Macon County deputies will soon be taking work vehicles home

DECATUR, Ill. (AP) - Sheriff’s deputies in a central Illinois county will soon be able to take their work vehicles home after their shifts end.

The Herald & Review in Decatur reports that a 15-year-program paid for in large part with $3.1 million from Macon County Sheriff Howard Buffett’s private foundation might begin as early as May. Macon County’s board recently approved allowing the foundation to pay for the program as well as buy rifles for deputies.

The idea to let deputies take vehicles home stemmed from conversations Buffett says he had with deputies about ways to improve efficiency and morale. Deputies like the idea of taking the vehicles home and Buffett says they’ll be able to respond to incidents quicker if they can go directly from home rather than drive to work first.

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Information from: Herald & Review, http://www.herald-review.com