MPD FAQs

Advances in LED lighting technology in recent years have allowed us to maintain and improve upon the safety lighting of our vehicles while also simplifying the up-fitting process, decreasing maintenance issues, and increasing the service life, and resale value, of the vehicles. Traditional external light bars and other older technologies require cutting holes in the roof and other areas of the vehicle for wiring and mounting, which can allow moisture in, causing problems and decreasing resale value. 

Installing lighting within prevents this, while also protecting the lighting equipment from the elements, and improves upon fuel economy by removing exterior-mounted equipment that increases aerodynamic drag. This, along with our growing fleet of gas-electric hybrid cruisers, helps to improve overall fleet fuel efficiency and decrease fuel costs. In addition, the interior-mounted lighting weighs less and is significantly cheaper than an exterior-mounted light bar.

In recent years, with input from our community, the Police Review Committee, and our partner organizations, we have reassessed our response to incidents involving persons in a mental health crisis, children and families, and at locations such as private residences and our school campuses, This has emphasized providing support and protection to our partners in mental health crisis response, school staff, and juvenile welfare while also maintaining a lower profile. 

The presence of uniformed officers in a traditionally marked cruiser will often escalate someone in crisis, draw negative attention, or exacerbate a situation, so the ability to be present in a low-key manner can be essential. New lighting technology and lower profile, “soft markings,” enable us to adjust our presence accordingly based on the situation and is just one more tool we have to ensure the safety of our officers, community members, and partner organizations in the field. 

These “soft markings,” which will be installed on each new vehicle, are not as visible in daylight but are incredibly reflective at night. They provide increased retroreflective capability over traditional reflective markings and, combined with new lighting programming that reduces the bright flashing of emergency lighting in dark conditions, actually make nighttime use safer. Officers can activate different lighting modes to make themselves more or less visible depending on the situation, which is a great tool to have. In addition, motor vehicle enforcement for speeding, and other dangerous violations, is one of our most requested activities from our community. Lower profile vehicles enable officers to detect safety violations more effectively than in a traditional marked cruiser which helps improve roadway safety. The simplified markings are also significantly cheaper and wear better than the old designs.