On May 13, the City Commission of Plant City voted 4-0 to authorize the City Manager to purchase six vehicles and the necessary outfitting for a total cost of $359,680.
In case it was so long ago you can’t remember the details, the COVID pandemic hit the U.S. in January 2020. As the shutdowns lengthened, this caused supply chain failures that affected a wide range of industries.
In particular, the unavailability of computer chips greatly slowed production across the auto industry. To make matters worse for law enforcement, their vehicles require specialized microchips to operate unique functions like the computer system and lights. The shortage of microchips left cities nationwide junkyarding and cannibalizing older police vehicles to try to keep as many as possible on the road.
The downstream effects of the shutdowns are still felt today by the Plant City Police Department (PCPD).
“We have a fleet replacement program where we try to buy between 10 and 15 vehicles per year to keep the fleet as fresh as we can,” said Bill McDaniel, City Manager. “Because of the lack of availability of vehicles, we have slowly fallen behind the curve and we are in the position that we need to buy 20 or 25 vehicles right now. Not only are we trying to keep up with current demand, but we are also trying to make up for the void due to the lack of availability. We are still playing catch up.”
To compound the problem, law enforcement is hearing there may be as much as a 40 percent reduction in factory production of police vehicles. “Right now availability is the number one criteria,” McDaniel continued. “Does it meet our specifications, and can you get it?”
You may have wondered why police vehicles are often left running when officers aren’t in them. The reasons are the vehicles are officers’ offices. They need to work inside it in addition to working outside it. The computer has to be kept alive so they have the communication link they need. They also use air conditioning, and are often running the overhead lights at the same time.
“You get 100,000 miles on a police vehicle it is time to trade it in,” said McDaniel. “That 100,000 on the odometer is not reflective of all the hours that vehicle sat idling while the police were doing their job with it. So, 100,000 miles is not the same as 100,000 on a passenger vehicle that is normally moving while it is running”
PCPD is not in a position to simply buy a car off a dealership lot like the average person. Vehicles they buy have to have upgraded transmissions, suspensions, and electrical systems. The vehicle has to power a computer, radio, siren box, light bar, spotlights, take down lights, and other equipment. So police vehicles have to have a robust electrical system, not just the basic passenger vehicle 12-volt electrical system. There may be dealerships that have a vehicle that meets specifications, but the dealership employees may not have the experience to equip a law enforcement vehicle with all hardware necessary for the field.
“These purchases that are going on right now represent the first time that we are going to see marked pickup trucks as Plant City vehicles.” said McDaniel. “We are deploying patrol pickups…you can get them. They offer some advantages and some disadvantages, but in the end, they can be made to work for patrol vehicles.” Among the advantages is a pickup can be used to haul recovered items such as stolen bicycles, shopping carts, or other large items.
“Not everyone will have a pickup, but there will be pickups on the street,” said McDaniel. “Once upon a time you had a standardized fleet…all Ford Crown Victorias. Now there are sedans and SUVs—a mixing of vehicles that has been caused by the availability issues we have been facing. Not just us—everybody is dealing with it. We’ve had to become much more adaptable and flexible in order to get the vehicles we need in order to provide services to the community.”