Black and white future for Calgary police cars
Visibility issues a factor in new colour scheme
City officers are kicking it old school with plans to bring back the black and white police cruisers of yore.
“It’s about getting back to our roots in a lot of ways,” said police Chief Rick Hanson.
“It’s about easy identification by the community, it’s getting back to a branding that’s more consistent with the history of policing and it’s just time for a new look.”
The idea has received overwhelming support from hundreds of members excited to see the heritage cars from the movies make a return — but the move is more than esthetic.
With so many white vehicles in Calgary, including the city’s service vehicles, HAWCS (Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety) operators sometimes have trouble determining a police car from the others when they’re up in the air, said Insp. Ken Thrower.
“Some police cars don’t have numbers on the roof, so HAWCS has a dickens of a time,” Thrower said.
“There are so many white vehicles on the road right now, police are virtually unnoticeable,” Hanson added.
The mix-up isn’t just tough on HAWCS. Newcomers to Calgary, used to seeing the classic black and white cars widely used in other jurisdictions, could also get confused.
“Fire trucks are red, police cars are black and white. The public will know which is which, it doesn’t matter where you come from in the world. That’s the basic idea behind it,” Thrower said, adding it’s in the interest of public safety for police vehicles to be easily recognizable.
The Calgary Police Service’s vehicle standards committee has been mulling the idea for the last three or four years.
When they learned the Ford Crown Victorias they currently use had been discontinued, committee members took the opportunity to look for a “fresh change” for their fleet.
There was so much interest in going back to the black and white that a separate subcommittee was struck just to explore that idea, he said, adding a prototype garnered a “very positive” response from more than the 200 members who viewed it.
“It was time,” said Hanson.
The force still has a stockpile of about two years worth of Crown Victorias, all white, but is now looking at new models including the Dodge Charger Enforcer and the Ford Taurus Interceptor, Thrower said.
But as the new cars come in, they will be outfitted in the new colour scheme, he added. He estimates it will be another eight years before the entire fleet is in black and white.
In the “olden days,” almost all police cars came out black because it was those were the cheapest to manufacture, Thrower said.
Shortly after, some cruisers were modified to have one white door on each side. Later, some were black with all white doors and a white roof.
As time went on, different police departments across North America were trying different colour schemes and designs with their cars.
Eventually, Calgary cruisers went all white with reflective decals on the side for safety.
But the cost of adding all the decals and lettering doesn’t come cheap, said Thrower, who estimates the process takes about half a day
With the new cars, the plan is to order them in black and white and put a wrap on it. Once the vehicle is no longer used as a police car, the wrap can be peeled off.
The new cruisers will require fewer materials and setup time, Thrower said, adding he hopes to see these costs slashed in half.
“In times of budget restraints, we want to make sure we’re prudent on that.”
While the design of the new car is still in the works, Thrower said the hope is that the new models will be clean, sharp and distinctive, not cluttered like a bill board.
The new vehicles will also be equipped with the newest technology, including handsfree devices to improve officer safety.
“We don’t want them pushing buttons when driving,” Thrower said.
“It’s the police officer’s office and we want to make sure there is comfort, but it’s also safe.”
The police aim to have the prototypes of the new models available for public feedback this summer, Thrower said. The models will be showcased in events around the city and even be used to escort the Calgary Stampede, he added.
Other police departments in North America, including Edmonton, Victoria, and Vancouver, are also returning to the classic colour scheme, but Thrower insists Calgary isn’t jumping on the bandwagon.
“We were doing our own thing when we suddenly realized everybody else was thinking the same thing.”
THERE ARE SO MANY WHITE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD RIGHT NOW, POLICE ARE VIRTUALLY UNNOTICEABLE POLICE CHIEF RICK HANSON