Derick Acheampong
Staff Writer
Over the summer, the Cameron University Police Department (CUPD) added a 2014 Dodge Charger to their existing patrol fleet.
Chief of Police John DeBoard said all police cars on campus are not bought new.
“The cars we used to maintain our fleet are used cars” he said.
Deboard said buying a new car in the midst of continuous budget cuts is unrealistic.
“We added one car to our fleet and transfer the equipment to the next car,” he said. “They are previously police cars.”
Deboard said officers try their best to maintain vehicles to keep them in good shape over time.
He said the fleet is spread out in terms of age, mileage and evaluation, which results in one replacement car a year.
“[It’s] just like physical facilities on lawn mowers,” he said. “They don’t go out and buy all new lawn mowers every year, but they do buy one or two lawn mowers a year.”
Deboard said funding for the Department of Public Safety comes from the same budget as other school expenses.
He said the department has been receiving regular budget reductions, and buying a used police car does not bring down the university’s budget because purchasing a the vehicle is categorized as ongoing maintenance, especially if student enrollment were to increase.
“Think of the city of the Lawton,” Deboard said. “The more houses [that] get built, the more fire stations are built.”
Deboard said he would like to remind students to check in with the Department of Public Safety first with issues concerning security on campus in order to to avoid any confusion.
For more information about the Department of Public Safety, visit http://www.cameron.edu/ops.