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Police cruisers out of the blue

Retro-style return to black-and-whites

By: Gabrielle Giroday

Posted: 07/29/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

MIKE.DEAL@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Enlarge Image

New police cruiser sports a black-and-silver reflective design for better visibility.

Batman would approve.

The new Winnipeg police cruiser unveiled Wednesday features a bold black-and-silver reflective design to increase visibility.

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Police will roll out the design on the city's approximately 200 marked vehicles. The design is a retro-style return to the black-and-white cruisers of the 1970s and '80s.

Along with bigger, bolder letters spelling out "police" on the cruiser's side, the cars also have a new tag line reading "Building Relationships."

"I've talked a lot about building relationships, it's a really important thing to me and I think to the organization," said Winnipeg Police Service Chief Keith McCaskill.

"I don't think that we can be a successful organization unless we build those relationships with the public we serve... (Officers) build relationships all the time through an informant base, through each other, through all kinds of investigations. If you don't have (those) relationships in a positive way, you can't be successful."

McCaskill stood with other city officials Wednesday to whip a silky blue cover off the debut vehicle with the new design. He said it will gradually cycle into the service's fleet in the coming years as older vehicles are retired.

Cruisers with the former blue-and-white-striped design and cursive "Community Commitment" down the side will still be seen on city streets during the changeover phase.

Officers voted on two prospective designs, both of which had black-and-white designs, but most supported the one debuted Wednesday.

Officials said the idea for a new design began last summer, with officers working with a graphic designer to come up with a suitable look.

Const. Jason Strick, a crime prevention officer with the community relations unit who spearheaded the change, said the reflective quality of the new design will increase visibility of the vehicles.

"When lights will hit it from other cars or streetlights, it will reflect the colour back at the person," he said.

"Whether we're directing traffic, or we're going to a crime scene, whether we're responding to an emergency event, that's what we want the safety for."

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 29, 2010 B3

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