Policing in Princeton - Vehicles

Submitted by Chief Michele Powers and the Princeton Police Department

The Selectboard is planning to include an article on the Annual Town Meeting warrant to fund design and construction documents for a new public safety building. The police, fire, and EMS departments will be writing a series of letters to residents on their operations, highlighting issues caused by the current facilities and discussing how the new building’s design improves the situation. This letter is coming to you from the Princeton Police department.

One of the day-to-day issues that our police department faces is lack of any indoor parking. Though there is one garage space, engineers working on stabilizing the building determined that its floor is not structurally sound. It is a floating concrete floor and all the years of melting snow and salt have damaged it. In addition, water has been running into the radio room which is underneath the bay. The Town was informed that they needed to cease vehicular use of the garage bay immediately.  The Selectboard made the decision that it wouldn’t be a prudent use of Town resources to repair the floor since the plan was to build a new public safety building as soon as possible.

Many people have commented on police cruisers idling outside the Station. Though it doesn’t seem very energy efficient, it is critical that our officers are ready to respond immediately. Nobody wants a first responder to have to clear his/her vehicle of snow and ice before heading to a medical or police emergency. In addition, medical equipment, such as oxygen and defibrillators, needs to be kept at a reasonable temperature.   Cars can also be left idling outside in extreme heat to keep the car and electronic equipment cool (think about what happens when you leave your cell phone in the car in those really hot days).

You read in our last letter to residents, “Policing in Princeton – Arrests,” that having and using a Sally Port is a critical step in the arrest process. It greatly reduces the risk of a detainee escaping. It also provides the Police officer with a way to safely store his/her weapon before escorting the prisoner. In the new building, we are planning on a climate controlled two-car sally port where we can park two of the vehicles inside so they won’t have to be idling outside.  In some situations, one of the bays will be used to store extra-large evidence (such as a vehicle) and we will only be able to use one bay for police vehicles. We are also discussing the possibility of having a structure in the parking lot, perhaps with solar panels on it, under which we can park the other police vehicles to keep them mostly clear of snow and ice. 

We have five cars. The 2009 Explorer is the Chief’s car.  The Chief is the only person who takes a vehicle home with her. This allows her to respond quickly to any situation that arises after hours. During work hours, the Chief or another officer may use the vehicle to attend court, training, or another activity where a cruiser is not necessary.

We have a 2015 Utility and a 2014 Sedan, both of which are used for patrol, training, and details. The two 2019 Utility vehicles are used for patrol. There are typically two officers on duty, which leaves two cars for details (if needed) and training.  With the existing number of cars, we typically can manage when one of the cruisers is out for maintenance.

When we evaluate how long to keep a police vehicle, we need to look not just at mileage but also at the number of hours on the vehicle. Our vehicles spend many, many hours idling and this can be as hard on a vehicle as actual miles. We also look at where we are with the warranty and repair history. The Chief’s car has 62 thousand miles on it. The 2015 Utility has 121,030 miles on it and 10,745 idle hours. The Chief has submitted a capital request for this year’s budget that would allow her to replace both vehicles. The financial team, Selectboard, and Advisory Committee will work together to determine the best way to purchase the vehicles and that will be reflected on the Annual Town Meeting warrant. Recently, we have used three-year leases for new police vehicles.

There is one new consideration this year as we seek to replace these vehicles. The Town is working on an application to become a Green Community. One step in that process was for the Town to adopt an Energy Reduction Plan. One of the recommendations in that plan is to consider the use of hybrid vehicles for policing. Chief Powers is discussing this with peers in other towns to determine whether or not this is something Princeton should pursue. We could use Green Communities funds of $3000 to $5000 towards the purchase or lease of hybrid or electric vehicle. Note that the Town also adopted an Anti-Idling policy but public safety vehicles are exempted.

Stay safe,

Michele Powers and the Princeton Police Department