Mike Rice understands the perception that the Michigan State University Police drive unnecessarily expensive and luxurious vehicles, but he is quick to point out that the perception is flawed.
MSU police use the Chevy Tahoe as their primary patrol vehicle because of bulk cost discounts, additional room for canine units and tactical advantages, according to Rice, MSU assistant chief of police.
The state of Michigan pursuit-rated five vehicle types: Chevy’s Tahoe and Impala, Ford’s Crown Victoria, and Dodge’s Charger and Magnum. The state deemed these vehicles suitable for high-speed, pursuit and emergency driving.
The MSU police fleet includes 13 Chevy Tahoes, the department’s primary patrol and pursuit vehicle.
Fishing from the university motor pool
MSU police lease each of their Tahoes for $800 a month from the university’s Transportation Services department, essentially a university motor pool, according to deputy chief Dave Trexler.
This lease cost includes all maintenance and gas for the typical three-year life of the vehicle, putting the total cost for the MSU police at $28,800.
Chevy sells the Tahoe to organizations through its dealer’s fleet services division. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for a 2007 Chevy Tahoe is $34,880.
The Meridian Township Police department, which takes advantage of a township motor pool that makes bulk vehicle purchases, uses the Ford Crown Victoria as their primary patrol vehicle. The Crown Victoria costs Meridian Township around $24,000, but after fully outfitting the car for police duty, the cost is closer to $42,000.
Paying less than $30,000 for the Tahoe, the MSU Police department is clearly saving money, but it’s not clear how much the university saves buying the vehicles in bulk through their Transportation Services department. Brian Watts, manager of Transportation Services, estimates that the university will pay $28,000 for each 2008 Tahoe, but refused to provide Sparty Secrets with specific figures or data.
Similarly, Watts said maintenance costs were cheaper for the Tahoe than the Crown Victoria, but would not discuss the specific costs of outfitting the vehicles for police service and maintenance, or the price difference between the Tahoe and Crown Victoria.
Meridian Township Police Chief David Hall said that for Meridian, Crown Victoria’s are significantly cheaper.
“There are benefits of each,” he said. “Bottom line is the Crown Vic is much cheaper than a four wheel drive SUV, whether it’s a Tahoe or Expedition. They sell more of them, so they are better priced.”
Nonetheless, individual municipalities, and in this case the motor pool, are able to secure contracts directly with manufacturers or dealers, so MSU could potentially get Tahoes for cheaper than Meridian.
“We get an extremely preferential rate,” said Rice. “While what you see is a very high-end vehicle that costs a lot of money, my understanding is they build these and essentially sell them at cost. I think there is some PR value for the maker. ‘Those must be good rugged cars.’”
The university also feels it is easier to sell the Tahoe’s after they are retired from police service, according to Trexler.
Many people perceive the Tahoe to be a gas-guzzling vehicle, according to Trexler. But the Tahoe and Crown Victoria vary little in their gas efficiency, according to data submitted by manufacturers and verified by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Tahoe and Crown Victoria both average 16 miles per gallon in the city, while the Crown Victoria averages 23 miles per gallon on the highway, compared to 20 for the Tahoe.
“In the long run we make up for that fuel efficiency difference with other stuff,” said Trexler. “We offset it with our six motorcycles and bicycle patrols.”
While Watts did not disclose the amount the university pays for gasoline, it most likely significantly cheaper than the average citizen pays at the pump because it is tax-free. Meridian Township, which also buys and distributes its own tax-free gas, paid $2.38 per gallon for a September purchase.
Tactical Advantages and First Response
In the wake of the mass-murder at Virginia Tech, police departments, specifically those at universities, are focusing on increasing response times and preparation.
The first responders, as they are called, need to be equipped with the proper gear to immediately respond to a variety of demanding situations. Using the Tahoe allows the MSU police to outfit each vehicle with proper first responder gear.
“A normal size car is really a compromise on that,” said Rice. “There are a lot of municipal departments that use smaller vehicles, but they always have at least one vehicle out with extra equipment. […] In a lot of instances minutes make the difference.”
Meridian Township has nine Crown Victorias and three Ford Expeditions. Two of the Expeditions are the only vehicles in their fleet outfitted for first-responder situations, but they are not pursuit-rated by the state. The third is a canine unit. The department always has at least one of these command vehicles on duty.
In addition to its logical use for a canine unit, the Tahoe’s large cabin allows for the logical and comfortable placement of computer equipment, lights and radar units without cramping the driver.
“Put that together with a normal size person, gun belt, all that…Our folks work 12-hour shifts,” said Rice. “Part of the decision has to do with comfort and convenience for our employees.”
The Tahoe has 120.58 cubic feet of interior volume, while the Crown Victoria has 106.4, according to the 2007 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation Program report published by the state of Michigan.
The height of the vehicle is conducive to parking lot patrols, which MSU officers do a lot of because of the wide and flat campus. “The Crown Vic’s and Magnums sit much lower. It’s harder to see,” said Rice. The Tahoe is more than a foot taller than the Crown Victoria, according to the state.
While the specific cost to the university remains opaque, it’s clear the MSU police realize a substantial savings by leasing the Tahoes through Transportation services and that the vehicles provide the department with numerous tactical advantages.
View the comments below to see the progress of this story.
Sparty Secrets is still pursuing specific cost figures. If those become available, they will be posted in the comments section below.
