Newburyport police fleet: not green

The Newburyport Police Department owns 22 vehicles, according to a January 2008 list of the city’s insured fleet. There may be more acquisitions in the subsequent months, and the list does not include police bicycles, for instance.

None of the vehicles are energy efficient.

Ten of the vehicles are from the Ford Crown Victoria line, though different years: one 1998, one 1999, one 2000, one 2002, one 2003, two 2005, two 2006, and one 2008. Clearly, as the police cruisers depreciate, accumulate mileage, and potentially get into accidents, new vehicles are bought.

Also in the Ford family are a 1995 Ford E350 van, two 1998 Ford Explorers, and a 2003 Ford Expedition.

The remaining police fleet includes a 2000 Dodge Intrepid, a 2004 Dodge Intrepid, two 2003 Harley-Davidson motorcycles, two 2001 utility trailers, a 1998 yacht trailer, and a 1982 Charger Peacekeeper.

I’d like to focus on the Crown Vics, which are a standard with most police forces (and taxi companies) in the United States. Has anyone suggested to the Police Marshal and/or the Mayor to not just replace the same model when one dies but to invest in a cleaner, more energy efficient hybrid?

And I’m not referring to conceptual cars of the future, as shown in this Wired article.

I’m not about to start googling for what other police forces use, but for starters, how about the hybrid Ford Escape?

British police in London, as recently as last month, were eyeing the Mitsubishi Lancer as a replacement vehicle for new cop cars, as seen in this AutoblogGreen report. Granted, London and Newburyport roads differ but the point remains valid.

And ponder this for Newburyport: the Woburn police chief drives a Toyota Camry.

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