By Amie Windsor
The Press Democrat
SEBASTOPOL, Calif. — What’s black and white … and red and blue?
Sebastopol’s new patrol vehicles — and the police department is quite excited about it.
“Look how pretty it is!” The Sebastopol Police Department wrote in a March 4 social media post.
The post announced the department’s 2013 gray patrol Ford Explorers are being replaced with new, black-and-white “municipal-style” versions of the same model.
“The change is not just an aesthetic one,” the Sebastopol Police Department wrote. “It has become more cost effective to purchase black patrol vehicles than the silver ones.”
The department also said the new vehicles are hybrid, which will lead to fuel savings.
“Our fleet is aging, and once a police car starts getting to 75,000 to 80,000 miles, the maintenance starts getting more expensive and it’s time to replace them,” said outgoing Police Chief Ron Nelson .Each Explorer costs around $85,000, Nelson said. That accounts for the new vehicle and outfitting it with equipment.
The SUVs are being paid for out of an endowment given to the police department by a private citizen. No general fund — e.g. taxpayer — dollars are being used to pay for the vehicles, Nelson said.
The distinction is important, as the city faces a fiscal crisis unmatched in recent history.
The change will help the department should contribute to safer streets, police say.
The department also wrote that, while driving in their silver vehicles, patrol officers have often experienced “instances where people were not totally convinced we are the police, even with the flashing red and blue lights. It’s happened on more than a few occasions when sworn police officers were mistaken for security guards.”
“As black-and-whites are commonly associated with police vehicles, they will increase visibility of our officers, which can enhance a sense of safety and can have an impact of traffic behavior as well,” the department wrote.
The department noted that it will take some time for all of its current fleet to be retired and converted to the new vehicles, which means residents people should expect to see both silver and black-and-white patrol vehicles in Sebastopol for some time. Nelson did not know how many patrol vehicles were slated to be retired this year, stating the schedule was up to the Public Works Department.
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Amie Windsor is the Community Journalism Team Lead with The Press Democrat.
She can be reached at amie.windsor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5218.
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