GAINESVILLE - Starting this week, the Gainesville Police Department will be driving new vehicles with a new look.
Gainesville Police Chief Brian Kelly was on hand as the Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicles (PPV) were publicly unveiled for the first time Tuesday morning.
The Caprice replaces the Crown Victoria, which is no longer in production. Kelly said five new vehicles will be on city streets this month, with five more set to arrive in the city next month.
"We'll still continue, of course, to replace the Crown Victorias through attrition, through successive fiscal years' budget requests," said Kelly.
Kelly said the Caprice was selected after a long research process. He described the vehicle as one built with officers in mind, with an emphasis on safety and ergonomics.
"The seats are built to support the officer, especially since officers wear a lot of bulky equipment," said Kelly.
And, he pointed out there's a lot more space in the back for prisoner transport.
Perhaps the most obvious change for citizens will be the new identifying graphics on the sides of the vehicles. For awhile, both the new vehicles and the older vehicles in the fleet will bear different graphics. All should have the new graphics as the budget becomes availabe to re-letter the older cars.
Kelly pointed out there will be technilogical upgrades to the equipment inside the vehicle, as well. He described the vehicles a an "office on wheels," that allows officers to do their work more efficiently.
"I care greatly for this department, its officers and the community at large, too," said Kelly. "It's important that I'm able to provide the best equipment that I can for the dollars that we have available to spend, while also being fiscally responsible."
Sunday
May 5th, 2024
9:49PM
