Importance of Design for Police Cruisers

Anybody in charge of purchasing or leasing vehicles for security or law enforcement operations should pay attention carefully:

The engine specifications of any vehicles you choose should be just as important as the internal specifications.

Security and law enforcement personnel who perform the majority of their duties from the inside of a patrol vehicle will be referred to as patrolmen from this point forward. This article will explain why providing comfort to your patrolmen is necessary for deterrence.

Any patrolman will tell you that they often come to see their vehicles as their home away from home or their primary office. For these workers, more time may be spent in their patrol vehicles than in their privately owned vehicles.

Vehicles which are small and cramped already become more small and cramped with the addition of all the special equipment that these guys have to drive around with. Radios, computers, extra guns and ammo, transport cage, internal light bar, etc. all reduce the interior space of the vehicle, making any prolonged shifts brutal on the body and create discomfort for the patrolman.

Whenever a patrolman has to take his mind off of an area he is patrolling in order to readjust or wake up his dead leg, the patrolman is taking his eyes off of his area of responsibility. Being distracted by how uncomfortable you are is no way to perform a job that requires your absolute attention to what is going on outside of your vehicle.

Vehicles with the roomiest interiors work best for security and law enforcement operations. When a patrolman is happy with the time he spends in his car he will most likely be willing to drive around and do his job, rather than constantly having to pull over and stretch or opting to hang around with the dispatchers while leaving the car in the parking lot.

The opening of the driver's door should also be examined. Cars that restrict the movements of patrolmen as they enter or exit the vehicle are great ways to guarantee that patrolmen will decide not to get out of their car to investigate something suspicious. The main culprit in this case is the steering wheel. Steering wheels that lock in place and can't be adjusted become more and more uncomfortable the taller a patrolman is.

There should also be enough space for the officer's gear. The gear may include foul weather gear, report writing materials, a camera for taking pictures of accidents, body armor, etc. When the patrolman has little to no trunk space for his gear, he will more often than not toss it in the back seat. This just creates a problem for the patrolman who has to transport a subject in the back seat. When that time comes the patrolman will not only have to worry about keeping an eye on his subject but also what to do with the excess gear in the back. The patrolman should not get into the practice of transporting a subject with his personal gear in arm's reach. If the patrolman has a partner, not only is the front seat not an option, but now the patrolman has two sets of gear to worry about.

Many agencies only seem to compare engine sizes and horsepower, but these things can be increased and modified through mechanical means to improve performance. There's no way to grow extra cabin space once it is loaded down with all the amenities that are required for the patrolman to do his job.