NCJ Number
49340
Date Published
1978
Length
84 pages
Annotation
A SUMMARY OF NILECJ'S POLICE PATROL CAR PROGRAM IS PRESENTED. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM WERE TO IMPROVE POLICE PATROL CAPABILITIES, UTILITY, SAFETY, ECONOMY, AND PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH MODIFICATION OF POLICE CRUISERS.
Abstract
A PROGRAM SUMMARY IS PRESENTED, INCLUDING DISCUSSIONS OF THE PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT, FIELD TEST PROGRAMS, VEHICLE CONFIGURATION IMPROVEMENT STUDIES, TEST SITE SELECTION, AND PROGRAM TERMINATION. THE SYSTEM DESCRIPTION COVERS MEASURES TAKEN TO IMPROVE ECONOMY, TO PROVIDE NECESSARY EMERGENCY WARNING AND SAFETY SYSTEMS, AND TO ADD CAPABILITIES FOR IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY. THE DEVELOPMENT, FABRICATION, AND BENCH TEST OF THE PROTOTYPE ARE DETAILED, ALONG WITH THE INTEGRATION OF ALL COMPONENTS AND SUBSYSTEMS INTO THE PROTOTYPE VEHICLE. THE RESULTING PROTOTYPE VEHICLE WAS OF COMPACT SIZE AND WAS SUCCESSFULLY RETROFITTED WITH FUEL AND DRIVER AIDS, IMPROVED BRAKES, UPDATED SEAT AND RESTRAINT SYSTEMS, AND SOPHISTICATED MICROPROCESSOR-CONTROLLED DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS, DISPLAYS, AND DATA SYSTEMS. THE PLANNING AND SELECTION OF A FIELD TEST CONTRACTOR AND THE SUBSYSTEM COMPONENTS TO BE TESTED ARE DISCUSSED, AS ARE THE DATA SOURCES AND ANALYSIS. TWENTY VEHICLES WERE SELECTED FOR RETROFITTING, TESTING, AND EVALUATION IN ACTUAL POLICE OPERATIONS IN NEW ORLEANS, LA., AND DALLAS, TEX. VEHICLE CONFIGURATION IMPROVEMENT STUDIES CONCERNING THE DESIGN OF IMPROVED BODY CONFIGURATIONS ARE NOTED, FOLLOWED BY A STUDY OF A VEHICLE LOCATION SYSTEM AND AN ASSESSMENT OF DRIVE-TRAIN SYSTEMS FOR DUAL-MODE PERFORMANCE. A BIBLIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PROTOTYPE AND SYSTEM COMPONENTS, AND TABULAR DISPLAYS ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)