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UMASS Police Take Charge With New Dodge Patrol Car

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Posted by: fscpd907

UMass police take charge with new Dodge patrol car



Hayden Marx, Collegian Staff

Posted: 11/10/06

The Police Department of the University of Massachusetts recently purchased an unmarked Dodge Charger - a departure from the usual Ford patrol cars.

"The Fords do have a reputation, but we wanted to try something new," said Chief of Police Barbara O'Connor.

The Charger Police Package debuted at the 2005 New York Auto Show. It is less angular and more compact looking than a traditional police car. The seats are set low like a performance car and give the driver more room than what the view from outside may indicate.

It can be equipped with a Hemi engine, laptop, camera, automated external defibrillator (AED) and other crime scene equipment. The Hemi engines can be outfitted with a multi-displacement system (MDS), which allows the engine to run in a more fuel-efficient mode when its full power is not necessary.

As a first year production model as a police package, the design has not yet been finalized. This is most apparent on the inside, where the add-on features are not as polished or smoothly integrated as the more established police cars. The first change may be to exchange the backseat, which is currently the same as the one in the civilian model, for a hard bench like those in the back of most police cars.

Police Officer Allen Silva first saw the Charger at a police show outside of Boston. It proved popular there, and several area police stations bought cars.

Silva described the car as sturdy and said it works well as a police package. He said that the car cost them several thousand less than their Ford counterparts in part because of what comes standard.

He also said he found the MDS to be useful when on patrol. According to Silva, the other cars use one-fourth of a tank on a standard patrol, while the Charger only goes through one-sixth.

"It was a surprise to me to see that much fuel," said Silva.

UMass police is currently using the Charger for traffic work as well as other work that benefits from some discretion. Silva says the car has also been used for drug and noise violations. According to Officer Jeff Skinner, the car can be useful for these calls because it sometimes helps to have something that isn't obviously a patrol car.

"It's nice because certain types of calls you're going to want to go to without calling a lot of attention," said Skinner.

The car's durability is still being studied. Police work puts a lot of stress on vehicles and their equipment. O'Connor described the modern police car as a moving office because of the amount of equipment carried in them.

How well the equipment holds up is very important because the UMass Police Department does in-house repairs and self-insures.

"Fortunately, we don't have a lot of cruiser accidents," said O'Connor. "We've been very fortunate over the years."

This may be why the Ford Motor Company, once synonymous with law enforcement vehicles, has begun to lose sales to other companies. Ford has come under attack because of the location of fuel tank in its Panther line of cars. In these cars, which include the Crown Victoria, the fuel tank is located in the car's rear crumple zone.

In a car crash these areas are designed to compact to reduce the severity of crash impact. This design has been faulted with fuel tank explosions and fires. Although Ford has come out with a shield designed to protect the fuel tank, it is unknown whether or not they will fully regain the trust they once held.


Posted by: brkfldpo

Umass Police............. always on the cutting edge.

Good job Allen.

p.s. The charger still don't beat that police pickup truck of yours though.


Posted by: Andy0921

mopar dont go far


Posted by: j809

This is my summer ride. Would make a nice cruiser



Posted by: Andy0921

This is a cool cruiser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PClPc1uKB9g


Posted by: j809

Weak, not a Roush.


Posted by: Andy0921

How much HP yours got?


Posted by: j809

340 now, with charger in spring 465 and with new pulleys and injectors from Saleen, 550


Posted by: Andy0921

Nice


Posted by: ferus fidelitas

is there REALLY a true need for such a car on a college campus ? That many high speed chases ?? . Positively No ....What a waste of our tax dollars - a Toyota Camry would be far more reasonable and reliable on a campus... I feel ripped off by the State for such a needless squandering of our tax dollars - money taken away from our families -what a needless waste - There is no need for a muscle car on a campus.. look at the reliability records of the Dodge and a Toyota....it's all about being pragmatic -Talking to the wrong crowd here though - it's all about looking cool to some of you- wait til you are trying to support a family... being pragmatic will then matter more than ego - btw I feel the same way about Sheriff Dept vehicles.. Municipal and State Police can justify a need for Crown Vics and the Dodge Charger - no one can convince me of that same need for such a powerful car on a campus... tax dollars wasted on the vehicle and fuel to operate it.


