Marked & Unmarked Take-Home Vehicle Priviledges?

Hello Gentleman & Ladies,

Trying to compare current policies in affect concerning assigned Take-Home vehicles at some of the larger Law Enforcement Agencies. Any help would be appreciated.

If I am correct, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office allows for :wink: both marked & unmarked vehicles to be driven home, up to & including surrounding Counties. Hcso appears to be very lenient in it's vehicle use policy and allows the unmarked County Vehicles to be driven for any personal use reasons, 24/7 & 365. The employee is not required to be in any type of uniform or shirt that identifies the driver as a Deputy, Detective, Supervisor etc. The employee is furthermore, allowed to transport family & friends in the vehicle for most, if not all personal reasons, unless otherwise informed. Any & all fuel costs are 100% paid for by Hillsborough County.

All is the same with the Marked patrol vehicles off-duty, except that the operator must wear any combination of a basic uniform & gun belt.

I believe this should cover the basic off-duty assigned vehicle useage guidelines in currently in effect for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Again, I am trying to make a list of assigned vehicle Off-Duty useage guidelines for the larger Law Enforcement Agencies in Florida, I ask that anybody with additional info for Hcso please post here. Thanks very much.

Mad because you can't drive your jail pod when youre off duty?

If you weren't just trying to stir up crap, you would contact the agency and ask for the written policy. Go cry to your mommy, baby, and quit if you don't like it.

Why don't you make a list of why you are a crybaby and can't get promoted to an assignment that allows you an unmarked car. Long list I bet.

[Average Joe]

Hcso appears to be very lenient in it's vehicle use policy and allows the unmarked County Vehicles to be driven for any personal use reasons, 24/7 & 365. The employee is not required to be in any type of uniform or shirt that identifies the driver as a Deputy, Detective, Supervisor etc.

Unmarked cars, as I am azure you are aware of, are driven by deputies that are not required to wear a uniform. But they must adhere to a clothing policy when operating the vehicle.

Patrol supervisors who have an unmarked car are allowed to follow the above same policy.

The county does pay 100% for the gas because if you are using your vehicle, and you see a violation or if someone helps help, you must act.

A deputy in a marked car must be an office approved uniform and may not transport anyone.

I would bet that the person in the original post is not even an employee, but someone from outside the agency trying to make a stink. The facts as you stated them are not correct. There is a clothing requirement, as well as a duty to act. Fuel is not 100% paid for by HCSO. Deputies outside the county have money deducted from their paychecks, and that vehicle will not be driven other than the most direct route to Hillsborough county, for duty reasons.

The inquiry is probably a local "investigative" reporter trying to stir up some "government accountability" crap story to make a name for themselves. This retread issues pops up about every two years. Outsiders view it as a perk to have a take home car. Never mind the fact they have no idea of the logistics or the amount of equipment a typical LEO has to care for and deploy with. Hey, Mr. or Mrs. I Want to Compare Policies, call up Professional Standards and get a copy of the SOP from the Policy Detective as our SOPs are public record. You will have to pay for the copy (paper price). Then you can read to your heart's content.

Our take home cars are going nowhere. We do not have the parking space or ability to overcome the logistics and expense of not doing it. TPD tried that in the 80s and it proved expensive and more wasteful than having the take home cars. Mr. or Mrs. Reporter please find something else to make a name for yourself on.

[Average Joe]

This is no reporter. A reporter, like anyone else, can go to each agency and ask for this information. They can also ask for the studies that show why we do this.

This is nothing than someone that is trying to stir the pot or gather information, the bad stuff, that they think would help fuel the fire.

Personally, I don't think there is any issue with sworn personnel having assigned take home cars. I think they can be a asset to the community when used properly and responsibly. I also think it is important to offer perks in all types of careers, as it usually improves employee morale and performance. This perk is no doubt very important to HCSO sworn personnel, some much more then others?

I believe that most personnel use their assigned take home cars, no matter whether marked or unmarked, in a way that is advantageous to both HCSO and the community. However, there are way to many that take advantage of this benefit, almost solely those assigned unmarked cars, to the point that they begin to lose complete perspective that the vehicle is still owned by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Yes, the vehicle was indeed assigned to you as a perk of your position within the office, but entirely more important then this, it was provided for you to use as one of the tools needed in your current position within the office. Contrary to what way to many of these folks believe, it is not your personal family or play car and was certainly not meant to be some folks only method of household transportation.

To say that some have taken complete advantage of this policy, perk, or whatever some choose to call it, is a monsterous understatement. I can only laugh at those who immediately go on the defensive, for obvious reasons, usually inferring that any poster who questions the obvious misuse of this perk by many folks, is a disgruntled fellow worker who is jealous of those having this perk.

Any employee with at least a few years on the job at HCSO, knows darn well & clearly that some of their fellow workers, some much worse then others, abuse this perk on a daily basis. To say otherwise is a outright leap from the truth. This is actually a valid & much needed perk at a office that has had some real bad morale problems for quite a few years now due to poor leadership, starting at the top. Some however seemed destined to ruin this valuable perk by being seen openly & publicly abusing their use of county owned cars.

I would not drive an HCSO vehicle off duty given our current crash and vehicle damage policy. I don't even like driving it on duty because no matter what happens it is my fault. Employees that live out of county currently pay 50 cents per mile which is about six cents less than the current IRS millage rate. Those that pay for gas know that that reimbursement to the office far exceeds the actual cost of fuel for the office. This is one of those feel good measures because we do not charge employees to drive from Odessa to Apollo Beach for work in county or any other ridiculous in county commute.

HCSO has one of the most restrictive marked vehicle policies in the area, if not the state, when it comes to usage and uniforms. Employees operating unmarked vehicles also generally abuse the privilege. There are quite a few that do not have a personal vehicle.

This issue comes up every few years by someone trying to stir the pot. It is either a disgruntled citizen or a deputy that is just trolling the board for laughs. Either way, the policy isn't changing any time soon. If you really want to have fun, go harass Pasco SO on their take home policy.