St. Louis cops rent forfeited cars for free

[deathofcheese]

Story from Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net/2008/07/21/st-louis-cops-turn-f.html)
Story from STLToday.com (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/news/stlouiscitycounty/story/00834845f12de2cb8625748c00110686?OpenDocument) Seems that the city of St. Louis (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/news/stlouiscitycounty/story/00834845f12de2cb8625748c00110686?OpenDocument), like many cities, allows the police to confiscate the cars of people suspected (but not necessarily convicted) of certain crimes. They have a contract with a city towing firm, and said firm was allowing police officers and their families to "rent" confiscated cars free of charge, sometimes for months on end. Officers and their families could also sometimes purchase the confiscated cars at a fraction of the cars' value.

All of that is pretty outrageous. But it gets better. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch stumbled onto the story after investigating the daughter of the city's police chief. She had been involved in a number of accidents with different cars. On several occasions she had wrecked a car, then simply gone down to the towing service to get a 60-80 percent discount on a new one. After one accident, her blood-alcohol concentration tested at .17. She wasn't arrested or charged. The department says it has "no idea" why she was let go.
[original article is too long for post here]

When I saw this on Boing Boing, it seemed like the poster was against the idea in general. Reading the story, it's obvious that the abuse of the system by a few people is pretty wrong. But I think the idea of cops getting cheap rentals and used cars is kinda nice, of course provided some rules were put in to prevent abuse.

What do you guys think?

[Arainach]

Why should the cops get cheap rentals or other discounts the public isn't entitled to?

[Killer_Man_]

I know in WI, they have police/banks auction sales on a lot of things. Such as confiscated goods(Legal goods mind you.), houses, cars and etc. Just to get rid of them.

[Z]

Why should the cops get cheap rentals or other discounts the public isn't entitled to?

I suppose it's to make up for their shitty pay but it's something I definitely do not agree with, either. In high school, cops would get to dine-in at Pizza Hut for free with the buffets whereas we would always have to pay the standard lunch costs, even as students. Such bullshit. :mad:

[Seegtease]

I don't know why police think they have priority over others for luxuries. They have jobs just like anybody else. A doctor who has saved many lives wouldn't get any recognition, what more does a badge mean? Not to mention there are some messed up police out there, making them generally less deserving of some recognition.

I mean sure, you can pass me with your flashy lights on, I don't know what you could be doing. But don't cut in line at the coffee shop, you prick.

[deathofcheese]

A doctor gets paid quite a lot more, though, and usually makes his own hours (unless he's a hospital doctor, but even then some of their job benefits are ridiculous). Some cops have dangerous jobs and they are almost universally reviled because they're seen as the bad guy that has to mess everything up by calling attention to your nefarious deeds.

I don't mean to say that all cops are saints. I know very well that they're not. But I think a perk like renting forfeited cars that they (maybe) were involved with in some way is a taxpayer-free way of paying them back. Granted what the story pointed out was a gross misuse of an off-the-books perk, which is why if something like that exists there should be some restrictions to prevent abuse like that.

[Seegtease]

Why does their job warrant better treatment than others? They do get paid back for their service. It's called a paycheck, the same thing the rest of the world gets as a reward for their efforts. Law enforcement is important and can be dangerous, but that's a pretty massive perk. It's not likely being a police officer is the peak of nobleness.

[Jasmin Jaquine]

From what I know, I've never heard of officers being allowed to use confiscated materials or substances. St. Louis is the first I've heard of this at all. Secondly, for them getting cheaper, free meals or deals on things like cars and things, a lot of people genuinely wish to show their support for the sacrifices that officers have to give (and trust me, it's more than just the danger of the job, but I'm not going there) to do their job which involves protecting them. Any person that owns a restaurant may wish to serve officers for free or really cheap because an officer once pulled them from a burning vehicle.

As for discounts, generally, a lot of companies have deals worked out with other companies for discounts and things. God knows I get a ton of shit simply because of who I work for. Cops work for the government, one of the biggest organizations of them all, so of course those perks they get because of arrangements might be a bit more than other companies can work out.

As for the actual St. Louis thing, I do see that as very wrong as I don't believe anything of that nature should be given out for free or that police officer families should be treated any differently than regular families - negatively or positively!