BUFFALO, N.Y. — Investigative Post reported on how the Buffalo Police department has too few patrol cars and many of the cars that are in service are in poor repair.
The situation, said John Evans, president of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, is “dire.”
“There aren’t enough cars for the patrol officers to patrol the streets and get to the calls,” Evans told Investigative Post.
Among the consequences:
- Long wait times for police to respond to citizen calls.
- Officers riding two, three, or even four to a car to respond to calls.
- Cars driven to the point of breaking down for lack of routine maintenance, because districts can’t afford to have working cars sitting in line at the police garage, which Evans described as “underpaid and understaffed.”
- Officers sitting in station houses, doing work other staff are already paid to do, instead of patrolling the streets or responding to calls.