New UP fleet adopts old school look

Sporting a bold look and added features, a completely upgraded fleet of University Police cruisers is set to hit the pavement in the coming months.

The decision came after Ford issued several significant recalls on the Crown Victorias currently used by the department, according to University Police Chief Gerald Schoenle.

"Though they were supposed to be fixed, there were several (safety) issues with the Crown Victorias," Schoenle said, "one being that in rear end collisions, some gas tanks were exploding."

Because the vehicles, which are used 24 hours a day, become a mobile work space for the police officers, Schoenle felt that they deserved a say in any changes made. A police committee chose features they felt would better equip road patrol officers.

"It's important that with this kind of change the officers be involved in the decision-making process," Schoenle said. "We had a committee of officers who looked at different options, and they chose the new features."

According to Schoenle, the team of officers decided on several changes, the most prominent being the transition from the Ford Crown Victoria to the newly redesigned Dodge Charger and a new color theme.

"Switching to the Charger is an advantage because the handling is said to be better, maintenance and fuel costs are supposed to be lower," he said. "And the total cost is a couple thousand dollars less."

For years the University Police and other police agencies across the country have been using single-color cruisers to patrol the streets. Schoenle said that trends are once again favoring black and white color scheme.

"Many years ago, a lot of departments went to the all white cars with side graphics, which was a low-cost way to go. As a practical matter, the paint difference (for black and white coloring) is only $600 more, but we're saving about $2,000 by purchasing the Chargers, so we're ahead of the game."

Additionally, Schoenle said that the present police cars look very similar to those of the City of Buffalo.

"As of now, no police agency in the surrounding area has (the black and white) color scheme, and no one has the Chargers," Schoenle said. "It will be very clear to everybody that this is the University Police and it will be very distinguished as a police vehicle."

In the winter especially, Schoenle feels that the color will improve visibility of the vehicles, allowing for additional officer and citizen safety.

In addition to the black and white paint job, new side graphics clearly mark each vehicle while still carrying UB's traditional blue and white colors.

"People have really taken notice of the new vehicles," said assistant chief John Woods.

Working directly with the police vehicle committee, Woods commented on several features that the group recommended to improve officer safety.

Among others, low-profile LED (light emitting diode) light bars will adorn the top of each cruiser, which, according to Woods, are highly visible at night with their combination of white, red and blue lights. The cars will all be fitted with front push bars.

The interior of the vehicles will also have a number of upgrades, including grills on the two side windows in the rear and an upgraded version of the barrier between the back and front seat.

"We also recommended the fiberglass seats in the rear to prevent people from stuffing things into the cracks of the seats such as contraband, weapons, or needles that an officer might have missed in a cursory pat down," Wood said. "They can also be easily cleaned when someone has defecated or vomited in the vehicle."

A total of eight vehicles will be put into use equipped with the new specifications - four new Dodge Chargers, two new Ford Crown Victorias, and two retrofitted Crown Victorias from the old fleet.