BOSTON, MA – More than 180 Boston Police Department employees are assigned personal take-home cars, with all gas paid for by taxpayers, according to The Boston Globe newspaper. The department’s lawyer, communications director, taxi supervisor, buildings superintendent, and several Police Academy employees are among the 184 Police Department employees who take vehicles home. Some use the vehicles to commute to and from outer suburbs, and taxpayers pay for the gas. The department spent $1.9 million on gas during the fiscal year that ended Jun. 30, and 13 percent of the fuel went to take-home cars, which make up about 21 percent of the department’s 869-vehicle fleet. According to Superintendent Robert Dunford, who oversees all patrol officers, said employees assigned take-home cars generally are on call 24 hours a day or have jobs that require them to be available at a moment’s notice. He said that while the department screens who gets take-home cars twice a year, it could do a better job, according to The Boston Globe report. Christopher Fox, head of the Boston Police Bureau of Administration and Technology, said the take-home cars are necessary for officers who need to respond quickly, even those whose jobs might not seem critical.