Off-Road Capability is Mandatory for Law Enforcement Vehicles

That law enforcement officers have to travel on and over broken ground isn’t news. What’s sometimes ignored is that almost every jurisdiction has far more types of terrain than can be easily patrolled or responded through with just a traditional patrol vehicle. The one sure thing all agencies can count on is that if they commit to a single type of patrol vehicle, something will eventually happen to show them the folly of their ways.

This article appeared in the November/December issue of OFFICER Magazine. Click Here to subscribe to OFFICER Magazine.

That might be one reason we see so many agencies today converting to SUVs and pickup trucks. Is that transition occurring because fewer sedans are being manufactured for police patrol? Or are fewer sedans being manufactured for patrol because agencies aren’t buying them as much? The answer becomes somewhat academic, and every agency should be taking a look at what type(s) of patrol or response vehicles their agency might be missing. There’s a reason that the utility value of SUVs and pickup trucks is being leveraged more each year.

To discuss and identify needs, we need to start out by identifying the types of terrain in your jurisdiction from most to least common. For jurisdictions that have lots of flat open roads without a lot of curves, the specialized patrol vehicle that has a low center of gravity, wide tire base and plenty of acceleration/speed capabilities might still be necessary. That would depend on the pursuit policy of the agency involved, and it’s worth noting that some agencies may not publish an anti-pursuit policy but avoid pursuits by purchasing under-powered pursuit vehicles.

Interestingly, those same jurisdictions with lots of flat open mostly straight roads usually have plenty of open unpaved space covered with by forest or scrub. If that unpaved ground is hard packed dirt, then a regular patrol vehicle might still work, but if the ground isn’t sufficiently hard, a vehicle with softer suspension and tires would be appropriate. And we shouldn’t forget that there is still a large portion of the United States that is filled with either open terrain, agricultural usage or simple grass and forest lands. Does your agency have the capability to patrol such? What about the parks or other areas in your jurisdiction that you might need to either patrol or respond to/through?

While the increasing use of SUVs and pickup trucks empowers a lot of response capability beyond the usually low-slung patrol sedans, unless they are equipped with four-wheel or all-wheel drive, they may not be any more appropriate for that off-road patrol/response than a sedan.

For true “all terrain” patrol capability, vehicles other than SUVs and/or pickup trucks may be required. In today’s world of vehicle options, the list of possibilities can be quite extensive, and an agency needs to be deliberate in its development of needs and requirements, so the vehicle purchases can be equally deliberate and efficient. To develop that needs and requirements list you should involve your fleet manager, your patrol supervisors, a representative of any dedicated search and rescue personnel your agency has and someone from your special operations team(s).

Vehicles for all terrain capability can be both bigger and smaller than the average patrol vehicle. Assuming that today’s “average” patrol vehicle is either a mid- or full-size SUV or the equivalent-sized pickup trucks, what’s bigger? An ever larger—we’ll refer to it as “oversize,” SUV might be needed to act as a wilderness ambulance or to carry more than a four-person team in addition to their equipment. Think in terms of an upfitted Chevy Suburban or Ford Expedition. Some agencies are still using previously owned Ford Excursions for their size. Unfortunately, using vehicles that are out of production can come with increasing and unreasonable maintenance costs.

If you think of potential vehicles smaller than those mentioned SUVs and pickup trucks, a wide range of possibilities is presented from UTVs, ATVs, three-wheeled and two-wheeled vehicles. Which ones might you need and why?

For any non-paved area, the type of vehicle, type of travel and type of terrain all play a role in what’s necessary. For instance, if the terrain is rocky or sandy, having lower air pressure in your tires is a benefit… but that have to be “aired up” back to standard pressure if you’re going back onto pavement for any period of time. Where Utility Task vehicles are designed for a multitude of uses, including back country rescue or ambulance use, All Terrain Vehicles are more generic in use, not specific to task, and capable of going just as many places as UTVs are. If you don’t need that UTV for a specific task or tasks, an ATV may be the way to go, and may be more cost effective as well.

Assuming that the potential trails your officers might need to travel are too narrow for a UTV or ATV (and that would have to be pretty narrow indeed), you can choose to purchase motorcycles appropriate to the task, mountain bikes and/or electric mountain bikes. The variety of vehicles available today is amazing as compared to a few decades ago. And while not a vehicle, we’d be remiss if we failed to mention that horses are still used far and wide for everything from community relations to patrol to crowd control. A mounted unit has costs unique to it, but versatility of use can make it worth it.

When we consider the variety of vehicles available for law enforcement work today and take a look at how the SUV/Pickup Truck seems to be taking over in the patrol role, we can’t deny that those vehicles perform well at 95% of the tasks they are called upon to perform. Provided they are all- or four-wheel drive, they can handle a variety of terrain just as well as they can “normal” patrol. Navigating the off-road terrain usually requires training, though, formal or otherwise.

There are instructors around the country who train offroad driving and vehicle capabilities. Such training is valuable so that your officers don’t believe their patrol vehicle will do everything they saw a stuntman make it do in their favorite television show. Before they get three feet deep in water or mud or canted too far left or right traversing an obstacle, it would be good to have them properly trained.

Finally, when you consider what type of patrol vehicle you’re purchasing, you have to know what it will carry, beyond the patrol officer(s). The cockpit and passenger compartment are, by default, crowded and predetermined. The backseat is usually dedicated for prisoner/arrestee transport. But what about the storage area in the back? If your agency doesn’t have a list of issued vehicle equipment for that space, you might want to consider creating such. Every patrol vehicle today should have some traditional items (like barricade tape, first-aid kit, etc) and some notquite-so traditional items like an AED, trauma bag full of tourniquets and pressure bandages and maybe some spare ammunition for the patrol handgun or rifle.

The bottom line is that before you buy your next patrol vehicle, you should know the dominant intended use and every piece of equipment you’re going to need to put in or on it. In today’s world, the most cost-effective, well-rounded most versatile vehicle seems to be the SUV or comparable pickup truck.