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County cars still cruisin' home
Last week, Fairfax County Police Chief David M. Rohrer began writing rules that will likely restrict the number of officers who can take cars home, and how far they can drive them to get there.
So far, there are no plans for any of the law enforcement agencies in Fauquier County to suspend their take-home cruiser programs. But that could change if fuel costs continue to mount.
"We haven't looked at [suspending the program] yet, but that doesn't mean that it may not come to that," said Fauquier County Sheriff Charlie Ray Fox Jr.
Not everyone is allowed to take his or her car home, Fox said. Those who are allowed to do so include road deputies, investigators, school resource officers , command staff [including division commanders] and investigators. However, personal use of the cruisers is prohibited.
One of the key benefits of letting the deputies take their cars home is quicker response time, the sheriff said. Specifically, Fox said deputies can respond directly from home in the event they are summoned to an incident while they are off duty.
Secondly, he said allowing deputies to take their police cars home is a good way to enhance law enforcement's visibility in the county. A cruiser sitting in a front of a deputy's house or in the driveway can be an effective crime deterrent and community policing tool, he added.
Warrenton Police Chief Connie Novak said her officers can take their cruisers home for the same reasons. Historically, individually assigned cruisers are maintained better than other police cars, she added.
See the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the full story...
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