WHEELING -
The two man cruiser rule goes for a second reading before Wheeling City Council Tuesday at 7 p.m. Click here for the story about the first reading.
Monday, WTRF.com spoke to Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger to get his take on the issue.
The chief said it's a fascinating issue that certainly has it's advantages and disadvantages.
He said that in high crime areas, during certain times of the day, a two person cruiser is certainly needed and won't likely go away.
However, for things like transportation to the jail, walk-in reports and paying grant overtime for officers to conduct speed or traffic enforcement, Wheeling is paying two officers, where most other departments are paying one officer to do that work.
The chief says there is an efficiency issue there and there are some advantages to a one man cruiser.
Schwertfeger said the one man car would provide more visibility throughout the community and the city of Wheeling, but there may be some costs associated with fleet. He cited some additional fuel costs, but said it wouldn't be a large area to cover.
"Basically my opinion is this, allow me or the leadership of the Wheeling Police department to make those decisions on how we deploy our resources," Schwertfeger said.
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WTRF.com for updates on this developing story.
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