Frederick police looking for 'crisis car,' but global shortages persist

Aug. 21—The Frederick Police Department is on the hunt for a permanent "crisis car," but the ongoing global supply shortage has been making their mission difficult.

In July 2021, Frederick police launched a pilot program that would help respond to mental health emergencies with a mix of resources. In a crisis car, which is currently an unmarked police vehicle, there's a plainclothes police officer, a Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services paramedic and a health professional from mental health provider Sheppard Pratt. They make up the Crisis Response Team.

No matter the situation, these are the necessary parties present to help, said Lt. John Corbett, who has administrative oversight of the Crisis Response Team.

But the police department is trying to get a vehicle that will operate exclusively as a crisis car rather than using the two unmarked police patrol vehicles while the Crisis Response Team operates from 1 to 9 p.m. daily, he said. Currently, the only difference between when the vehicles' two uses is a removable magnet stuck on the sides that says Crisis Response Team, Corbett said.

But that's not ideal for multiple reasons, Corbett said. For one, an unmarked police vehicle is still a police vehicle and that isn't how they want to approach a mental health crisis, Corbett said.

When people are having mental health crises, they usually need a social worker, he said, not a police officer or a paramedic. However, there have been situations where one or the other has stepped in, he said.

Secondly, the police department goes through many cars, he said. Police cars experience a lot of wear and tear, since they are idling a lot or flooring it to a crime scene. By 30,000 miles, a police car is having a lot of mechanical issues, Corbett said.

"We're constantly going through cars and it's tough having to unexpectedly give up two cars for a new program, and two cars a patrol needs," Corbett said.

With one car, they can put the two patrol cars back in the street and split the one crisis car into two shifts: from 1 to 5 p.m., and from 5 to 9 p.m. each day.

But finding just one car hasn't been easy, Corbett said. Ideally, the police department is looking for a passenger van that can fit all the people and supplies needed to respond to a mental health crisis. But dealerships don't have the inventory, Corbett said.

In July, the Associated Press reported that computer chip shortages for cars are continuing to drive up car prices and lower inventory. Automakers across the board have been reporting drops in sales and also cutting the production of some models.

Corbett said a lot of his experience with car dealerships lately is being told to put down a large sum of money to order a vehicle that could take months to receive. And the delivery estimate is not promised.

"What some dealers are telling me is that manufacturers are canceling hundreds of those orders because they cannot fulfill them," Corbett said.

The News-Post reached out to several dealerships Thursday, including Frederick Motor Company, Century CDJR and Fitzgerald Chevrolet Frederick, but none responded for comment.

Additionally, if a manufacturer accepts an order, Corbett said, a vehicle identification number will be put out on search engines, which makes it look like there is a car ready to buy at a dealership when the car hasn't even been manufactured yet.

And the longer the police department waits, the more expensive the cars become. The police department recently received a grant they applied for six months ago that allotted $29,000 for the crisis car. But the price of cars has gone up in six months, Corbett said. The July report from the Associated Press indicated the price of the average vehicle in the United States reached a record of $45,000, up 17.5% from the previous year.

They can't even afford to buy new patrol cars, and have been buying second-hand from other agencies, he said.

"We're desperately scrambling," he said.

Corbett said the police department can continue using the patrol cars, but it's not ideal for the job they want to do.

"This is a job that needs to be done well," Corbett said. "But in order to do this right, we'd like to have a dedicated car."

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel