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On the front line
By Krista Goerte
Published November 18, 2009
Paris Police Department patrol units are getting a face-lift.
Four new police cars will soon be sporting an updated graphics design and the rest of the 10 front-line cars will soon have the new look as well. In addition to cosmetic changes, the units also are receiving updated video technology.
As early as this weekend, City of Paris residents will see the new design, which Bob Hundley, Paris police chief, said was a department-wide selection and decision.
“We wanted our employees involved in the decision on what designs we were using to represent them and the department,” he said. “Seven designs were considered by police personnel and the final selection was made after two polls of employees. Our main interest was the visibility of the patrol vehicles at night. Visible patrol is a known deterrent to crime and we wanted to make sure no one would have a problem identifying a police vehicle being in the area.
“These graphics are a high quality reflective material and include ‘stealth graphics,’ he added. “The stealth graphics are not all that noticeable during daylight hours but become reflective at night.”
The graphics currently in use were adopted in 1996.
Silver chevron style graphics on the rear bumper along with reflective trim increase the visibility of the patrol car from the rear. The sides of the vehicles have large letters spelling POLICE involved in a silver/gray and blue design. The department’s badge is replicated on the front doors of the vehicle with the unit number on the front quarter panel. As with all emergency response units in the City of Paris, Think Child Safety logos will be featured on the roof supports.
Four new patrol units in the 2009/2010 budget are going through the transition of having light bars, video systems and other equipment recycled from the old patrol cars going off the front line. The first patrol unit to receive the graphics change should be on the streets by this weekend as the change of equipment takes place. Eventually all front-line patrol cars will have the new graphics package.
Cost of the graphics kit for each patrol car is $420, $30 less than the current graphics.
The new technology being installed in the police units was purchased through a U.S. Justice Assistance Grant. New digital video and audio systems will replace the obsolete VHS tape systems currently in use. By moving to this digital technology, video quality is significantly enhanced, Hundley said.
This system also provides for a wireless transfer of the video from the patrol car system to a department server located inside the police station. Any time the patrol car is parked in the police station staff parking area, the video is automatically downloaded to the server through a secure Wi-Fi network, without officer action. Officers will no longer have to deal with labeling video tapes and keeping track of the required 90-day supply of tapes. All video will be on a computer server and archived.
“Videos from officer/citizen contacts are invaluable for case prosecution and citizen complaint resolution,” Hundley said. “We have a policy regarding the manual activation of the system during citizen contact and the video system automatically comes on with activation of the overhead warning lights.”
The grant total is $61,495 with a local match of $7,148. The new system will be installed in the remainder of the front line patrol cars after the new cars are put in service.
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