredericksburg, five to King William, one to Louisa, and one to Williamsburg.

Now, the total is one, to King William.

The idea behind police take-home car programs is to deter crime in neighborhoods and to give officers an additional benefit.

"I would prefer for more city of Richmond police officers to reside in the city, and I believe the new police car take-home policy is a first step in that direction," Jones said in a statement.

"Chief Bryan Norwood has been implementing the policy while simultaneously working to maintain the morale of the police department."

The new policy allows exceptions based on operational needs, but it is designed to limit assignments of marked police cars to officers who live in the city and to keep unmarked vehicles within 15 miles of the city limits.

The policy allows vehicles that travel farther from the city to be based on operational needs, such as if officers may be called back to duty after-hours.

Benjamin said the only cars authorized to go beyond the 15-mile limit are the three that go to King William, Hopewell and Goochland.

Overall, 88 vehicles -- or 40 percent -- remain in Richmond, compared with 89 -- or 35 percent -- previously.

The number of cars that leave the city has dropped more dramatically, from 166 to 132. A large majority of those vehicles are driven to Chesterfield and Henrico counties and, to a lesser degree, Hanover County.

The Richmond Police Department released information on take-home assignments this week after a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

The previous policy, approved in 2007 by then-Chief Rodney Monroe, had no geographic boundaries and allowed take-home vehicles to be assigned solely on performance. The new policy is more comparable with those of other area departments.

The Henrico Division of Police has been phasing out its policy of assigning take-home vehicles to officers who live outside the county. The policy has stipulated that they live in contiguous localities.

The Chesterfield Police Department allows sworn officers who live in the county to take home their vehicles, but others also may be granted the privilege after a review by Chief Thierry G. Dupuis, police spokeswoman Ann Reid said.

The Hanover Sheriff's Office allows sworn officers who live in the county to take their vehicles home, although some officers who live within 10 miles of Hanover still have take-home cars that were approved under a previous policy, Capt. Mike Trice said.

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