City officials announced the purchase of 51 new police vehicles and a new foam-dispensing fire truck today.
According to officials, the new police units will be used by Newark Police Division precincts as well as for outside employment use.
Twenty-two of the vehicles were purchased through outside employment fees, which are received when Newark Police are paid by vendors for providing safety to construction and street repair projects.
Each of the new cars is equipped with Info-Cop and Automated Vehicle Locator (AVL) computer systems.
Info-Cop provides police officers with access to local, state and federal crime databases, including motor vehicle information, summonses issued and photo images. AVL allows police to automatically determine the geographical location of a vehicle being sought.
The new vehicles being added to the police division’s fleet consist of 19 Ford Explorers, 5 Stealth Ford Explorers, 22 Ford Focuses and 5 Stealth Ford Fusions officials said.
The newly acquired foam-dispensing fire truck is capable of carrying 780 gallons of water, 250 gallons of foam and can pump 1,250 gallons of water per minute.
Purchased through a Federal Port Security grant, the new foam truck will be assigned to Engine 14, located at 69-71 Vesey Street in the East Ward, to maximize response to any of Port Newark’s industrial facilities, highways and rail yards and to the City’s residential neighborhoods.
"In working to make Newark residents safer, I have emphasized deploying the latest and most effective public safety technologies as well as building trust between the police and community and increasing the size of our police force,” Mayor Baraka said.
“I am pleased that the technology inside the new cars gives officers automatic access to crime information that expedites communications and facilitates crime reduction,” Director Ambrose added.
“And acquiring the new foam fire truck through grant funds is an important cost-saving measure. This much-needed purchase has no impact on the city’s budget and the foam truck’s extended capacity and speed will help cut fire resolution times.”
The division is also rolling out a pilot body-worn and dash camera program in the 5th Precinct to facilitate transparency by allowing interactions between police and citizens to be recorded by both audio and video.
The cameras are being donated by Panasonic.
The use of body-worn cameras will ensure that officer to citizen contacts are memorialized for the safeguarding of citizen rights and proper police procedure.
The division is currently installing new cameras in the new 24 marked units to be used by precincts.