A dozen new Oakwood Police Department patrol vehicles are ringing in the New Year at the department, with the last few cars being released to the city this week.
Police Chief Tim Hatch made the new patrol cars a priority as he came into the office last year. "Usually what we do is budget for two cars per year, but what we've done now is, when the new chief came in, went to Enterprise Leasing," said Lieutenant Tal Parden. "With that we're able to replace our fleet every five years, so our cars aren't outdated, they're not overdriven and there isn't 200-something thousand miles on a car that's out here." As a result, six Dodge Chargers, four SUVs and two Ford F150 pick-up trucks were selected to replace the current, aging fleet.
"So we don't have to worry about what we're budgeting, all the SPLOSTs and all the stuff that comes in, we can use for equipment and other things," said Parden.
Parden said Enterprise will take the old cars and replace them with the new fleet, and continue to do so every five years and will help with maintenance.
“All we have to do is make sure it’s an approved maintenance place," Parden said. "Hayes Chrysler is, Oakwood Tire is... everything we do we try to go local on."
The cars will make more of an impact on the department than just replacing worn-out vehicle. They each sport some pretty significant upgrades, including a new camera system. The new 360-degree camera system is in all of the new vehicles. It allows patrolling officers to see every inch, corner and angle of their vehicle, increasing both the officer’s and the public’s safety.
"The new camera system is 360 degrees around the car. So you can't walk around our police cars without it being recorded," said Parden. "If you come up behind us, we see you. If you come up beside us, we see you."
Additionally, it takes some weight off the police department. Not only can patrol officers offload camera footage just by driving up to the station or pull up footage from their vehicle, officers working on records no longer have to manage mileage spreadsheets or clocked mileage, as the program does the counting for them.
Not only do the cars come equipped with some new tech to make officers safer, they also sport a brand new look. The previous design was simple and concise: white vehicle that said “Oakwood Police” in silver, reflective lettering. The new car designs were created with the help of Harol Perez, who owns Time of Signs in Gainesville.
Perez mocked up the designs for the new cars, which feature a silver stripe under an Oakwood Police badge and the works Oakwood Police emblazoned on the side. Unlike the previous cars, this lettering is not reflective.
“The process is we create the sign, then we print and we laminate,” said Perez. “We have to clean the car and everything, we have to prepare it. When we make the installation, we have to heat the vinyl a little bit because we try to do our best for the customer. So the process, we try to do it really fast because we know they need the cars! We try to do it the same day.”
Perez said the vinyl is similar to wraps you’d see on other vehicles, but they chose to use premium vinyl so it will withstand more wear and tear that comes with a patrol vehicle. Perez said the vinyl wrap process can last around five to seven years.
“Each time we get ready to change a car out, we can take it back to Harol and get the striping off,” said Parden. “For Enterprise to get the car back, they don’t want anything that says ‘Oakwood Police’ on it.”
On Friday, the department had one Dodge Charger striped and ready to have equipment installed and several SUVs striped and outfitted with the new equipment.
