Sheriff Stan Sniff’s request to purchase 359 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors — which are in their last year of production — was approved today by Riverside County supervisors, though not without questions about the cost of such a large-scale order.
The sheriff intends to buy 99 Crown Victorias in the current fiscal year, another 135 next year and 125 the year after that — at a total annual cost of $2.14 million, according to sheriff’s department documents.
Bids will be solicited from Ford dealerships throughout the region.
According to sheriff’s officials, the acquisition of so many patrol units guarantees consistent use of the Crown Vics in the sheriff’s fleet for the next three to four years.
Officials said continuing with the same vehicle line will save money as old patrol units are retired and their parts recycled and installed in the newer cars.
Assistant Sheriff Lee Wagner said push bars, light bars and radio equipment adapted to the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor can be continuously rotated.
By comparison, he said, fitting the parts to different cars would drive up costs as much as $$5,600 per vehicle.
Meadowbrook resident Gary Grant complained about the high cost of the fleet purchase and questioned why the sheriff”s department should continue using the gas guzzling Crown Vics when more fuel-efficient models were on the market.
Supervisor John Tavaglione, a former Riverside police reserve officer, praised the Ford product for its “safety and longevity.”
“It will last a number of years despite the beating it takes in the field,” the supervisor said.
Even though he ended up supporting the purchase, Supervisor Jeff Stone agreed that it was past time for the sheriff’s department to “look at transitioning into another vehicle.”
“We need to look at alternatives,” he said. “There are smaller vehicles that can be used for transporting prisoners.”
According to the sheriff’s department, possible replacement vehicles, including the Chevrolet Caprice and Dodge Charger, will be purchased and field-tested over the next couple of years.
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Ford Crown Victoria Police cars are darn good cars and last a long time. I have owned three
of them through the years, and I liked them very much. I bought each directly from a government agencies at public auction with no middleman or dealer involved, only the licensed public auctioneer.
Driver comfort is also an important consideration as well as safety for the police that are going to sit in their cars for hours every day.
The resale value is also very good because many of the Ford Crown Victoria cars take on a whole second life as taxis. In many communities all or nearly all Taxis are former police cars because they have large trunks, strong transmissions, extra good engine cooling, stronger springs, larger brake pads, etc.
I even sold two of mine to taxi drivers after I was through with them.
At that time The Chevy patrol cars came with an engine option, one smaller than the Ford for driving around town, and one with a larger engine than the Ford for fast highway patrol use.
I have heard the new Dodges are a lot more powerful then the Fords and have good acceleration and good handling, but are smaller and do not have as much room in the truck to carry various extra equipment.
Mr Grant is one of those gadflies that attend every meeting and complain about everything… while knowing nothing.
You can see him next to his wife, who sports a bright red plastic cowboy hat.
It’s obvious that Supervisor Stone has never taken a ride in the back seat of a police car. They are not roomy or comfortable.
That might be his point…. good idea?