Alexandria leaders are on the verge of charging for police escorts for funeral processions, changing the city’s long-standing policy of providing the service for free.
For years, Alexandria police officers have accompanied funeral processions of 10 or more vehicles at no charge. Those free escorts — 133 last year — accounted for about 6 percent of the police department motor unit’s time, according to police records.
But the City Council is considering instituting a charge for police escorts — $655 for the first 90 minutes, $400 for each additional hour — which normally require six officers and multiple vehicles.
“I do think there should be a fee for providing that service because it falls outside the normal course of public safety duties,” said Alexandria Vice Mayor Kerry Donley.
Some police departments in the Washington region do not charge for funeral procession escorts. However, Fairfax County’s Police Department charges for the service on weekends, while Montgomery County and the District’s police departments do not typically provide the service at all.
Donley outlined some options the city is considering, including charging for the existing on-duty police escorts, or setting up a private service managed by the Alexandria Police Association using off-duty cops — a plan the city’s police chief endorses.
“If you do it with off-duty personnel, then you’re not having to pull people off patrol,” Donley said.
A memorandum published by the City Manager’s Office proposes the police escort fee to offset the costs associated with officer compensation, fuel and vehicle maintenance.
Such fees would generate about $87,000 in revenue next year if funeral escort service levels remain consistent, according to the city manager’s memorandum.
Nelson Greene of Alexandria’s Greene Funeral Home said his clients wouldn’t mind paying for a police escort, but he doesn’t think the police will begin charging for the service anytime soon.
“If they start charging, then they’ve got to show up,” Greene said, explaining the police escorts he arranges show up only “30 percent” of the time.
Greene said off-duty police officers performed the service for a charge in the 1970s, but the city switched to the feeless system because the police had problems fulfilling their escort commitments.
Calls to the city’s police department for comment were not immediately returned.
