Crime & Safety

Fade to Black & White for Greenwich PD

Greenwich Police is following the national trend and is updating its fleet and changing the colors of police cruisers to black-and-white.


It's a fade to black-and-white for the Greenwich Police Department as it gradually transitions its vehicle fleet from the traditional navy blue Ford Crown Victorias.

The Ford Motor Co. stopped production of the Crown Victorias three years ago, leaving police departments around the country searching for a new model to replace the eight-cylinder workhorse that could withstand grueling round-the-clock use.

Greenwich Police Chief James Heavey says that while the Crown Victorias were great cars, they had a few drawbacks when compared to new Ford Taurus Police Interceptor that the department has purchased.

The department has purchased 10 all-wheel drive Interceptors — five each of the sedan and sports utility models. "With all-wheel drive we won't need chains in the snow," Heavey said. And the need for chains during snowstorms reduced the department's fleet because of fire suppression systems installed in some of the older Crown Victorias reduced the room needed for the chains, Heavey explained.

The department plans to retire the Crown Victoria fleet of about 30 vehicles over the next few years. Heavey said the average lifespan of patrol cars is 80,000 to 85,000 miles. He said he expects it will take about three years to replace the fleet with the Interceptor series.

The department chose the black-and-white color scheme, "because it is the international color of police cars. No matter where you go, when you see a black-and-white, you know it's the police," Heavey explained.

So Greenwich is rolling out the new vehicles with the color scheme accented with the town seal in silver. 

The new vehicles are equipped with single prisoner cages to maximize the space for equipment and personnel needs, as well as backup cameras. The vehicles also have a second, low frequency siren (Growler) which is becoming the standard for various emergency response vehicles.



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