Mich. Sheriff Calls Proposal for Take-Home Vehicles for Select Deputies 'a Force Multiplier'
What to know
-
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is seeking approval from the county to expand a take-home patrol vehicle program to improve response times and recruitment across its 700-square-mile jurisdiction.
-
Sheriff Gary Schuette said allowing select deputies to keep vehicles at home would act as a force multiplier amid staffing cuts, enabling faster emergency response and increasing patrol visibility in contracted townships.
-
The proposal wouldn't add costs under the current vehicle replacement schedule and would exclude deputies living outside the county or involved in crashes.
JACKSON COUNTY, MI—In an effort to enhance public safety and police recruitment, some Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies may soon be allowed to take their police vehicles home with them.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is seeking approval from the county commissioners to launch a program where select deputies can take their vehicles home, allowing them to respond to emergencies in their area quicker and deter crime in the area.
“We have over 700 square miles to patrol and most of our deputies live in close proximity to where they patrol,” Jackson County Sheriff Gary Schuette said. “So it just makes sense that they wouldn’t drive all the way to Jackson to get their car to go back all the way to the township and then back and forth twice a day.”
Sheriff’s deputies assigned to townships that have a contract for public safety with the sheriff’s office have a vehicle included in the contract. Those deputies have been taking their vehicles home for years with no issues, Schuette said.
Command staff and detectives have also been allowed to take vehicles home with them as to allow them to get to scenes of serious incidents quicker. The new program aims to expand who is allowed to take a vehicle home.
Schuette noted that the decision comes after the sheriff’s office was forced to make cuts due to a budget shortfall, limiting the number of deputies available on the streets at any given time
Having a service car available to a deputy at moment’s notice helps reduce call times, Schuette said.
“It’s all about making it safe and rendering service as best we can and they’ll do that,” Schuette said. “If there’s a real serious situation, God forbid we have some mass shooting or some sort of incident like that occur, like what happened at MSU, we would have our guys operationally ready, and they would be able to just jump in our cars and go right there. That’s huge for us. A county this size with our forces being depleted the way that they are, That’s a force multiplier.”
Deputies that don’t live in the county or have been in a crash will not be authorized to take vehicles home. Any deputy caught using a county vehicle for personal use will have their permission revoked, Schuette said.
The township deputies who have already been allowed to take vehicles home have been a net positive for the townships, Schuette said
“They can stay out and police. They’re in the community. It gives them more time in that township. It gives them more time doing their job and it just makes more sense,” Schuette said.
Schuette added that enhancing the program would also likely boost recruiting, as it gives potential future deputies a new incentive to work and live in Jackson County.
The program, part of the sheriff’s office’s 5-year plan, would not cost anything additional to the county and would transition smoothly within the 10-year period under current car purchasing schedule, Schuette said.
The County Board of Commissioners is expected to make a decision on the plan at its Feb. 17 board meeting.
_________________
©2026 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit mlive.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.