NSW police
have unveiled two new hi-tech highway patrol cars as our homegrown Holdens and
Fords reach the end of the road after almost half a century of service.
Turbo-diesel
BMWs and V8-powered Chrysler sedans will be rolled out across the state from
next month.
The stockpile
of Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore highway patrol cars is due to be exhausted
following the shutdown of local manufacturing last year.General duties police
will continue to use Toyota Camry sedans, but finding suitable replacements for
budget-priced Australian-made highway patrol cars has been more difficult.
Authorities
assessed 17 cars over the past three years before deciding on two purpose-built
vehicles from BMW and Chrysler.
The BMW
5-Series turbo-diesel is used by police across Europe and the UK, while the
Chrysler SRT8 has the same high-performance hardware used by US cops.
The police
vehicles are not the same as those available to the public.
The BMW
“authority pack” has been stripped of most luxuries but fitted with bigger
brakes and is said to cost police close to half the $120,000 list price.
The BMWs may
even sell at auction for the same as what was paid for them, versus ex-police
Falcons and Commodores that sold for less than half what they cost new.
At about
$65,000 the Chrysler SRT8 costs more than the $50,000 Falcon and Commodore
performance sedans, although police pay fleet prices.
NSW Police
even asked to delete the BMW’s leather seats but the company said it would have
cost more to add cloth upholstery because the same “authority pack” is sold to
police across the world, including to highway patrol in Victoria. BMW says
other Australian states may follow.
Assistant police
commissioner Michael Corboy, head of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command,
said the “whole of life cost” of the new cars is comparable to Falcons and
Commodores once fuel economy, servicing and the money recouped from resale
prices are taken into account.The Ford Mondeo and German-sourced Holden
Commodore were considered but “didn’t meet minimum benchmark requirements”. The
Commodore may make the grade as a general duties vehicle, however testing is
not yet complete.
The new
generation highway patrol cars are not only the most advanced in Australia but
are equipped with world-leading technology worth more than the cost of the cars
themselves (see below).
Every highway
patrol car in NSW now has automatic number plate reading technology to detect
stolen cars or wanted drivers, front and rear facing cameras to capture mobile
offences, as well as being equipped with tablet computers for quicker vehicle
checks.
The
technology has already led to dozens of arrests of dangerous criminals.
Police say
the extra technology will not only help keep the roads safer but highway patrol
vehicles are increasingly being used for front-line police work.Contrary to
public perception the highway patrol are often first cars to the scene of
violent domestic disputes, armed hold ups, and other life-threatening
situations, including backyard pool drownings.
The first
police officer to attend the Lindt Cafe siege in Martin Place was a highway
patrol motorcyclist.
“We are in a
lot of cases the first police to respond to critical situations because we are
out on the roads already. When an urgent job comes over, we drop everything,”
said Mr Corboy.
Police will
roll out the new highway patrol cars from July as they begin to retire the
first of the Falcons and Commodores that have completed their service.
“It’s no
secret we don’t make cars in Australia any more so we had to go outside of
Australia. The two manufacturers we’ve gone with … make ready-to-go police cars
for around the world,” said Mr Corboy.
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