The RCMP has taken another step on its path toward "greening" its fleet of vehicles by putting a hybrid pursuit-capable police vehicle on the road in Canmore, Alta.
"It's the first of its kind in Canada,
" says Andres Casimiri, the RCMP's national manager of moveable assets. "And it's a logical buy for us as we move towards meeting federal targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"
The RCMP has already been using hybrid vehicles for years for administrative purposes.
The Canmore police hybrid, which has been on the road since October, is one of 80 Ford Police Interceptor Utility vehicles that have been purchased recently by the national police force.
S/Sgt. Ryan Singleton, detachment commander, is happy to see the vehicle in Canmore, located about 80 km west of Calgary.
"This aligns perfectly with the goals we're trying to promote,
" says Singleton. "The environment and reducing carbon emissions is important to this community as well as the RCMP. This vehicle serves as a visible and strong example of those the efforts being made by the RCMP and Canmore detachment, but there's no doubt it's a police vehicle.
"
Hybrid vehicles use an electric and a gasoline motor. At lower speeds – particularly in business or residential areas – the electric motor can do the work.
"Driving in the town or when I'm stopped at a light you can hardly hear the engine,
" says Cst. Spartak Goryachev.
But when more power and speed is required – a must for any police vehicle – both engines work together.
"When we need to get going, it can move very well,
" says Goryachev. "It does have a lot of torque. They are powerful – that's a real issue when it comes to policing.
"
Singleton says there is a lot of interest in the Hybrid vehicle.
"It's one of the first vehicles that has members grabbing the keys and signing it out at the start of their shift,
" he jokes.
The vehicle also features a new dash layout that provides more space for movement around the front seat, an alert system to warn officers of a potential threat and an onboard system that monitors speed, idling time, harsh acceleration or braking, fuel consumption and more.
In the months and years ahead, the RCMP will be purchasing more hybrids and monitoring the development of electric vehicles as they work toward meeting Canada's net zero greenhouse-gas-reduction targets by 2050 for the federal fleet.
"To think about electric we have to think about the infrastructure available to support these vehicles, like the availability of, or building, recharging stations,
" says Casimiri. "There are also issues about their production and demand, but in the short term the Ford hybrid will be a staple of our green fleet as we move forward.
"