Tonight at 6:00pm, the City of Harrisburg Mayor will present her 2013 Budget. Will there be allotment for the Bureau of Police to get new vehicles? Per the September Budget reviews, the public safety fleet is in bad shape.

ARCHIVE VIDEO of September 18, 2012: Bureau of Police Vehicles

Harrisburg Chief of Police Pierre Ritter and Captain Colin Cleary present the Bureau of Police's 2013 Budget requests to the Director of Finance. The Chief explains the deterioration of the police vehicle fleet. In 2008, the City purchased several police vehicles, which are now experiencing "mechanical failures," according to the Chief, such as non-operating emergency lights and computers. Ritter characterizes the original vehicles as "not police-package worthy," hence, they have begun to break down. Per the Receiver's Plan, police patrol vehicles should have a 10-year life cycle and detective vehicles a 14-year. Yet four years after a mass purchase, the Bureau of Police is in need of new cars. As of now, the Bureau is pursuing a Dauphin County grant to purchase new vehicles. If that funding is not granted, the Chief hopes the 2013 City Budget will allow for such a purchase.

by Tara Leo Auchey

Photo by Natalie Cake