Posted by: sgt128-13

I could be wrong... but the article did say that the charger was less expensive and more fuel efficient than the crown vic


Posted by: Gil

Quote:
Originally Posted by ferus fidelitas
is there REALLY a true need for such a car on a college campus ? That many high speed chases ?? . Positively No ....What a waste of our tax dollars - a Toyota Camry would be far more reasonable and reliable on a campus... I feel ripped off by the State for such a needless squandering of our tax dollars - money taken away from our families -what a needless waste - There is no need for a muscle car on a campus.. look at the reliability records of the Dodge and a Toyota....it's all about being pragmatic -Talking to the wrong crowd here though - it's all about looking cool to some of you- wait til you are trying to support a family... being pragmatic will then matter more than ego - btw I feel the same way about Sheriff Dept vehicles.. Municipal and State Police can justify a need for Crown Vics and the Dodge Charger - no one can convince me of that same need for such a powerful car on a campus... tax dollars wasted on the vehicle and fuel to operate it.
I agree that there is no need for UMASS to have a stang in their fleet but suggesting a Toyota? They still need to transport prisoners and would need something with a little more room than a Toyota.


Posted by: ODIE16

I had a Toyota a few years ago and I will admit that there was not much room in the back seat, however the trunk was very roomy. Transporting students in there would not be a problem.


Posted by: j809

Quote:
is there REALLY a true need for such a car on a college campus ?
Have you ever seen UMASS Amherst campus? It's a city, over 38000 population.


Posted by: Andy0921

Quote:
Originally Posted by sgt128-13
I could be wrong... but the article did say that the charger was less expensive and more fuel efficient than the crown vic
We built one with the hemi fully loaded and it was about 32k..Went with the fully loaded crown vics 28k..


Posted by: ferus fidelitas

how far do they need to transport a prisoner ? not much room in the rear of a crown vic with the cage either... my tax dollars matter more to me than some kid's brief discomfort.


Posted by: 209

Quote:
Originally Posted by ferus fidelitas
how far do they need to transport a prisoner ? not much room in the rear of a crown vic with the cage either... my tax dollars matter more to me than some kid's brief discomfort.
I arrested a 50yr old man 6'2" last week and he had the nerve to say that it was a tight fit for him getting into the back of our Ford Expedition. I couldn't believe it there is an enoromus amount of room back their. I told him that this was the luxury model, he could have be stuffed in to the back of an Impala with plastic seats. ( yeah we have the cushy leather imatation seats.)


Posted by: HELPMe

Quote:
Originally Posted by ferus fidelitas
is there REALLY a true need for such a car on a college campus ? That many high speed chases ?? . Positively No ....What a waste of our tax dollars - a Toyota Camry would be far more reasonable and reliable on a campus... I feel ripped off by the State for such a needless squandering of our tax dollars - money taken away from our families -what a needless waste - There is no need for a muscle car on a campus.. look at the reliability records of the Dodge and a Toyota....it's all about being pragmatic -Talking to the wrong crowd here though - it's all about looking cool to some of you- wait til you are trying to support a family... being pragmatic will then matter more than ego - btw I feel the same way about Sheriff Dept vehicles.. Municipal and State Police can justify a need for Crown Vics and the Dodge Charger - no one can convince me of that same need for such a powerful car on a campus... tax dollars wasted on the vehicle and fuel to operate it.
Amherst is a city and will put this car to good use. I would rather have a department that over equipped me and got us state of the art cutting edge equipment then hand me downs and cheapo's. Also what town or city uses toyota? Not any that i know of maybe ass backwards vermont. Just because it says toyota doesnt mean its never going to break down or get sh!tty gas mileage. Its a car that is driving 24/7 on city driving no matter what car you have its going to have excessive wear and tear and poor fuel economy due to the driving conditions.

I am sure you would prefer all campus cops to drive around with amber light bars in geo metro's so your tax dollars can be spent on capital hill on more frivolous things. If your worried about your tax dollars more then officer safety and equipment then you have a problem. I would rather bitch about the "big dig" then police officers getting good equipment as a wasteful spending of tax dollars.

This guy just doesnt get it. He thinks of our profession as some slack job for retired cops that just want to collect a paycheck.


