St. Petersburg police officers will soon have eight additional vehicles at their disposal, thanks to nearly half a million dollars in federal funding secured by U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.<\/p>\n
Luna presented a ceremonial $480,000 check to city leaders and police officials today at St. Petersburg Police Department headquarters, funding that will be used to purchase eight new police vehicles and expand the department\u2019s take-home fleet program.<\/p>\n
The project is designed to improve emergency response capabilities while helping the department remain competitive in recruiting and retaining officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fought to secure this funding because investing in law enforcement is one of the best ways we can keep our communities safe,\u201d Luna said. \u201cThe men and women of the St. Petersburg Police Department show up every day to keep our community safe, and they deserve the resources they need to do their jobs well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The funding will allow the city to purchase additional Ford Explorer police SUVs, with hybrid models preferred when available to reduce long-term fuel costs.<\/p>\n
Take-home vehicle programs have become an increasingly important recruitment and retention tool for law enforcement agencies across Florida. Officers assigned department vehicles can respond more quickly during emergencies, begin shifts from the field and provide a visible police presence in neighborhoods even while off duty.<\/p>\n
Police Chief Anthony Holloway said the vehicles provide flexibility beyond St. Petersburg city limits. \u201cCongresswoman Luna took the time to listen to what we needed,\u201d Holloway said. \u201cIf another city needs an officer, we can respond. If we need to help another law enforcement agency, we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Ken Welch called the funding another investment in a department he believes is setting a national standard. \u201cThis kind of support means a lot,\u201d Welch said. \u201cThe St. Pete Police Department is the best in the nation. We\u2019ve got stats to back that up.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cIn 2025, we recorded the lowest homicide rate in nearly 60 years \u2013 since I was one year old.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor also credited investments in technology and public safety infrastructure for helping drive those results.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve made a commitment to technology. We set the standard in the nation,\u201d Welch added. \u201cThese kinds of support, in this case a federal partner, makes a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said City Council Chair Lisset Hanewicz: \u201cOne issue comes up again and again, and it\u2019s public safety. Our residents want to know that when they call for help someone will be there. They want to know that their officers have the resources that they need, so they can respond when they need them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vehicle funding also supplements previous investments made through Penny for Pinellas. City officials noted that while Penny dollars have helped expand the fleet over time, the pace of growth has not kept up with current operational needs.<\/p>\n
By expanding the take-home vehicle program, officials say officers will be able to maintain a stronger presence throughout the city\u2019s three police districts while improving response times and operational efficiency.<\/p>\n
Luna presented the funding alongside Welch, Hanewicz and Holloway during a ceremony at police headquarters today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St. Petersburg police officers will soon have eight additional vehicles at their disposal, thanks to nearly half a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293544,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-293543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}