Cost‐effectiveness and officer morale of a personally assigned patrol vehicle program

Abstract

Presents a study which compares two police fleet management programs in San Diego County and combines both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of a personally‐assigned vehicle program to that of a conventional pool car program. Concludes that personally‐assigned vehicles are most cost‐effective to maintain. Moreover, officers report a higher level of satisfaction using a personally‐assigned vehicle than a shared patrol car. Finds that those officers with individually‐assigned vehicles have less job stress and higher levels of morale.