Hybrid vehicles have been around for many years. Fleets from across the country have replaced traditional administrative vehicles with more fuel efficient hybrids. However, a new trend is starting to develop as hybrids are now being used as full-time police patrol units.  Although hybrids make good sense in an administrative role, are they robust enough for law enforcement purposes? 

Obviously, as new emerging technologies improve hybrid powertrain and battery performance we will see a corresponding increase in patrol usage, but is the current hybrid up to the job?

In order to gain additional perspective, I am asking fleet managers to respond to the following questions:

1. Hybrid vs. conventional patrol units.
     a. How many hybrids are you using as full-time police patrol units?
     b. How long have you been using them in that role?
     c. What percentage of your police patrol fleet is comprised of hybrids?
     d. What vehicle makes/models are you using?
     e. Please indicate if you are using them in specialized K-9 or Traffic Enforcement roles.
     f. Are you using a plug-in hybrid or additional battery packs?

2. Electrical, charging, and battery systems durability.
     a. Have you experienced any difficulties in the vehicle supplying enough power to operate all the equipment at the same time and for long durations?
     b. When the additional electrical loads are placed upon the batteries, does that cause the engine to idle more instead of shutting down when stopped?
     c. With increased current demands to power police equipment, are the batteries lasting as long as the manufacturers say they will.

3. Crash characteristics & officer safety.
     a. Did you experience a marked increase in officer injuries or fatalities as a result of crashes? This includes rear end collisions where the officer or detainee was significantly injured.
     b. If you did have a fatality, did the accident investigators determine that it could it have been a survivable crash had the vehicle been a traditional police car?
     c. Did you notice any problems in gas tank ruptures that led to post crash fires?
     d. Do the doors and windows fail at an increased rate when abusive detainees are placed in the cage?
     e. Did you experience any problems with detainees gaining access to the officer or front driver’s areas through the vehicle cage?

4. Performance and handling.
     a. Rollover or stability problems (especially in high speed cornering).
     b. Problems encountered during vehicle chases.
     c. Problems or accidents related to slower acceleration times.
     d. Does your maintenance team or police officer encounter problems in the vehicles breaking system?

5. Maintenance and repair costs.
     a. Have your auto body or drivetrain accident maintenance costs increased because of the hybrid chassis.
     b. If an officer jumps a curve, does it cause more damage due to the lighter frame or unibody construction?
     c. If you are using front wheel drive hybrids, do you experience increased drivetrain and transmission failures?
     d. Have you been able to extend your preventative maintenance services due to decreased engine run times?

6. Verifiable and measured increases in fuel efficiency.
     a. Most conventional police cars get significantly less mileage because of the increased idle times and larger engines.  However, hybrid vehicles must also run the engine during traffic stops or while on patrol in order to run the air conditioning compressor. Is that making a significant comparative difference in the total fuel savings anticipated on hybrid vs. conventional vehicle use?
     b. What is your estimated annual fuel savings per hybrid and how did you calculate it?

7. Comfort & storage space. The vehicle is the patrolman’s office for eight or more hours per day. It is important that the officer is comfortable and mentally responsive during their entire shift.
     a. Have you notice any officer height or seat position restrictions when using hybrids with detainee cages?
     b. Is there sufficient storage space for the officer’s equipment?
     c. Did you notice any increase in officer complaints about lower back and leg problems?
     d. Are your officers more fatigued at the end of their shift?

8. Return On Investment (ROI).
     a. Hybrids obviously cost more. Did you perform a ROI analysis to determine at what point (if at all) you would you break even had you purchased a conventional police vehicle.
     b. Do you have lifecycle requirements that are different for hybrids vs. conventional vehicles? If so, what are they?
     c. Were you forced to prematurely reassign your hybrids from patrol duty to administrative roles, and if so, at what point in time? Premature reassignment is classified as any length of time that is shorter than the lifespan of a conventional patrol unit.
     d. Did you receive significantly more money when your hybrids were sold at auction at the end of their lifecycle?

Of course if you have any additional thoughts on the subject, please feel free to post your comments. It is my opinion that the concept of hybrids as patrol cars is a vastly foreign concept to most law enforcement fleets, and therefore requires significantly more study and input from actual users before widespread use is determined to be both beneficial and safe.