Benton County Sheriff’s Office To Get Vehicle Storage

By Ryan McGeeney

Posted: November 2, 2009 at 6:17 a.m.

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BENTONVILLE — Benton County Sheriff’s Office vehicles - from those used in the line of duty to those seized as a result of arrests - will get a little relief from the elements in 2010.

Among the thousands of line items in the 2010 Benton County budget, $50,000 is allocated for asphalt, concrete and other construction materials to build a vehicular shelterfor an impound lot near the Benton County Jail.

The lot, which houses the department’s patrol vehicles, boats and SWAT van, also contains about 20 vehicles confi scated in drug-related prosecutions, said Sheriff Keith Ferguson.

“On average, we’ll get 10 to 20 vehicles a year,” Ferguson said. “When I took over, we didn’t have but one narcotics o◊cer - now we have fi ve.”

Ferguson, who took o◊ce in 2003,said the number of confi scated vehicles year to year has increased with the number of drug-related arrests.

Ferguson said that while about 75 percent of the impounded vehicles are auctioned to the public, the rest are used by undercover narcotics o◊cers. The life of an undercover vehicle is limited, however, because it might be recognized by criminals.

Capt. Mike Sydoriak said proceeds from the sale of seized vehicles are used to fund the department’snarcotics unit.

Sydoriak said the department currently has nine vehicles to sell. Some of those were former patrol vehicles. The department replaces several patrol vehicles each year based on mileage and condition, he said.

Ten seized vehicles were auctioned at the county’s 2008 winter sale, at an average purchase price of $1,570, according to documents from the county Properties Coordinator’s o◊ce.

News, Pages 1 on 11/02/2009

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