SUNBURY -- Responding to complaints from a Northumberland County commissioner about his employees' use of county vehicles after work hours, Sheriff Chad A. Reiner said he and his deputies are on the job 24 hours a day and need patrol vehicles for safety reasons.

"As sheriff and chief law enforcement officer of Northumberland County, utilization of a county patrol vehicle is a virtual necessity for the safe and efficient conduct of my office," Reiner said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "Like my staff, I am empowered and authorized to make arrests anywhere within the confines of Northumberland County. I am literally subject to call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year."

The statement was prompted by comments made by majority Commissioner Vinny Clausi on Tuesday regarding a complaint from a resident about seeing county employees using county-owned vehicles for private purposes.

There are about 100 county vehicles used by agencies, such as the sheriff's office, Children and Youth, adult and juvenile transportation.

Clausi said he looked into the claim and discovered that five deputies had taken county vehicles home and put 1,110 miles on them in one week.

Minority Commissioner Kurt Masser said Reiner was invited to Tuesday's meeting to explain it, but was unable to attend.

At the meeting, the commissioners adopted a policy limiting the use of county vehicles to work or on-call hours and requiring employees to maintain a mileage log. A prior policy limited non-business hour use of county autos by employees to special situations and short periods of time.

Anyone caught violating the revised policy faces disciplinary action, including being terminated from the job.

Reiner said his department does have a policy prohibiting his staff from using patrol cars for personal use.

"I feel that it is my duty to make use of any vehicle or equipment at our disposal, to best ensure that we are able to protect our staff or other law enforcement agencies and all of the citizens of this county effectively and efficiently," he said.

Since the sheriff and deputies must respond if they witness an offense or are asked to assist police, Reiner said, having a fully equipped patrol vehicle is vital for their safety.

On-call deputies use the vehicles for a variety of purposes, including serving bench and fugitive warrants, and sometimes need back-up from other deputies.

"There are many occasions during which we are the only means of assistance available to our on call' staff member," Reiner said." This scenario usually results when local and state police are involved in other criminal and traffic-related incidents which preclude their ability to offer assistance to my staff."

In cases like that, he said, deputies need to have a fully equipped patrol car at their disposal.

"For the sheriff or his staff to utilize their personal vehicle to conduct official law enforcement business is akin to having municipal or state police use personal, unequipped vehicles to conduct their duties," he said. "One can easily see how quickly lives may be jeopardized by such a suggestion."