It has only been a few years since the Port St. Lucie (FL) Police Department was recognized as one of the nation's top 100 fleets, but Police Administrator Bill May and Fleet Manager Roberto Mann have not stopped searching for new ways to step up performance while upholding ever-higher standards for efficiency and emissions.

The department, serving Florida's ninth largest city, recently completed a 90-day pilot program testing the effectiveness of Derive Efficiency's (derivesystems.com/efficiency/solutions/) optimized engine calibration on a portion of their fleet. Since implementation, vehicles in the pilot group have seen an almost 12 percent reduction in idle fuel consumption as well as a more than 11 percent decrease in total spending on fuel. These savings will allow Police John Chief Bolduc, who oversees a $34 million budget, 285 police personnel and 343 volunteers, to allocate more funds to other key needs.

Lowering idle RPM has also reduced the fleet's carbon footprint by 200 pounds per vehicle per month.

"The importance of lower emissions is not lost on police vehicles as it is our responsibility to the public to continue to find ways to increase efficiency while reducing our carbon footprint," says May.

Police Chief Bolduc also sees the pilot as good news for other city fleets, and believes that the program could inspire other departments to identify improvement the technology.

"For us, it's a no-brainer," says Bolduc.