PRESS RELEASE:
Kansas City Police have reduced their take-home vehicle fleet to the lowest level in seven years, and officers were involved in a total of 105 vehicular pursuits in 2009, according to audits released today by the Internal Audit Unit.
The annual take-home vehicle audit showed the department reduced its take-home vehicle fleet by 52. A total of 373 vehicles were assigned as take-home in 2009, compared to 425 in 2008. This is the smallest amount of take-home vehicles the department has had since 2002.
The vehicle pursuit audit found that KCPD was involved in 105 vehicular pursuits in 2009. The leading reason was because of clear and immediate danger. Only one police car was damaged in these pursuits, but 53 non-police cars were damaged. No police officers were injured in 2009 pursuits, and the department did not pay out any money for litigation involving these pursuits. The audit found the department concludes vehicular pursuits in one of two ways: deploying a tire deflation device or waiting for the pursued vehicle to stop. Auditors recommended the department look into using the PIT maneuver (Pursuit Immobilization Technique) to end pursuits, but commanders decided against it. This audit will now be done annually.
The full audit reports are available online. For more information about the audits, contact Internal Audit Unit Manager Thomas Gee at 816-889-6051.
