Police Hunt For Replacement For Venerable Crown Victoria

The Inver Grove Heights Police Department will soon have to say goodbye to an old standby, the Crown Victoria police interceptor.

Two years ago, Ford announced it would stop production of the vehicle at the end of 2011. The Crown Victoria has been Inver Grove Height’s police car of choice for at least the past 15 years, and the city is not alone. Crown Vics, as they are commonly known, make up roughly 75 percent of all police cruisers sold in the United States, according to Popular Mechanics Magazine; the car with its boat-like stature and strong engine is iconic as America’s police car.

“The Crown Victoria was the best vehicle for our purpose,” said Inver Grove Heights Interim Police Chief Larry Stanger. “The squad car is an officer’s office, it needs to be large to fit all the equipment.”

The city hasn't settled on a suitable replacement for the venerable Crown Vic, Stanger said. But city officials are working with other area police departments to find a suitable replacement. Starting roughly a year ago, the group began testing vehicles and getting input from different vendors. The main factors in any police car choice are fuel economy, the equipment storage capacity of the car and the price.

Choosing a new police car is not a matter of style, but of safety and functionality, Stanger said. In order to be operational, a squad car has to be outfitted with safety and occupational equipment. Installations include a roll-bar to keep the officer’s safe, the characteristic plastic back seat, and digital equipment such as radar, radio and a computer.

“Replacing all the equipment entirely in a car can cost another $7,000 to 10,000 dollars,” Stanger said, while explaining criteria for their search.

Inver Grove Height’s Police Department has time to research their new car choice, having planned ahead for the change. In the past year they have altered the rotation of their Crown Victoria cars so that city is replacing them at a slower rate.

“We have ten cars on patrol at any one time, and would replace half of that fleet every year,” Stanger said. “Now we replace a third every year, bringing the rotation up to three years.”

Most squad cars are used 24/7 for the two-three years they are on patrol, the police chief added. By the time they are ready to be replaced, they have as much as 100,000 miles on them. Of course, if a car has any expensive mechanical issues or significant accident damage, it may rotate out earlier.

Also, an accident last year involving two police cars allowed the city to replace the vehicles ahead of schedule.

“It was an unfortunate situation that put us in a better position,” Stanger said.

The city currently has one 2010 and three 2011 Crown Victorias in storage, waiting to be put into use, Public Works Director Scott Thureen said during a discussion on the city's vehicle fleet at a recent Inver Grove Heights City Council meeting.

With no cars slated to be replaced in 2012, and with a healthy backlog of stored vehicles, the city has at least a year to decide on a new option.