Particle.news

Download on the App Store

L.A. County Sheriff Begins Patrol Fleet Overhaul With 280 New SUVs, Pursuit Trucks

The move targets safety, reliability, sustainability after years of heavy use.

Image
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – OCTOBER 30: Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca gives a speech at the 15th Annual Awards and Benefit Luncheon for Friendly House on October 30, 2004 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. Friendly House is one of the nation’s first residential treatment homes for women recovering from alcohol and substance abuse. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

Overview

  • Officials said 280 black-and-white SUVs are being deployed, with 25 already assigned and 48 configured as hybrid patrol units.
  • More than 300 new vehicles are part of the rollout overall, including 10 pursuit-rated Ford F-150 Responder pickups, two for K9 operations and eight for mountain patrol stations.
  • New patrol units feature collision-avoidance technology, brighter LED visibility lighting and low-frequency sirens designed to improve response and reduce crashes.
  • The department cites a heavily worn fleet of nearly 2,000 vehicles, with over 1,100 older than eight years, more than 700 past 100,000 miles and about 400 Crown Victorias still in service.
  • Recent additions of 20 court-transport buses cut missed-court incidents to about three per week, 14 more buses are on order, and EV pilots are testing seven F-150 Lightnings and 13 Mach-Es for non-emergency roles.