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This week, spartysecrets.com will investigate the ubiquitous MSU police SUV’s. Namely, we’ll be looking at why the police only drive SUV’s, how much they cost to buy and operate in comparison to other options and what advantages or disadvantages they give the police in emergency situations.
We’ll be keeping you apprised of our progress in the comments section below. So what do you know about this topic? Have an aunt that works for the police? Familiar with MSU’s Automotive Services division? Know where MSU gets its gasoline from? Help us uncover this secret. Add a comment on the bottom of this story or email us with a tip.I jumped on mich.gov and found an interesting 2007 state police vehicle testing report. It documents extensive police testing of nine police category vehicles — including the Police Interceptor, Dodge Charger and Chevy Tahoe — and seven special service category vehicles.
The Tahoe seems to match up fairly well to the smaller vehicles in most testing categories. I’ll dig into the report further and see what I can find. I’m also going to try to contact the testers and authors of the report.
Similarly, while Pat is contacting the MSU police to learn about the Tahoe, I’m trying to get in touch with a local police unit, such as the Meridian Police, to discuss their vehicle choices and costs.
Talked to Meridian Police Chief Hall about their fleet of vehicles primarily composed of Crown Vic’s. He explained the advantages and disadvantages of different vehicles, ultimately citing cost as the determining factor. That said, he didn’t have specific cost figures for me. Like MSU Police, Meridian gets there vehicles through a middleman - in the case of Meridian, the township motor pool. The township buys (I think, maybe it’s a lease) and maintains the vehicles and then provides the Police with them. They also have their own gasoline supply.
He gave me the number of a guy at the motor pool who hopefully will be able to provide me with some concrete cost figures and explain the buying/leasing process. We chatted briefly, but he asked me to call him back. Then he didn’t answer. Meh.
I talked to Dennis Antone today, facility superintendent for Meridian Township. He’s in charge of the township motor pool, and gave me some figures that I hope to compare to the MSU police.
Meridian uses mostly Crown Victorias. They cost the township around $24,000 initially, and up to $42,000 when completely outfitted for police work. Dealerships bid on the contracts, and Meridian selects the best offer.
They also have their own gas supply and do not pay state or federal gas taxes, saving a considerable amount at the pump. Antone said he paid $2.38 per gallon on the last order he made.
I spoke with a rep from Transportation Services yesterday, who directed me to the Department of Public Safety. That department, in turn, directed me back to Transportation Services.
Take 2.
I spoke with Brian Watts from Transportation Services again. He was able to provide me with clarification on how vehicles are ordered and how costs are affected.
I’d like to know why they only use these vehicles for roughly 3 years. That seems like a very big waste of money. Most cars will last 10+ years if taken care of properly.
Also, while i applaud the creators of this website, i feel like there isn’t enough skepticism among the staff. In the 2 articles I have read, the word of police officers and msu officials is taken without second glance. Administrative types and police officers, in my mind, are some of the least trustworthy people on a college campus. please try to get a little more gritty and down to the hard facts next time. thank you.
Fair criticism RDJ. We’re still trying to track down the hard data that will either validate or quell our skepticism — which is there. Our goal was to compare what the police said to actual budget data, but we weren’t able to come up with those figures in our one week window. Bummer, but I’m still working on it.
As for the three year lease, I’m not sure if that is a wide standard, but I know Meridian Township also keeps there vehicles for only three years. Meridian Chief Hall — and I’m sorry to use another police source here RDJ — said they are very cautious about the quality of vehicles they put out on the road because they have to be ready to respond in emergencies. At three years, he estimated the cars have 85,000 to 95,000 miles on them. If they do keep their vehicles longer than three years, they usually have them rebuilt — suspension, engine, transmission — at a significant cost.
According to Mike Rice, Transportation Services does sell the used Tahoes, but Transportation Services refused to discuss prices.
What exactly are they stowing in those SUV’s that can’t be stowed in the (enormous) trunk of a Crown Vic? A Crown Vic is terrible in snow and not much better than an SUV on gas…maybe the PD should switch to an all-wheel drive domestic station wagon w/ a bit of pep.
Also, an inquiry into why our meter maids need Dodge trucks might be revealing. In Grand Rapids they cruise city streets in what appear to be upscale electric golf carts.
They keep them for roughly three years because, unlike most consumer cars, they can be driven almost 22 hours out of the day sometimes. Officers work 12 hour shifts and, depending on the number of officers on duty at any given time, the vehicles may not always get a break in between. The nature of the job requires them to be driven harder and longer than most cars. Driving a police car into the ground to save money is not an acceptable alternative because they have to be reliable and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Crime doesn’t usually wait for the next scheduled tune up.
Also, parking enforcement has pickup trucks because they are often asked to transport materials, bicycles, traffic cones, etc. that wouldn’t fit in a smaller vehicle.
Chevy does not outfit the trucks for police use. the impala cost 24,000 plus being refit for police use. The tahoe will probably take another 5-10 grand to refit too. the line that says the tahoe will save money verse a crown vic is absurd
I have a Police Interceptor Tahoe. I bought it used, it was a county sheriff’s vehicle. The interceptor and the civilian Tahoes differ quite a lot. The interceptor has lower, and stiffened suspension, heavy duty electrical, cooling, and drivetrain. A CVPI (Crown Victoria Police Interceptor) is a boat itself, weighs in close to the Chevy. But the Tahoe is an SUV. Personally, if I worked out of my vehicle all day. I’d be more fond of the Tahoe. The Chevy is no slouch, they aren’t far behind a CVPI. They both have a top speed around 130.