Hybrid 5-0h! Police Cruisers Go Green

In a personality shift that would make Madonna jealous, the hybrid gas-electric vehicle is being transformed from ecoweenie-mobile to lean green crime-fighting machine. Law enforcement departments across the country are considering the use of hybrid vehicles as police cruisers. It’s a logical move that follows the same path as many mass transit agencies switching to hybrid buses and fleet vehicles—to save on fuel costs and reduce their environmental impact.

Police cruisers are on patrol for most of their shifts. Therefore, the potential fuel savings from hybrids are significant. Hybrids are commonly replacing the mainstay law enforcement vehicle, the Ford Crown Victoria, which is powered by a V8 engine that ekes out fuel economy in the low teens or high single digits.

Hawaii’s Honolulu Police Department (HPD) will soon be starting with seven hybrid vehicles, including six sedans and a SUV. The likeliest sedan candidate is the Toyota Prius, while the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid are the usual suspects for the hybrid SUV. HPD Chief Boisse Correa said he is not worried about the hybrids speed because the department thinks high-speed chases are too dangerous, anyway.

Hoboken, New Jersey’s police department is also looking to go greener, but has run into a roadblock. “They don’t make a hybrid car with a police package,” said Bill Bergin, Hoboken’s Public Safety Director, in Hoboken Now magazine. The highly urban setting of Hoboken requires its police cars to be equipped with a police package, which includes a stiffer suspension for high-speed maneuvers, and a larger battery to power more sophisticated equipment. Other large metropolitan areas may run in to the same dilemma.

The Aspen Police Department has been testing a Highlander Hybrid patrol car, as it considers a wholesale shift from of seven Volvo cruisers to hybrids. And Fargo, North Dakota has started making the hybrid switch, beginning at the top. Police Chief Keith Ternes now drives a city-owned Toyota Camry Hybrid. The change is also occurring with college campus police departments, which don’t need vehicles with the police package. Northern Illinois University is one of several schools patrolled by Toyota Priuses instead of Ford Crown Victorias.

Some police departments are even thinking beyond pavement for the use of hybrids. Baltimore, Maryland’s Marine and Harbor Patrol Unit is considering patrol boats with gas-electric hybrid powertrains. “Our boats burn through more fuel during a single patrol shift than a standard police cruiser," said veteran marine officer Vincent Biondo, in an interview with Hybridcars.com. “A hybrid boat could cut consumption in half.”