Currently, the BCSO has 41 vehicles that have over 200,000 road miles.  Thirty three of these vehicles remain in use in some capacity. The total BCSO fleet comprises 138 usable vehicles assigned to one of 5 divisions. Some of these vehicles are special use vehicles such as undercover cars, military surplus 4 X4’s for off road use and in snow, motorcycles, command post, maintenance vehicles, wrecker, two four wheelers and a boat. Comparing the BCSO with nationally published statistics through the U.S. Department of Justice , the size of the BCSO fleet is in-line with other agencies of similar size and responsibility. The Drug Fund was used to purchase 38 vehicles in the fleet at no cost to tax-payers. The number of vehicles currently in use at the BCSO is less than the number I inherited when I took office last September, saving the taxpayers money. All vehicles that are not in use that have over 200,000 miles have generally been stripped for parts and are scheduled for disposal at the June 30th auction . This sale is not expected to generate any significant revenue as the condition of these vehicles is generally very poor.

Of the 33 vehicles in use that have over 200,000 road miles they are assigned to the following divisions:

Patrol Division – 21 vehicles
Training, Professional Development and Support Services Division – 1 vehicle
Criminal Investigations Division – 1 vehicle
Judicial Services Division – 7 vehicles
Corrections Division – 3 Vehicles


The BCSO has an additional 22 vehicles that have over 150,000 miles on them and a number of other vehicles are approaching the 150,000 mile mark.  All identifiable industry standards/publications recommend replacing law enforcement vehicles between 70,000 and 150,000 miles.

According to a 2006 Police Fleet Expo publication, “one trick of running a fleet in an efficient and cost-effective manner is to know the right time to replace aging vehicles. Everyone knows that cars depreciate as soon as they are driven off the lot, but as the vehicle ages, the rate of depreciation lowers. Fleet managers should take advantage of that time in a vehicle’s lifecycle when the depreciation levels off, before the maintenance costs too much. According to calculations, that time is after four years or between 100,000 miles and 120,000 miles.” According to the same publication, more officers are killed  and injured in vehicle related incidents than any other law enforcement activity and this makes it all the more important to maintain a fleet of vehicles that enhance officer safety, not detract from it.

According to a recent FBI publication, “newer cars may cost more money, but it can save the agency money in reduced fuel and agency maintenance costs. Also the image of the agency can suffer if all it uses are older cars. How safe will citizens feel when they see a 10-year old patrol car on the streets? They may applaud the agency’s fiscal responsibility, but they may also ask why the cars aren’t safer and up-to-date.”

The same FBI article says, “A final point rests with litigation. What are the legal consequences of keeping a car too long? All in all, the concept of saving money by repairing cars or keeping them too long can be expensive. If an older car causes a crash, is the officer, agency, or fleet manager open to litigation that could cost several times the replacement of the entire fleet? Agencies should not take lawsuits or litigation lightly. There are cases on file providing data where agencies have lost lawsuits because of poorly maintained equipment, which was the main cause in automobile crashes. A jury may hesitate to find fault with a case involving a new patrol vehicle, but has less of a problem finding guilt with an agency operating poorly maintained or out-of-date equipment. By making safety one of the top priorities, law enforcement agencies can replace older equipment with newer equipment, which will save lives and protect them from issues surrounding liability”

(Currently, the BCSO can document several single vehicle incidents where mechanical failure of our vehicle was the major cause.)

This FBI Bulletin article recommends that the law enforcement fleet remain as new as possible. “Most information states that the optimum mileage for rotation stands anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 miles. Mechanical repairs go up quite substantially after a vehicle reaches an average of 70,000 to 75,000 miles. With these areas of concern in mind, all agencies should take a long, hard look at their rotation policies. Law enforcement agencies should give specific consideration to not exceeding 70,000 to 75,000 mile vehicle rotation policy. Agencies should place the safety of the men and women operating the vehicles above any other considerations.”

As documented, law enforcement vehicles with over 125,000 miles do not measure up to professionally recognized performance and safety standards. I believe the BCSO is being more than reasonable and extremely efficient in replacing vehicles with over 200,000 miles this year, replacing all vehicles with over 150,000 miles next year and implementing a policy of regularly replacing vehicles with over 125,000 miles in all subsequent years. This policy recommendation will help ensure that we maintain a safe, reliable fleet and reduce potential liability for the county.   

Under the current plan of replacing 10 vehicles each year and skipping every fourth year, it would take approximately 18.4 years to rotate a vehicle out of the fleet once purchased. Currently, the BCSO averages approximately 30,000 miles per year on patrol vehicles and under the current plan a vehicle could have over 500,000 miles when finally retired.

I hope this information is helpful and provides a clearer understanding of my request to replace all of our vehicles in use that now have over 200,000 miles.