Thursday, August 13, 2009

Reasonable Vehicle Use Rules?

What are reasonable personal-use rules for take-home vehicles of law enforcement agencies? What are the cost-benefit ratios, or has that concept actually reached government? Or is it, if you are on the (my) team, you get a car or other privileges.

Maybe all these things are in place already. Maybe the rules are written down and agreed to, but are they followed?

Does the County get more "time" out of a deputy who has a take-home vehicle? Do deputies actually make traffic stops, when they observe violations when they are driving home after completing their shifts? If he does, does he count it as "duty" time? What if he gets hurt while making an off-duty traffic stop? Will he be entitled to workers' compensation benefits?

Do they make traffic stops on the way to work, resulting in late arrival and missing roll call? Are deputies compensated for that extra time, or is the "pay" the use of a vehicle to drive to work and back? Is the deputy charged mileage for the personal use of the squad car? Gas?

What off-duty use can a deputy make of the County vehicle? Can he run to the grocery store or the barber shop? If he does, in civilian clothes, is he entitled to make traffic stops out-of-uniform? If he is in the patrol car and observes a serious traffic violation, what does he do? Make the stop? Call it in? Ignore it?

Are take-home cars serviced on duty-time or while the deputy is off-duty? Suppose his take-home car is due for an oil change or a couple of new tires? Does he get this done on his own time and at a place near home; and, if so, how does the merchant/county vendor get paid?

Or is there a sheriff's department garage where deputies' vehicles and all other sheriff's department vehicles are serviced? What does the deputy do when his take-home car is due for service? Does he sit in the waiting room and cool his duty-time heels, while the car is worked on?

What range of services is provided in the Sheriff's garage? There is a garage with important privacy signs (Sheriff's & Coroner's Garage, or something like that) at the corner of Russel Court and Julie Street.

Is work done on any non-County-owned vehicles by this garage, such as on private vehicles of anyone at the Sheriff's Department or possibly on vehicles of any persons-of-interest (err, influence) in the County?

Does the Sheriff's Department keep track of the number of times in a year that deputies with take-home vehicles are called out between shifts? Ever?

11 comments:

Zane said...

No half truths here. I have seen John and Brian work on deputies personal vehicles in the county garage. They charge a small fee for services rendered. John works on his own personal vehicle all the time. Nygren gets his cars serviced too. Taxes at work.

No half truths here. I have info about that traffic stop Bruketta did a while back. You remember, the one were he went to the woman's work and gave her the tickets the next day. Bruketta received a written reprimand. It's good to be one of the boys.

Private said...

For someone who wants to be Sheriff you sure don't have any idea about the department!

Look at nearly all area Sheriff Dept's and you will find that they all utilize take home squads as does the ISP. The Sheriff's Web page explains some of the program.

The use of take home cars is actually a money saver as the cars have better maintenance because only one person is responsible for the car. The cars last several years rather than one year as in city PD's. The ability to field numerous cars in an emergency such as a tornado or natural disaster benefits the citizens.

Squads are LEFT for service and the deputies don't sit around waiting.

Listen to the police monitor Gus and you will often hear deputies that are "OFF DUTY" answer up and respond to back up another deputy or respond to assist. Many times enroute to or from work they are asked to handle calls.

McHenry CO does not allow the cars to be parked at residences outside McHenry Co. Other counties such as Boone,Cook, Kane Co and DeKalb CO Sheriff;'s also have take home squads and allow their deputies to live in adjoining Counties. Notice there is a LAKE co squad on Bull Valley Rd and Several Cook County squads in and around Algonquin/LITH.

Check the Sheriff's Web page at WWW> McHenrysheriff.org and click on the garage. Your questions are answered there.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking in my crystal ball...
A see a dried-up version of a man lying in a hospital bed in the Sheriff's office. Propofol drip in his arm. He just signed an invoice for 100 VW Bug Police Cars with his autograph under the logo- "To Protect and Serve... Colonel Gus Philpott at large"

Geez... where did this come from... maybe a product of my morning vicodin.

Gus said...

So, if the McHenry County SD does not allow vehicles at residences outside McHenry County, why would the Sheriff's Tahoe be 5 hours north at his Wisconsin place?

Is it a case of "Do as I say and not as I do"?

Gus said...

Private, thanks for the information about the description of services provided by the sheriff's garage at General Services, Vehicle Maintenance. I didn't see anything there that allows mechanics to work on personal cars of deputies or even on their own vehicles.

What if a County Board member took his vehicle in? Would it be serviced?

Do you suppose they are required to keep records on EVERY vehicle serviced?

QuitWhiningAlready said...

I'm sorry, but did someone say definitively that Nygren takes the Tahoe up north? The way I read that was a rhetorical question as to why it was unmarked and with regular plates.

Private said...

I seriously doubt that any deputies had cars worked on. Just a bald faced lie. The mechanics on occassion do MINOR work on their own cars after work but not while on the clock. Deputies can not even use the wash bay to wash their own personal cars.

Zane said...

Private, because you say it's a bald (bold) face lie doesn't make it so. I've seen it. You may have doubts but I don't. How about you initiate an investigation. That would be the proper response. I would do it myself but I don't want to get fired.

Private said...

http://wiki.answers.com/

The correct term is bald-faced, and refers to a face without whiskers. Beards were commonly worn by businessmen in the 18th and 19th century as an attempt to mask facial expressions when making business deals. Thus a bald-faced liar was a very good liar indeed, and was able to lie without the guilt showing on his face.

Insanezeipler said...

Witness is Zane pretending to be someone else. Good one! You are still an idiot. BTW: good one with "bold faced" you yet screwed up again. Also, if you really knew what you were talking about, you would know how to spell the first names of the ones you accuse of misdeeds. You are a criminal and coward.

Gus said...

I printed "Insanezeipler"'s comment as an example of what will no longer be printed here. If you want to attack someone, put your name on it. It is the coward who slings mud and then hides behind a made-up name.