Police SUV's To Start Rolling In
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Feb 5, 2009 4:40PM
Coming off the city's most violent year in over a decade, embattled Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis will finally get his wish when the CPD begins receiving the first of its 2,000 new Chevy Tahoes by early spring. In November, Weis inked the deal with Advantage Chevrolet to provide the CPD with up to 2,000 new SUVs over the next three years at a total cost of around $59 million.
So...$59 million in new cars over what this city really needs: new officers. Makes perfect sense to us. Each Tahoe will cost the city at least $24,977, and that's before you add in all the extra equipment like spotlights and radios. According to the CPD's recruitment website: "Starting Salary of $43,104, increased to $55,723 after one year and an additional increase to $58,896 after 18 months." We suck at math but even we can use our calculator to figure out that $59 million for 2,000 SUVS works out to $29,500 per car. We can also figure out that for the cost of two SUVs, the CPD can hire one-and-a-half new officers: $59 mil would pay for the first year salary for 1,360 new cops. And even at the 18-month pay grade, that's still 1,000 new officers. That sound you just heard was the popping of a blood vessel in my head.
We're constantly being told by The Mayor that there's no money to hire more cops and that we'll just have to make due with what we've got. Really? And yet you found a way to shit out an extra $59 million for new SUVs? Okay, fine, we get the argument that police should have top-notch vehicles and equipment. They are, after all, putting their lives on the line every day to protect us. But why tricked-out SUVs? Why not newer models of the same Crown Vics that are already in use? Or, hell, even repairing the old ones that are still in okay shape? Morale is low enough as it is (read Second City Cop) and it gets lower with every fuck-up that happens. Should the be police be held accountable for stuff like Vincent Richardson and Anthony Abbate? Absolutely. But what the Department also needs is a Mayor and a Superintendent who don't both have their heads up their asses and realize that trimming the bad apples, replacing them with a wave of new officers, and better training will go much further in making this city safer than shiny new cars ever will.