By Mitchell Clarke
Victoria Police has unveiled an all-electric vehicle into its operational fleet, with Casey being one of five regions across the state to utilise the Tesla Model X.
The vehicle, which can go from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds, will be used in highway patrol operational duties in what has been described as possibly “the biggest development in police vehicles since their introduction almost 100 years ago”.
The five-door, five-seat SUV was purchased by Victoria Police at an undisclosed cost as part of a feasibility study into developing fully integrated electric, IT-based police vehicles for fleet use.
The project, which involved the one-off procurement, will see Victoria Police working alongside a range of parties including Tesla engineers, emergency equipment manufacturers and IT and communications technicians to integrate police software into the on-board system of the car.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane said the vehicle will be a fully fitted and functioning Highway Patrol vehicle.
“This vehicle is unlike any other Victoria Police has ever had in its fleet and could well be the future of road policing in this state, country and the world,” AC Leane said.
“Our Highway Patrol cars are equipped with cutting edge technology and this car gives us the opportunity to investigate having these technologies in a fully integrated in-car system which has the potential of streamlining the road policing effort.”
But while the vehicle is being penned as the future of the force, it will undergo constant assessment to determine the suitability of electric vehicles for road policing duties.
“It is important to remember this is a concept vehicle for Victoria Police and we acknowledge that it will produce a number of unique circumstances and will continue to evolve as police software is integrated,” AC Leane said.
“Vehicles are obviously critical to the work we do as they represent the mobile office for many of our frontline police and projects such as these mean that when the switch does inevitably happen, our job of keeping Victorians safe will not be compromised.”
The vehicle was unveiled on Monday 3 June and will be based in Casey, Dandenong, La Trobe, Baw Baw and Wangaratta regions.
