KINSTON, N.C. -- All Kinston, N.C. police officers who live in Lenoir County now can drive their cars home, according to the Kinston Free Press. Kinston’s City Council voted 3-2 to allow all officers who have been on the force at least one year to take their city-owned car with them. The policy covers all officers who live inside the county line. Eleven of the city's 80 police officers live outside Lenoir County. The unwritten policy that previously had been in effect for years allowed only specific employees, such as commanders, K-9 officers, and those who live in Kinston or within two miles of the city to take their cars home. Elected officials who favored the new take-home policy agreed that it could act as a hiring tool, encourage employees to take more pride in their equipment, and act as a crime deterrent out in the country. Those opposing the measure believed that the city will pay more for gas, more for maintenance, and will lose a prime incentive to persuade officers to live in the city they are sworn to protect. Officers who take their cars home will be required to wash it themselves, a stipulation that could save the city up to $6,000 in cleaning costs, Public Safety Deputy Director Scotty Hill said.