The Police Service is preparing to buy 88 new vehicles, while auctioning the old vehicles in its fleet. Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams said yesterday the police had received approval from the Central Tenders Board for the purchase. He said that was to assist in improving the police fleet and its ability to respond effectively to crime.
The vehicles, Williams said, would be received in April, May and June. Asked how the vehicles would be distributed, Williams said it would be based on priority."Priority will be given for us to ensure that every location has a reasonable amount of vehicles to use," Williams said.Williams said maintenance costs for vehicles in the service were quite high and newer ones cost less to maintain.
"We are seeking to improve the fleet and will be auctioning the old vehicles at a date soon to be announced," Williams said.He could not disclose the amount of vehicles to be auctioned. President of the Police Social and Welfare Association Anand Ramesar said vehicles deployed to police stations were mismanaged.
"There are many vehicles in the Police Service but it is a question of how these vehicles are distributed," Ramesar said in an interview yesterday.He added: "You have situations where division commanders are saying they do not have vehicles but it is actually a mismanagement in the deployment of vehicles to police stations." He said in addition to mismanagement, vehicles were being worked beyond recommended standards.
He said: "These vehicles are worked 24 hours a day. If you look at the Inter Agency Task Force, the only time a vehicle is not in use is when the officers refuel or change patrols.
"If you use a vehicle like that, it is going to have problems and it is going to break down. That is inevitable."Maintenance of police vehicles for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 totalled $80 million, while new purchases of 497 vehicles for the same period cost $86 million.
During the 2013 budget presentation in October last year, it was revealed that Government would spend $70 million to increase the fleet of vehicles in the Police Service by 200 additional vehicles. The service has been plagued with complaints for years because stations did not have enough vehicles to respond efficiently to citizens.
While Williams could not say how many vehicles were in the service's fleet, a report by the Auditor General on the maintenance and management and maintenance of police vehicles said in 2010, the fleet comprised 1,058 vehicles.