The Lakeland Police Department recently began a two-week test of Segways to determine if this electric mobility device (sometimes called a personal transporter) might have some utility in our line of work. We thought the project may be of some interest to the community, so we invited the local print and electronic media to the training session for our officers. The very fair and objective story which ran in The Ledger can be found here.
And of course as is generally the case when you are the government, we expected to get some harsh negative feedback for even thinking of such a project. The biggest concern I've seen so far in local online forums is the suggestion that purchasing a Segway is a waste of taxpayer money. The main point is, if we are facing the loss of additional police officers due to budget shortfalls, why in the world would any sane police leader even think of purchasing more equipment?
Gee, wish I would have thought of that one first. (Yes, subtle but professional sarcasm intended here.)
So here is some background scoop on the issues surrounding our Segway test project. We are looking at these devices to see if they are merely a novel idea of limited value or if they can really become a useful tool to help us police the community. We won't know the answer to that question until we give them a try - a try I might add that is costing us nothing other than the electricity needed to recharge the batteries.
I realize the cost per unit (approx $5,300 for conversational purposes here) can be questioned during tough economic times. That is why any such purchase would not come from the General Fund budget, the pool of money primarily generated from tax revenues. We need those dollars for personnel.
We are first looking into grants to see if there are funds which can be used for a purchase. Another consideration is to use asset forfeiture monies in our Law Enforcement Trust Fund. In the most simplistic terms, these are dollars seized and forfeited from drug dealers. We would much rather have drug dealers pay for these devices and help us police the community than to use tax dollars.
One final thought ~ it was suggested in an online forum that we could purchase 20 bikes for the price of these units. That is a bit of a stretch for police bicycles are not cheap, usually costing around $1,200 fully equipped. Bikes, like Segways, are a great tool for use in certain situations. Having used a bike myself during the heat of the summer day in Florida, you get exhausted after a couple hours of riding. Officers on Segways do not face that problem.
It's really a matter of exploring new ideas to improve our efficiency and effectiveness, particularly in tight economic times. We decided years ago to add police mountain bikes to our equipment inventory after testing and evaluation proved they would be a useful addition to our department. We are merely doing the same with Segways today.
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
While Tropical Storm Fay slides to the south and east of Lakeland today, we are keeping a watchful eye on the system and incoming weather updates. These storms are often subject to unexpected changes in their paths, and for that reason we are keeping one eye on the weather while handling the standard calls for service of the day.
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