Calling All Cars

Normalcy was slowly returning to the world. That is, unless you were a department in the market for new police cruisers.

As 2021 continued, consumer product shortages were becoming less and less, but some areas, such as the automotive industry, were still seeing issues. The hope would be that issues caused by a global microchip shortage and supply chain disruptions would be resolved by early-to mid-2022.

This article appeared in the January/February issue of OFFICER Magazine. Click Here to view the digital edition. Click Here to subscribe to OFFICER Magazine.

That wasn’t to be, as 2022 saw continued trouble for some law enforcement agencies trying to procure emergency vehicles. With 2023 just beginning, those department purchasing officers are probably wishing they could find a Magic 8 Ball that would let them see what’s in store this year. But after a few shakes, the only accurate response would be: “Reply hazy, try again.”

Frustration factor

Like their counterparts in the fire service, police vehicles are usually one of the most important parts of a municipality’s fleet. They’re needed when lives are on the line, but the nature of the job usually means they suffer an extraordinary amount of wear and tear. And when police vehicles are out of service, departments can be forced to operate at a serve disadvantage.

By December of last year, the New Castle Police Department in Pennsylvania had reached its minimum number of marked cruisers. Two—including one that had only been in service for a handful of days—were totaled in crashes with other vehicles. Even though insurance provided money for replacements, the department still faced purchasing delays. Three others had been struck by deer, and while the damage could be repaired, parts were on backorder. If the department had any more issues before the damaged cruisers were repaired, they would have to resort to using unmarked vehicles.

Even having cruisers in hand wasn’t a guarantee that officers could get them on the road. In New Orleans, the police department had 75 new vehicles garaged in late 2022 while officials waited for other features and equipment held up by supply chain hiccups that still needed to be added to them. The vehicles were part of New Orleans’ effort to up patrols, and it forced the department to use parts from the refuse heap in order to keep older cars in working order.

“That is when you know you’re at your lowest threshold of fixing vehicles. When you’re junkyarding and cannibalizing other cars just to be able to keep police cars on the road,” Gilbert Montano, New Orleans’ chief administrative officer, told a local TV station.

Santa Ana Police Sgt. Maria Lopez understands that feeling. New Orleans’ dilemma is one her department was experiencing around the same time last year. Like many other law enforcement agencies in Southern California, the Santa Ana Police Department encountered fleet issues connected to shortages and supply chain disruptions. As fall approached, the department had 25 cruisers on the premises but unable to roll out on the streets.

“The issue came in the shortage of the microchips,” says Lopez. “There are functions in a police department vehicle—the computer system, the lights—that required the microchips. For that reason, city employees weren’t able to install those into the vehicles for operational purposes. Essentially, we had the bodies. We didn’t have the microchips to equip the vehicles the way they should be.”

During Lopez’s years with the department, this was the first time the public information officer had seen this many vehicles put in park over a single issue. Although waiting for the cruisers to be properly outfitted hasn’t affected service to the public, the department did advise officers to be vigilant when it came to the care and upkeep of the vehicles.

“We obviously were having vehicles a bit longer than we probably would’ve wanted to,” says Lopez. “Essentially, it didn’t affect the service we provided, and obviously that’s the most important thing. It was more obviously driving vehicles with more miles than we would’ve preferred.

“It was frustrating, particularly for our patrol officers out in the street,” she adds.

The demand

With the pandemic essentially over, why are there still issues when it comes to getting vehicles and related parts and equipment to the departments where they needed? Anyone who has been frustrated by an out-of-stock prescription medication at the pharmacy or missing staple foods at the grocery store knows that the end of the pandemic hasn’t guaranteed the end of shortages. Consumer supply chains are still fraught with uncertainty. From manufacturer to distributor to retailer, shortages in materials and among the workforce can cause disruptive reverberations along the various links.

Another factor that could be contributing to delays in receiving vehicles might be coming from one of the very reasons law enforcement agencies are ordering them to begin with. Pre-pandemic, many departments faced tighter budgets, forcing them to buy vehicles sparingly and squeeze every mile out of their fleets. As the pandemic began to wane, some of these departments were facing a new financial reality. Despite initial cries to defund the police post-George Floyd, municipalities were pumping more dollars into their departments to combat surges in violent crime. And in some cases, those budgets were augmented by additional funds from federal COVID-19 relief.

Now with money to spend, police departments and other law enforcement agencies have been doing just that, including setting aside funds for hiring bonuses and salary hikes, equipment and gear, and new vehicles. Take New Orleans. Even with 75 new police vehicles only just getting on the road, the city has already earmarked $30 million for more vehicles next year.

“I hope to surpass the $30 million if council appropriates in the availabilities there and have a bright, new, shining fleet across every single department,” says Montano. “Because I would say every single department needs it.”

With that increase in spending power coming from different departments around the country, an already shaky supply chain can become shakier.

What about 2023?

Some might call this a good set of problems to have. Police departments get to buy new cruisers. Automakers get to make sales. But it’s a problem—delays and delivery lengths that can keep departments using depleted fleets—that could potentially cost lives. And it’s not just law enforcement agencies concerned about the issues and working to mitigate them.

“The automotive industry continues to be confronted by supply chain shortages. Ford is working diligently to ensure our police vehicles are delivered on a timely basis to meet customer demand,” says Elizabeth Kraft, communications manager for Ford Pro.

It remains to be seen what shape supply chain complications will have on 2023. In an October interview in the French newspaper Le Parisien, Carlos Taveres, CEO of Stellantis, which manufactures Dodge and Chrysler automobiles, was asked about the global microchip shortage and its effect on the auto industry.

“The situation will remain very complicated until the end of 2023, then will ease a little,” he told the French news outlet. Maybe law enforcement should stick with the Magic 8 Ball and ask again later.

This article appeared in the January/February issue of OFFICER Magazine.