City's Finest Gets Charged Up

With Glen Cove's Cruise Car Night attracting a slew of car enthusiasts to the city each week, Bridge, School and Glen streets often look similar to a scene from "The Fast and the Furious" film series. 

And the Glen Cove Police Department recently became a part of the trendy car atmosphere that has hit the city as of late, with the addition of a 2010 Dodge Charger to its apparatus, which is attracting lots of attention from the public. 

The Charger, GCPD's Deputy Chief Robert MacDonald explained, was purchased last November and it replaced one of the department's Crown Victorias, which had gathered a lot of miles due to years of traffic patrols. It was paid for with $20,000 made from the sale of three motorcycles that were not getting much use.

Although the Charger fascinates onlookers because of its modern appearance, MacDonald said, the vehicle is a tool that the department has used to strengthen its traffic law enforcement. For months, city officials said, the Charger had been worked on, additions and adjustments were made, until it was put on the road around the beginning of May.

The main alteration was the installment on the front and back ends of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR or LPR), a device that uses radar to read license plates on cars as they pass and then it runs a check to verify whether the cars are stolen or if they have smaller infractions such as expired insurance, unpaid parking tickets and other issues. It is used by police throughout the country.  

The GCPD acquired its LPRs from a grant through the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services' Operation IMPACT, which is described on its Web site as a means to support "strategic crime-fighting and violence reduction initiatives in the 17 counties outside of New York City ..." Before being added to the Charger, the LPR was operating on the old Crown Victoria.

"If somebody speeds by, we'll be able to catch them," MacDonald said, adding that the car has served as a "great deterrent" because its appearance has caused drivers to slow down right after they see it.

The LPR has also provided empirical results for the city, increasing the impounding of cars 10 fold, from a yearly average of 75 to 750 in 2009.

"It's a great tool to get vehicles that do not belong on the road, off the road," MacDonald said.

In the Michigan State Police's annual Vehicle Evaluation last September, Chargers beat the three other models, Ford's Crown Victoria Interceptor, Chevy's Tahoe, and Chevy's Impala, in all three speed categories. Together, these make up the four main types of cars driven by police officers throughout the country.

According to the Policefleet Manager, a periodical published in Waukeegan, Ill, Chrysler will sell 15,000 2010 Chargers to police forces, constituting 25 percent of the police vehicle market.

MacDonald said the GCPD may look into buying more in the future, but has no intention of substituting the rest of its Crown Victoria patrol cars with a fleet of Chargers.