23-205 Use of Rental Vehicles

Occasionally members may find it necessary to rent vehicles for official police operations. For this purpose, the department has a standing contract with a rental car company (currently Enterprise Rent-A-Car). Vehicles shall only be rented as needed, for official police business functions. When renting vehicles, members shall do the following:

• The member shall author a memo justifying the need for a rental vehicle with an approved operations order. The memo and operations order shall be routed through the member’s chain of command to the Deputy Chief of the Administration Bureau for final authorization. A copy of the approved memo shall be sent to Fleet Operations.
• Justification for the need of the rental and Deputy Chief of the Administration Bureau approval must be renewed every 30 days without exception.
• Upon approval, a member of Fleet Operations will rent the vehicle directly and coordinate with the unit/member for pickup. The City self-insures, so any insurance or damage waivers offered by the rental car company shall be declined. The renter of the vehicle shall inspect the vehicle for any existing damage or defects and ensure any damage is documented in the contract. If damage is found, it is advisable to take photos for future reference. Any damage (due to collision or other circumstances) to a rental vehicle shall be treated in the same manner as a City owned vehicle.
• Members shall not have maintenance or repairs made to any rental vehicle.
• Only sworn and non-sworn SFPD members are authorized to operate rental vehicles.
• Rental vehicles currently authorized for official department operations shall not be used for training purposes. Members requiring a rental vehicle for the purposes of transportation during training shall submit an approved memorandum along with the Outside Agency Training Request (OAT) form.
• Members should accompany the rental car agent, when possible, during the vehicle return to ensure any issues or discrepancies are addressed. If there is any new damage reported or any other discrepancy identified during the vehicle return, members shall document this information in a memorandum and complete the appropriate report (e.g. collision, vandalism etc.), if applicable, and forward it to Fleet through their chain of command. The case number related to the damage shall be forwarded to Fleet before the vehicle is returned. Rental vehicles shall not be returned without prior approval from Fleet.
• Members already in possession of a rental vehicle approved under the previous policies shall submit a justification memorandum for that vehicle within 30 days of the issuance of this bulletin. Hereafter, members shall comply with this policy when requesting rental vehicles.

/s/
WILLIAM SCOTT 
Chief of Police

Per DN 23-152, all sworn & non-sworn members shall electronically acknowledge this Department document in PowerDMS within (30) thirty calendar days of issuance. Members whose duties are relevant to this document shall be held responsible for compliance. Any questions regarding this policy should be sent to [email protected] who will provide additional information.