In November of 2012, Police1 presented law enforcement officers with a survey on police vehicles and vehicle accessories. We have posted the results to the survey below. They represent a poll of 281 law enforcement officers.
Highlights:
• 59.2% of LEOs responded that their agencies are currently looking to purchase a new fleet of patrol vehicles.
• 33.1% of LEOs felt that the Ford Crown Vic was the best patrol vehicle they’ve ever driven, with the Dodge Charger as a close second at 22.8%.
• 52.5% of LEOs reported that their agencies prefer to have an upfitter/distributor purchase and install vehicle accessories (in lieu of factory-installed) because they can select the exact manufacturer products that they prefer for their vehicles and it’s less expensive than having the accessories factory-installed.
• 84.5% of LEOs responded that their agencies do not supply their fleet with any form of electric or low-emissions patrol vehicles.
• Only 29.5% of LEOs reported that their agencies supplement their fleets with personal vehicles (Motorcycles and Personal Transportation Vehicles).
Does your fleet of patrol cars consist of more than one make? (Examples: Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge)
Summary: More departments have a consistent patrol car make/model (77.2%) than not (21.7%).
What make and model is the patrol car that you take out on your shift right now?
Summary: Among the LEOs who took the survey, the Ford Crown Vic is the most common patrol car at nearly 40%. Close runner-ups were the Dodge Charger at 18.8%, and the Chevy Impala at 11%. Popular open ended responses included the Chevy Tahoe and the Ford F-150.
What was the best patrol vehicle you ever had the opportunity to drive?
Summary: The Ford Crown Vic was chosen as the best patrol vehicle ever driven (at 33.1%) by LEOs who took the survey. Runner-ups included the Dodge Charger at 22.8% and the Chevy Caprice at 10.7%. The most popular open ended vehicle chosen was the Chevy Tahoe.
Is your agency presently looking at purchasing a new fleet of police patrol vehicles?
Summary: The majority of LEOs who took the survey (59.2%) responded that their agencies are presently looking into purchasing new patrol vehicles.
What is the average mileage at which your agency retires a squad car?
Summary: Most LEOs who took the survey (62.6%) responded that their agencies retires squad cars at or over 100,000 miles. A small percentage, 3.8%, responded that their agencies retire squad cars after only 25-49,000 miles.
Does your agency have its own fleet management and maintenance operations or is that outsourced to a local automotive repair vendor?
Summary: 51.9% of LEOs responded that their agencies have their own fleet management and maintenance operations, but 42.4% responded that they outsource to a local vendor. Some LEOs stated in their open ended responses that their agencies utilize both in-house and local vendors when servicing their fleets.
When purchasing a new police vehicle, do you prefer purchasing a “turn-key” package (all accessory products come delivered with the vehicle-OEM factory installed) or do you prefer to have your upfitter/distributor purchase the products and install them?
Summary: 52.5% of LEOs surveyed responded that they prefer their upfitter/distributor purchase and install accessories in their vehicles versus having factory-installed accessories (25.7%). The answers were further broken down to discover why they preferred their choices:
If you prefer purchasing a “turn-key” package, what are the main reasons?
Summary: The majority of LEOs who prefer a “turn-key” package with factory-installed accessories, 77.3%, stated that it’s a no-hassle option for their agencies’ vehicles. 56.1% responded that it saves their agencies time, and 7.6% responded that they did not have a local upfitter/distributor in their area so that is not an option for their agencies.
If you prefer to have your upfitter/distributor purchase the products and install them, what are the main reasons?
Summary: The majority of LEOs who prefer to have an upfitter/distributor outfit their vehicle accessories, 52.6% stated that they get exactly what they need on the vehicle; no more, no less. 48.2% percent responded that they can select the individual manufacturer products that they prefer. 20.4% stated that they are happy with their upfitter/distributor.
Does your agency have any specific policies or contingency plans to reduce gasoline consumption due to spikes in prices?
Summary: Most LEOs who took the survey, 58.9%, responded that their agencies do not have specific policies or contingency plans to reduce gasoline consumption due to spikes in prices. 18.6% of LEOs were unsure what their agencies’ policies were.
Does your agency currently supplement its fleet with any form of electric / low-emissions patrol vehicles?
Summary: 84.5% of LEOs responded that their agencies do not supply their fleet with any form of electric/low-emissions patrol vehicles. A small percentage, 11.2%, stated that their agencies do.
Does your agency currently supplement its fleet with any form of personal vehicle (Motorcycles, Segway, T3 Motion, etc.)
Summary: Only 29.5% of LEOs reported that their agencies supplement their fleets with personal vehicles (Motorcycles and Personal Transportation Vehicles), while the majority, 68.6% responded that their agencies do not provide personal vehicles.
If your agency does use personal vehicles, and you get to patrol on them somewhat regularly, do you like them?
Summary: Almost all LEOs who took the survey, nearly 80%, had no opinion on if they like personal vehicles that their agencies provide because it did not apply to them. Of the LEOs whose agencies do provide personal vehicles, 10.9% do not like them and 9.7% do.
For more information and resources on police vehicles and vehicle accessories, visit these sections:
• Vehicles
• Patrol Cars
• Vehicle Equipment
• Vehicle Graphics
• Motorcycles