Posted by: kwflatbed



You Asked



Posted by: brkfldpo

Quote:
Originally Posted by HELPMe
Amherst is a city and will put this car to good use. I would rather have a department that over equipped me and got us state of the art cutting edge equipment then hand me downs and cheapo's. Also what town or city uses toyota? Not any that i know of maybe ass backwards vermont. Just because it says toyota doesnt mean its never going to break down or get sh!tty gas mileage. Its a car that is driving 24/7 on city driving no matter what car you have its going to have excessive wear and tear and poor fuel economy due to the driving conditions.

I am sure you would prefer all campus cops to drive around with amber light bars in geo metro's so your tax dollars can be spent on capital hill on more frivolous things. If your worried about your tax dollars more then officer safety and equipment then you have a problem. I would rather bitch about the "big dig" then police officers getting good equipment as a wasteful spending of tax dollars.

This guy just doesnt get it. He thinks of our profession as some slack job for retired cops that just want to collect a paycheck.

Amen HELPMe. I agree. I have a relative who works at Umass Amherst PD. I have met the officers, and I have seen the campus. During the school year they have a population of over 40K. These officers all really squared away. Some of their backgrounds and previous police agency employments are impressive. If I had a child attending a college I would want this PD at the helm. This department is not a campus security agency, but a bonafide police department with full arrest and chapter 90 powers. I have seen some of their equipment and am very impressed, although I believe that are in need of a larger, more modern police station.


Posted by: Andy0921

I would rather walk my beat than be in a Toyota.


Posted by: House

that guy is worried about his tax dollars? i'm pretty sure UMass, like every other department in the state, has a set budget to use. they can spend that budget on whatever equipment they want, whether it's a crown vic, a charger, or that stupid camry idea. last time i checked, our tax bills didn't go up simply because UMass bought a charger. good for them, go get 'em UMass. Check your tax bill bud... if yours happens to have a charge on it for one $30,000 dodge sent to UMass, then I'll stand corrected.


Posted by: Mitpo62

Our chief asked for 10 new cruisers and we received 2. Well, its better than nothing I suppose. No Chargers; same ole' CV.


Posted by: trel

granted amherst is a huge campus, and they do need a large budget, but look at the run down cars the other UMass Police Dept are driving


Posted by: HELPMe

Quote:
Originally Posted by kwflatbed



You Asked
What state is that FL? If i was that deputy i would be hiding my face. I mean i have seen some departments in FL use contours etc and that was bad enough but to use a foreign car to do policing is sad enough without the fact its a prius.


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Posted by: ferus fidelitas

waste of money for a college campus - period


Posted by: Mongo

Quote:
Originally Posted by ferus fidelitas
waste of money for a college campus - period
Ya it wouldn't be pragmatic would it deputy dog.


Posted by: 94c

I heard the sheriff's department are getting Chargers.


Posted by: Mitpo62

Quote:
Originally Posted by HELPMe
What state is that FL? If i was that deputy i would be hiding my face. I mean i have seen some departments in FL use contours etc and that was bad enough but to use a foreign car to do policing is sad enough without the fact its a prius.


</IMG></IMG>
My last year in FL 92-93) our department "experimented" with a different cruiser package. They picked up a dozen or so Ford Taurus'. Now that was an interesting cruiser. Leg room was nil with the cages, plus front wheel drive handled completely different from the rear wheel drive. It was a small bump in the road in an otherwise great department.


Posted by: daxxkid

Sweet, I'm hopping to see more of those in all the departments, sharp looking car


Posted by: Andy0921

Quote:
Originally Posted by daxxkid
, sharp looking car
First of all it's a DODGE MOPAR don't go far!

This what someone wrote on ConnCops:

"I havent personally driven our charger yet, its still getting equipped, i guess the cages are backordered. I have sat in it, and at 6'4 its quite cramped, and im not too fond of the small windows. The deep bucket seats make it tough to get out quickly, and i think with the cage in it, its gonna be tough to even fit a smaller person in the back."


Posted by: csauce777

Quote:
Originally Posted by 94c
I heard the sheriff's department are getting Chargers.
lol...


Posted by: 4ransom

Quote:
Originally Posted by 94c
I heard the sheriff's department are getting Chargers.
Geeze, I hope not...




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