Syracuse Police officers respond to an apartment building on the North Side. Credit: Julie McMahon

The Syracuse Police Department is asking the city lawmakers to use more than $3.2 million to buy new vehicles.

Deputy Chief Richard Shoff said at a Common Council meeting Wednesday that the money would be used to upgrade the city’s aging fleet. 

The department’s ask comes in the wake of hundreds of crashes over the last decade that have left taxpayers on the hook for at least $3 million dollars in collision damage, repairs and settlements. 

If approved, the department will use the funds to purchase 57 new cars to integrate into its fleet, including: 

  • 29 marked cars from $40,000 to $65,500 each, totaling $1,797,500
  • 20 unmarked cars at $35,000 each, totaling $700,000
  • Three concealed identity vehicles at $40,000 each, totaling $120,000
  • Four cargo vans for $60,000 each, totaling 240,000
  • One armored transport vehicle, $350,000

The department tries to replace patrol cars that have been in use for 5 or more years, Shoff said. 

How a Syracuse police officer crashed department cars 12 times and remained on the force 

One-third of the department’s patrol cars are older than five years, and 40% of the total fleet is five years or older, according to Shoff. When the vehicles reach that time mark, the cost of maintenance nears the cost of purchasing new vehicles, he said.

“It’s not only good for police officers to use new vehicles, but it’s financially responsible, you investing in new vehicles instead of just pumping money into old ones,” said Council President Pro Tempore Pat Hogan.

The department fell behind on vehicle purchases during the pandemic, but has since gotten back on track, Shoff said. 

Vehicles that are currently in use will be phased into different roles in the department, Shoff said.

Older vehicles can be “moved down” to other units, such as community service. Shoff said that eventually, old vehicles are auctioned off and the proceeds from those cars are returned to the City’s general performance budget.

It will take the department several months to get the newly purchased vehicles ready for department use, Shoff said.

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Patrick McCarthy is a staff reporter at Central Current covering government and politics. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell and Newhouse Schools, McCarthy was born and raised in Syracuse and...