Pocatello City Council approves police department’s request for additional vehicles

Pocatello police want to give each of their officers their own vehicle. The department met with city council members asking for 21 police cruisers to add to their fleet.

The Pocatello Police Department is the only law enforcement in the region that has multiple officers sharing one vehicle.

“We’re a little behind the eight ball,” chief deputy Roger Schei, said. “Idaho Falls, Idaho State Police, Bannock County, Chubbuck, all those agencies have one car per officer.”

Schei explained to City Council members that additional vehicles would increase police responsiveness.

“The benefits would be for our officers to respond directly to incidences and have all of their equipment with them in the car,” Schei said.

The city council approved the request but is now faced with how to budget the cost, which adds up to $1.4 million.

However, the cost will be split between four different funds. The city’s chief financial officer still has to choose which city funds to pull from. The council hopes to have that problem solved within the next few weeks.

The funds for this purchase are already available and will present no tax burden on city taxpayers.