Duxbury Police Purchase Hybrid Patrol Vehicles

The Duxbury Police Department recently took delivery of its first marked Ford Police Interceptor patrol vehicle with a hybrid powertrain. We are expecting to receive one more hybrid unit within the next week or so. Our plan, going forward, is to add three more hybrid units during the 2024 fiscal year. The new hybrid Police Interceptor has the power and safety features of a traditional all gas cruiser but produces a fraction of the emissions. They are viewed as the potential future centerpiece of modern law enforcement fleets.

The vehicles are expected to greatly reduce the Duxbury Police Department’s overall fuel consumption due to reduced engine idling time and increased fuel economy when compared to conventional gasoline engines. Each new hybrid 2022 Ford Police Interceptor Utility is expected to save at least 1,829 gallons of fuel per unit per year, resulting in significant cost savings. With today’s rising cost of fuel, the savings is close to $7,000 per unit per year. In addition to significant cost savings, the hybrid vehicles will help the Duxbury Police Department and the Town of Duxbury reduce their carbon footprint. Each hybrid cruiser used by a police department is projected to result in 32,000 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year, according to Ford Motor Corp. During a normal shift, police vehicles must constantly be kept running to power things such as emergency lights, radios, and computers. Further, climate control must remain on for much of the time to protect the valuable electronics within the patrol vehicles. The recently purchased hybrid patrol vehicles are specially designed to be able to power electronics, emergency lighting, and climate control using a lithium-ion hybrid battery with only intermittent running from the engine to top off the battery. It is our hope that the hybrid model police interceptor will withstand the demands of an everyday police cruiser. If they perform well, our long-term goal for the Police Department is to replace any outgoing gas vehicles with Ford hybrid Police Interceptors.

Chief Stephen R. McDonald