Today the superintendent delivered 40 new patrol vehicles to the districts. By the beginning of 2018 550 vehicles will be on the streets! pic.twitter.com/aPBr91ljly

— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) July 6, 2017

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) has deployed 40 new patrol vehicles and plans to deploy 550 through February 2018. At a press conference, Superintendent Eddie Johnson said this is the largest rollout of department vehicles in over 10 years.

All of the new vehicles are 2017 Ford Police Interceptor Utility vehicles — which are built at Ford’s Chicago plant — and will replace patrol vehicles that are over 10 years old with an excess of 100,000 miles. Each vehicle is equipped with a mobile computer, giving officers access to real-time crime mapping and shots fired alerts, police databases, and electronic crash reports. The vehicles are also equipped with improved emergency lighting, which is expected to boost officer safety.

The vehicles were funded by a $25 million loan, which was approved by Chicago City Council Finance Committee in September 2016, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. At the time, DNAInfo reported that Ford added an additional 1,200 employees and an extra shift at its Chicago plant to meet the demand for Police Interceptor vehicles.

At the same press conference, Bureau of Technical Services Chief Jonathan Lewin said the agency paid about $47,000 per unit, which covers the cost of the vehicle, computer, camera systems, and other equipment. These new vehicles are part of a larger effort to boost CPD's patrol efforts, which include initiatives to hire 1,000 officers over two years and update training and use of force policies.

In addition, the agency plans to redesign its vehicles and invited officers to submit new designs. The new design will appear on the remaining 510 new vehicles.