NAPD institutes new take-home car policy

By Eric Scott Campbell
newsroom@newsandtribune.com

So you know

• A poll taken at the beginning of May on The Tribune’s and The Evening News’ Web site showed respondents supported local police officers being able to take home police cars by a 75 percent to 25 percent margin. There were 414 total votes to the Web poll.


New Albany Police Chief Merle Harl has drafted a new policy for take-home police cars that he hopes, in several years, will give new officers incentive to live inside city limits and save the city money in fuel.

In a policy started Thursday, any officer hired to the New Albany Police Department will not be allowed a take-home car if they live outside the city limits, Harl said. Those officers who choose to live in New Albany will be allowed a car when one becomes available to them and will not be required to pay for any of the gas that goes into it. The same is true for existing officers that live inside city limits.

Existing officers who don’t live in New Albany will continue to be required to put 10 gallons of gas per month in their police car if they live five miles outside city limits and 20 gallons of gas for those that live more than five miles outside city limits, Harl said.