Requiring officers to undergo a driver’s training course has significantly reduced the number of preventable car crashes in which Kansas City Police are involved, according to audit reports released today.
KCPD’s Internal Audit Unit found that from 2005 to 2008, the number of crashes climbed steadily to a peak of 149 in 2008. The crashes in 2008 alone cost the department more than $362,000 in damages to officers’ and citizens’ vehicles. In 2009, the Police Academy developed driver’s training courses for current officers and police recruits to address the problem. As of August 2010, 580 department members have completed the first course.
The number of preventable crashes plummeted to 97 in 2009 – a 35 percent reduction from 2008. The trend is continuing. Police were involved in just 19 preventable crashes in the first six months of this year compared to 50 in the same time period of 2009. Internal auditors conducted statistical analysis to determine whether the reduction was the result of driver’s training courses or some other reason. Their research concluded the training courses were the primary reason for the reduction.
“This is a good return on investment of taxpayer dollars,” said Thomas Gee, manager of the Internal Audit Unit.
The full audit reports are available at the KCPD's audit web page.
