PoliceLink

I am needing to justify why I will not allow my patrol car to be washed by inmates at the County Jail.  For me, there are two reasons.  First of all, from my office in the south end of the County, it will cost more in gasoline to drive the 30 mile roundtrip to the County jail than if I get a $3.00 car wash at the local gas station when I fill up.  Secondly, and most importantly, I do not want convicted criminals having access to the inside of my vehicle.  I carry a shotgun, a Bushmaster M-4, and extra ammunition for those as well as for my handguns in the vehicle.  I also carry extra handcuffs, leg irons, handcuff keys, and other police equipment that I simply do not want anyone (especially criminals) having access to.  Unloading all my equipment every time I need a car wash is simply not an option.

So, I'd like to hear how your agency handles getting their cars washed.  Ideally, I'd like some articles or other documentation of why allowing inmates access to police vehicles is a Bad Idea.

I agree if I was a law enforcment officer I would not want convicts having access to my car.  I do however think inmates should work; so maybe they should work on washing not patrol vehicles that are in the Police vehicle fleet.

Been there. I look at it this way, i put pride in my ride. I wash, wax and Rain-X my squad. I spend my own time and money to do it right. The old dept I worked at used inmates to wash both sqad cars and civilian employees vehicles. After seeing how some inmates re-use the same cloth AND water to wash 2 to 3 cars, there is (was) no way I'll have my ride come out from the wash bay with more dirt and scratches than when it went in with. Also it can be good PR when someone sees you cleaning you squad at a local carwash.

I gotta tell you, I think inmates washing Police vehicles is a great idea, and I don't know why our department doesn't do it.  But I don't think it should be the ONLY option for car washes, we have about 6 different locations, have you brought up the argument of the fact it would cost more fuel to drive the distance rather than spend the money at the gas station?

I will allow inmates to wash the outside of my car but the car is locked and I stay with them, Our inmates aren't doing it at the jail, they do it at one of our Highway Dept. garages and there is a CO and two state workers with them.

Hmmm I should write a memo to my capt, ask if we can use the inmates to wash the tranportation buses. I dont see how they could harm the outside or do any danger to it as long as they are supervised.

Our office has 2 trustee's assigned to come to the S. O. daily (M-F) to handle errands & wash vehicles.  Vehicles are parked in the was bay (2 @ a time) & left locked, to be washed.  Only if the deputy wishes to remain with the vehicle to have the inside cleaned or vacuumed  is the vehicle ever unlocked while being washed.  This has been done for years & has worked out well.  These trustee's also clean the offices & parking lot. 

I only allow an inmate to wash the inside of my patrol vehicle if I am present or if I have emptied all of my equipment out of it.  Otherwise they just wash the exterior when I have time to get by to let them.

Had my brand new ride ( got it last Monday) washed by inmates today. Since I had them do the inside I stayed with them. They are also supervised by a Corrections Officer that stays with the crew. My new ride is shiny clean and ready to ride.

We have a car wash that we contract to do the outside of our cars.  The inside is up to us to take care of.  At my old PD they had community service guys come and wash our cars when they got out of the pokey.  I stayed in my car or right next to it the whole time when it was being washed.  It lasted until one of them learned the layout of the public works garage and came back one night, broke into the emergency management office and stole a police portable.  That ended the whole "let a shitbag wash the cars for free" program.  After that they the highway department workers wash them for us.  I always said we should make the fireman wash them, they are just sitting around looking for something to do right?

Mine is the same as most everyone else that has posted.  We have a washbay atour jail, next to the sallyport.  There is an inmate trustee whose job is to wash cars.  They are not supervised the whole time, but are in a bay where there is a camera.  I personally do not let them touch the inside of the car unless I had a prisoner puke or piss in there.  The good thing is that if we have a problem with the cars being washed, the corrections deputy has no problem taking them off the assignment. 

We don't use inmates anymore since one of our former deputies would leave them alone in the parking lot durng the wash cycle.  Too much contraband coming into the jail from the inmates having friends/family members stop by while they were working....this former deputy was a little over-the-top on car cleanliness; had to have the engine armor-alled and had it washed several times a week.  He also pretty much refused to leave the hard surfaced  roads in our county.  I'm glad he's gone!

We can hit the car wash once a month with our county credit card.  There's also a high pressure nozzle down at the county yard where we fuel that does a pretty good job, and is almost spot free.

Otherwise, I wash it myself at home.  I always do my own interior.  I keep a 4" natural hair paint brush in one of the front seat pockets for dusting.  It only takes a minute or two to spruce things up while I'm sitting somewhere.  When I want to clean the brush, I hold it out the window when I'm cruising down the highway.

Not only NO... BUT,OH HELL NO!   I never will and refuse to let an inmate wash my car. Besides they'll F***K it up anyways.  Leaving you with dirty windows, dirt still on the car and soap that wasn't rinsed off well.  You are better off washing your own car that's for sure.

No and NO.  I would not allow it.  Several of the departments in my area allow their officers to take the vehicle through the car wash.  I realize that some of those carwash guys are ex-cons, but usually the officer is sitting in the car so he/she can go 10-8 in a hurry, or is watching through the 2 way glass in the wash area.  The police car in an outside setting is a serious deterrent to stupid ass activity, and hardly anyone wants to go BACK to jail.  But still...inmates? F*&% THAT.