If you’ve seen any shiny, new Covington police cars around town or parked overnight in your neighborhood, you’ve noticed the effects of a new program instituted by Police Chief Stacey Cotton.

The program assigns a single police car to a single officer and allows that officer to drive the car to and from work, but not for personal use. The idea is to extend the life of vehicles, as they won’t be running constantly 24 hours a day, and to hold officers more accountable for taking care of the cars.

An added benefit is that those cars will be sitting in driveways in more neighborhoods and that might cause a criminal to think twice before trying anything when he knows a police officer lives nearby.

The cars were purchased from forfeited drug funds, words that are always welcomed by taxpayers, especially in light of how much it costs to fully equip a car with state-of-the-art equipment.

We live in a community that appreciates a well-trained and equipped police force. We applaud Chief Cotton for making a wise decision, as the new program will not only extend the life of vehicles but also provide a deterrent to local criminals.

For more details, read the article “CPD seeks to make cars last longer” on CovNews.com.