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Chicago police asked to design new patrol cars

The officer whose design is selected as the winning entry will earn “bragging rights,” but no award

By Jeremy Gorner
Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department, seeking a fresh look for its patrol vehicles, is asking officers for proposals to redesign the layout of the words, images and colors on the outside of its newer cars.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, in a memo to his 12,000 officers on Friday, said their design ideas will be considered by review panels in each of the 22 patrol districts. Each district will send one idea to a department-wide panel of police officers and residents from the communities.

The panel will select five finalists, and Johnson will pick the winning design.

“The iconic design of marked CPD vehicles has been a staple on the streets of Chicago since the 1970s,” Johnson said in the memo. “As we make investments in our Department to be a better agency for officers and residents alike, it is also appropriate to update our vehicles to reflect the next era of CPD’s history.”

The new design will only be applied to 500 new police cars that are expected to hit the streets in the next few months, police spokesman Frank Giancamilli said. The vehicles now being used will keep the current design.

Giancamilli said redesigns on squad cars are “a fairly common practice” as police departments get newer vehicles. In the late 1990s to early 2000s, for example, the New York City Police Department applied a new design to their squad cars when receiving new vehicles, Giancamilli said.

Johnson’s announcement for the redesign is the latest proposed change to a department that has grappled with some of the worst violence the city has seen in years, all while the department is in the midst of reforming some of its policies following an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.

“Our core focus is to make Chicago safer, and as we continue to work hard to drive down violence, these new cars will be a welcome addition to your neighborhood beat patrols,” Giancamilli said of the 500 new police vehicles.

Johnson wants to change the design layout on Chicago’s squad cars to give the vehicles a fresh look at a time when his officers are working to improve its relationship with the communities, the department said.

The new design is required to include certain elements.

The base color of the vehicle must be white, and the dominant color of the design must be the “existing blue” on the current squad cars, Johnson said in the memo.

Also, every design must include the four-digit identification number on both sides of the front quarter panels and on the back of the vehicles, he said in the memo. The words “Chicago police” must be part of the design and applied to both sides of the vehicle, as should the phrase “We Serve and Protect.”

Johnson also said the word “police” should be on the back of the vehicle, and the phrases “Emergencies dial 911" and “Non-Emergencies dial 311" should be part of the design. The department’s Twitter handle, @Chicago_Police, also must be included.

Giancamilli said the department’s new anonymous crime reporting website, cpdtip.com, will also likely be included in the redesign.

While the current design includes the logo of a star with the term “CAPS” emblazoned on it, a nod to the department’s community policing program, it’s unclear if the logo will be a requirement for the new design.

Officers will have until June 30 to submit their ideas. Giancamilli said the officer whose design is selected as the winning entry will earn “bragging rights,” but no award.

The department hopes to start applying the winning design to new vehicles in late summer, Johnson said.

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©2017 the Chicago Tribune

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