$16.8m approved for new police vehicles

The Police vehicle fleet is to receive a boost following a Cabinet decision to commit $16.8m to the 2002/03 police vehicle replacement programme.

Police Minister George Hawkins says the GST-inclusive figure represents an increase of around $230,000 on the 2001/02 capital expenditure allocation of $16.6m.

The funding should allow the purchase of around 484 new vehicles, equivalent to about 19 percent of the current fleet, Mr Hawkins said.

“However, rather than expanding the fleet’s size, the increased funding will enable the average age of police vehicles, and the distance they travel, to reduce,” he said.

Police vehicles currently number 2773, including 2590 owned and 183 leased Highway Patrol vehicles.

The fleet is made up of frontline marked and unmarked patrol vehicles, Traffic Safety, Youth Education and Scene of Crime Officer vehicles, dog units, prison van and command centre special purpose vehicles, and motorcycles.

At the end of the 2002/03 replacement programme, vehicles with odometers reading more than 100,000km should fall from around 55 percent currently to about 37 percent, Mr Hawkins said.

“As well, the average distance police vehicles travel should reduce from around the current figure of 109,000km to around 78,000, representing significant modernisation of the police fleet,” he said.

© Scoop Media