Aging Shoshone County Sheriff's Office fleet to get refresh

WALLACE —  As the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office waits for the arrival of five vehicles to replace current patrol vehicles, they took a recent opportunity to bolster their fleet.

During a Shoshone County board of county commissioners meeting Tuesday, Capt. Seth Green said a significant number of patrol vehicles has fallen into disrepair with mileage above 150,000 for some.

“We’re running our vehicles ragged,” he said.

Green said most law enforcement agencies decommission vehicles at 110,000 or 120,000 miles.

The five patrol vehicles were purchased by the previous BOCC administration and will allow the department to decommission seven vehicles.

Funding has been tight with the sheriff’s office, and so when a shared operation with the Spokane Police department resulted in a proposal to buy a seized BMW for $1,400, the department leapt at the chance.

The money stems from a sheriff’s office vehicle totaled in a police pursuit crash. In total, the department received $19,000.

The BOCC approved the purchase of the unmarked vehicle Tuesday.

“The goal is to replace that totaled vehicle with two unmarked vehicles and leave some cash left over for fixes we can foresee, that way, it should save us around $60,000-80,000 in the long term,” Green said in a phone interview.

The sheriff’s office plans to use the money to purchase two unmarked vehicles and keep the remaining money for repairs and upkeep. These unmarked vehicles will be used for victim and suspect interviews, undercover operations and temporary patrol replacements.

In recent months, 80% of the department's vehicles were being run 24/7 and being handed from shift to shift out of necessity.