WESTFIELD—The city’s police department is expecting to receive their five new police cruisers by mid-December, according to Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe.
The department officially has contracts for five vehicles, which are set to replace an equal amount that are currently in use with the department. The replacement vehicles will be in by mid-December, with one vehicle already shipped. A portion of the cost of the vehicles is being covered by $125,000 previously appropriated from the city’s stabilization account.
Westfield Police cruiser.
The vehicles will be replacing one vehicle that was previously in a collision, while the remaining four are being replaced due to mileage, McCabe previously told The Westfield News. The vehicles on the road have warranties up to 100,000 miles before they expire.
“Every year the department has to replace cruisers” McCabe said. “And in order to get the best value for the taxpayer, it behooves the department to overturn our cruisers prior to the mileage warranties running out.”
According to McCabe, the cycle for cruisers to reach the mark where they should be replaced is roughly every two and a half years, with an average of 40,000 miles per year being put on the vehicles.
McCabe said that the department should ideally be replacing six vehicles a year, but that the five was a compromise as a way to save the city money.
“The cruisers are not driven like personal vehicles,” McCabe said, noting that the vehicles may be on the road for 24 hours at a time.
Additional wear and tear occurs on the vehicles, including drivers who adjust various parts of the vehicle to suit them and different skill levels among operators.
McCabe said that there are usually 15 to 18 total cruisers in rotation at a given time. Of those, six to 10 may be on the road per shift.
The $125,000 was previously requested by Mayor Brian Sullivan, and the City Council sent the matter to their Finance Committee before coming back and being approved.
McCabe said that the process can be one that takes time.
“The problem with the process is that it presupposes that the City Council will give money but the process is extremely slow and cumbersome,” he said.
To that end, McCabe said that they will look to remedy the issue through the FY 2019 budget process.
