Office Space On Patrol
Police officers always have needed large-sized car space to perform the multiple tasks that occur inside the average patrol car on an eight-hour shift, and the proliferation of technology tools over the last two decades has only bolstered this truism.
Besides serving as a temporary holding cell, office space, and monitoring facility, patrol cars now house computer systems, an increased array of weapons, and other digital tools.
The Ford Crown Victoria is the largest sedan available to police configuration design with about 4 percent more room than rivals the Chevrolet Impala and Dodge Intrepid. However, the stretched version of the Victoria, with a larger rear seat area, is not pursuit-certified.
Some special police units are using SUVs, and only one SUV currently is pursuit-certified, GM’s Hummer, an SUV too exotic and expensive for patrol duties.
Police-specific electronic devices have decreased in size since the 1950s, though any further shrinkage seems unlikely today. At the same time, police are using more and more mounted and free-hand electronic devices, and one current size solution is to integrate computer and video systems into a dashboard display.
Since a 1994 mandate for passenger-side airbags, police vehicles have been designed to avoid an airbag transforming a radar-gun or similar piece of police equipment into a 200 mile-per-hour projectile, and currently manufacturing guidelines are available outlining how to install and store police equipment in an airbag-safe manner.
Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford all sell pre-outfitted police vehicles that may offer cost savings and useful innovations.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Police (12/02) Vol. 26, No. 12, P. 44; Bellah, John L.
