Take home car

[FutureLE]

--I meant to post this here, but I accidently posted it in the job search forums-- Sorry for the double post mods------------


The county that offered me a conditional job offer has a take home car policy.. I dont want to call them up and ask about the policy(I dont want to sound to confident about getting the job)...But I am curious how it works if you dont live in the county?

I live about 45 minutes from the main headquarters, and different times from the other stations..

Any thoughts?(I know no one can answer for my specific dept, but what about yours or those you have heard about?)

Thanks

[Lt. DAInv]

Listen, in law enforcement you are going to have to ask all kinds of people all kinds of questions, so you cant be shy. Just call up your department contact and tell him or her that you have questions about the take home car policy. If they have given you a conditional job offer, that means they intend to hire you so long as you pass the medical and psych. The department has sepnt a lot of money (testing, background, etc.) to get you to this point in the hiring process so they are not going to decided to not hire you because you asked about the take home car policy.

[FutureLE]

Listen, in law enforcement you are going to have to ask all kinds of people all kinds of questions, so you cant be shy. Just call up your department contact and tell him or her that you have questions about the take home car policy. If they have given you a conditional job offer, that means they intend to hire you so long as you pass the medical and psych. The department has sepnt a lot of money (testing, background, etc.) to get you to this point in the hiring process so they are not going to decided to not hire you because you asked about the take home car policy.


True, I just didnt want to sound over confident, or bother them with a question that REALLY doesnt matter in the long run, since I will find out eventually( I am just curious, if I need to move to take advantage of it) I may just go ahead and call them. Thanks

[PhilipCal]

Take home car policies will vary from department to department. Alabama Dept of Public Safety leaves the distance from base up to the Officer's Division Chief. Rule of thumb is 60 miles from your post or base, but that can be waived at Division Chief's discretion.

[SinePari]

You should probably be asking them if they have a residency requirement first. ie; you must live in the county that employs you. Then the vehicle question will be answered.

[FutureLE]

Take home car policies will vary from department to department. Alabama Dept of Public Safety leaves the distance from base up to the Officer's Division Chief. Rule of thumb is 60 miles from your post or base, but that can be waived at Division Chief's discretion.

Hopefully this is the case, since I only live about 25-35 miles from all the posts and the main headquarters. Traffic makes the 25 miles take 45+ minutes :mad:

I am just going to call them today or Monday.

thanks

[Chief Wiggum]

Unless the take-home policy is going to be a deal breaker for you then I wouldn't worry about it untill after you actually get the job.

[Tim Dees]

Hopefully this is the case, since I only live about 25-35 miles from all the posts and the main headquarters. Traffic makes the 25 miles take 45+ minutesIf the county doesn't have a residence requirement (that you have to live in the county), then there will be some provision for the take-home car issue. The worst that can happen is that you'll drive your own car all the way to work like 98% of the other cops in America. Some departments with take-home car policies allow officers that live out of the area to park their patrol cars at the county facility (corporate yard, highway sand lot, fire station, etc.) nearest their home.

[Bodie]

I take home my car everyday. MY CAR
Had a take home unit. Everbody knew yoiu were a cop unless you let your PV sit out and put cruiser in garage ... No thank you mya PV has value departrment owned unit does not.

Would get called out when on my off time
Had To wash and sweep it out all the time
Had to drop it for maitenance

Big headache

[FutureLE]

I take home my car everyday. MY CAR
Had a take home unit. Everbody knew yoiu were a cop unless you let your PV sit out and put cruiser in garage ... No thank you mya PV has value departrment owned unit does not.

Would get called out when on my off time
Had To wash and sweep it out all the time
Had to drop it for maitenance

Big headache


Were there benefits too..such as saving money on gas, less wear and tear on your POV? I guess I have only been looking at the benefits...not really the possible negatives

[K9 Police]

Unless the take-home policy is going to be a deal breaker for you then I wouldn't worry about it untill after you actually get the job.

Excellent advice.

K9

[Bodie]

With take home car I spent more of my time keeping their car maintained and clean. I had to respond to calls on the way home and to work and even from home if needed. The only savings to me was the gas.
I didn't live that far but you can't take a take home out of the jurisdiction.
So in order to have one you have to live in city or county serve.

[SinePari]

Were there benefits too..such as saving money on gas, less wear and tear on your POV? I guess I have only been looking at the benefits...not really the possible negatives

Yeah...your neighbors will offer to cut your grass, invite you over for dinner, and offer all kinds of nice sh*t, that they wouldn't have done if you weren't a PO.

[ACCREDMGR]

Do you really want to advertise? Then everyone knows what you do, when you're home and when youre at work. Too much hassle and worrying.

[olay020]

I think there is a big advantage of having a take home car, which I currently have. I never drove my POV because I was getting free gas in my cruiser. I only had to pull one person over while I was off duty. I have been driving my cruiser for almost a year now, off duty, and never had to respond to anything. I also took my cruiser everywhere, the gym, grocery store, shopping, everywhere but the bar.

[ufresdave]

People that dont have a take home say "oh its such a hassle, I dont want to advertise, etc." Is it really that hard to keep the car clean and get an oil change? I hope you dont treat the pool car you drive like hell. I hate officers that rag the sh*t outta pools cars bc they say it aint theirs, so whats it matter.

People that do have a take home realize the benefit. You work 40 hours a week in uniform. People know youre a cop. Who gives a sh*t if youre a cop anyways? If anything, your house wont get burglarized as a result. You aint gonna hide the fact either way that you are leo.

[ACCREDMGR]

The gym, grocery store, shopping, everywhere but the bar.......Must be nice to work at a PD that does not prohibit using Department property for personal use? That's a great use of the City's gas at a time when Departments are scrambling to figure out how to save gas and money. You might as well drive it on your family vacations too at this point.

[SinePari]

People that dont have a take home say "oh its such a hassle, I dont want to advertise, etc." Is it really that hard to keep the car clean and get an oil change? I hope you dont treat the pool car you drive like hell. I hate officers that rag the sh*t outta pools cars bc they say it aint theirs, so whats it matter.

People that do have a take home realize the benefit. You work 40 hours a week in uniform. People know youre a cop. Who gives a sh*t if youre a cop anyways? If anything, your house wont get burglarized as a result. You aint gonna hide the fact either way that you are leo.

Most people who say that stuff are ****ed b/c they don't have a take home. Here in MA, there's only one (full time) agency that has take homes for everyone, and it makes some agencies bitter of the fact.