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Police Department, normally what they would do every time it came to <br />purchasing a new car they would turn the old ones in and auction them <br />off. As they started to expand the personnel in the police department, <br />they needed more vehicles in the department and yet to try to find an <br />economical way to do that and do everything they could to keep a fast <br />response rate in a growing crime rate and the growing numbers of call <br />for service rate. Mr. Louis said he asked the City Manager instead of <br />selling the cars off at auction could they keep those vehicles and not <br />run them on the front line emergency but use them for specialized <br />service for such thing as DARE or the Police Athletic League, Auto <br />Theft, Juvenile Gangs, or School Resource officer. Mr. Louis said from <br />1979 through 1989 they purchased 43 vehicles, and this decade he <br />has purchased 44 vehicles, and at the same time, they are not selling <br />those other vehicles. Mr. Louis pointed out that there is some <br />increased cost for maintenance as far as gasoline, tires, and batteries, <br />but they have utilized those vehicles. Mr. Louis said if you look at the <br />amount of officers that have been added and the personnel in the <br />department in the last 10 years and how it has exploded, and how the <br />calls for service have exploded and the arrest rate has gone up, he <br />feels by keeping the older vehicles they have, this has been a very good <br />move and a big savings for the city. <br />Mr. Louis called the Committee's attention to the handout regarding <br />response time compared with other cities similar in population with the <br />City of Paris. Mr. Louis pointed out that the City of Paris has a 2 minute <br />emergency response time even though Paris has the second largest <br />square miles of the other five cities and the highest number of calls of <br />any of the other cities. <br />Mr. Louis said they have 12 active patrol vehicles. That is what they <br />drive on a daily basis to respond to calls. There are 7 CID vehicles in <br />the Criminal Investigation Division. Three of the older vehicles are <br />being used as narcotics vehicles now as they have the grants from the <br />Federal Government and they are providing the personnel with the <br />police department providing the vehicles. Two auto theft vehicles <br />which will be leased vehicles that additional funds were provided for <br />those. One vehicle for the Violence Against Women unit which is <br />furnished by the department. One DARE vehicle which is driven to and <br />from the schools. Two School Resource officers each drive a vehicle <br />