The Kingston, Ontario, Police Department in Canada recently debuted a new vehicle design to the community, as part of the agency's efforts to modernize.

"Members of the Patrol section brought the matter forward to Senior Command outlining that the current design required updating and that a new, and more visible, design would benefit the organization," the department noted in a news release.

Increasing Visibility for Officers

The new design is intended to increase visibility and improve safety for frontline officers. Several of the new vehicles being deployed are larger in stature with a focus on ergonomics and comfort for frontline officers who use the cruisers as their day-to-day mobile workstations.

“Our Patrol members came forward with an idea and the organization listened”, Chief Scott Fraser said. “The new look will modernize our fleet and offer increased visibility which will lead to improved safety. Thank you to our staff for bringing this new look forward”.

The new design will modernize the look of not only frontline cruisers but other vehicles in the fleet as well.

A Look at the New Design

The new design focuses on a simpler and bolder black-on-white combination to maximize visibility on Kingston roadways. The previous design featured red and blue stripes.

Court Services vehicles, which are used by Kingston Police Special Constables for various court related responsibilities, will be clearly identifiable with “Court Services” being displayed on the side of the new vehicles, replacing the standard “Police” lettering.

The new design will be rolled out through natural attrition within the organization, with the vehicle graphics changing as vehicles are replaced on their regular replacement schedule once they reach their end-of-service life.

It's anticipated that the transition will take a few years to replace the entire fleet.

The first cruisers bearing the new design were recently deployed.