Investing in safety
Ontario Police Department fields two new patrol cars

By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Friday, February 29, 2008 10:43 AM PST

Ontario Police Capt. Mark Alexander walks past one of the department’s new Dodge Charger cruisers. The department recently purchased two of the new cruisers. Each vehicle cost $22,470, and one is already patrolling the streets of Ontario.

Ontario — The Ontario Police Department has two new members on its force.

The two new “members” are actually cars — Dodge Chargers with a price tag of $22,470 each — garnered through a state-mandated buying process.

  “We had to send a bid request to at least three different places,” OPD Capt. Mark Alexander said. “Since it was tax money, we wanted to make sure that we would spend that money wisely.”

Both local and state-wide dealerships were consulted, with transportation costs considered when looking at state-wide vendors. The department chose a state-wide dealership after discovering that other state organizations were making a large vehicle purchase at the same time.

“We were able to piggyback off the process they’ve done,” Alexander said. “They already had a price, a good price, because they are buying a lot of cars. We got a great price compared to other vendors.”

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Alexander said he sees the new vehicles as a step up from the older cars in his fleet.

 “They have better performance, better brakes. The statistics we’ve seen looks like it handles well and has better fuel economy under certain circumstances.” he said.

These cars were not ready for action straight from the factory however.

 The cars required lights that could be seen from any angle, molded seats that would make it harder to hide a weapon, and a “cage”: a barrier that separates the rear passenger from those up front.

One Charger received those modifications and is operational, with the second one still cooling its wheels in the parking lot.

Another change in store for the vehicles is the addition of a digital video camera. Police now capture footage by using a VCR situated in the trunk.

“If you’ve ever left a VCR in the trunk of a car, you know it doesn’t last that long when it’s kept like that,” Alexander said. Though the department owns the new digital video camera, it has not been installed.

Alexander said that the new camera must be professionally installed in order to meet government standards.

Once the new car has all of its needed accommodations, it will be a welcome addition to the fleet.

“These cars get run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Alexander said. “They get a lot of wear and tear. We put 20,000 to 22,000 miles a year. That’s city driving. A lot of starts, stops, idle time, not good conditions for cars.”

The new cars were a point of discussion at City Council’s special meeting Wednesday.

 “We like to replace the cars every six to eight years,” Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick said.  This sparked a discussion about what would be done with the old cars. One suggestion was to have the department’s gang officer use the older car rather than giving it to a patrolman. Other possible plans include selling the surplus vehicle to private institutions such as schools or mental institutions for transportation. Another option would be to sell the cars to the general public.

 “With all the police equipment removed, of course,” Alexander said. No matter the future in store for the older cars, City Council members seemed pleased with the improvements to the police force.

 “We need to keep the police up to par,” Ontario City Councilman Lewie Allen said.