The Chicago Police Department is bolstering its fleet with 500 hi-tech cop cars by early 2018, and the first allotment of those cars will be delivered Thursday, according to DNAInfo.
The new Ford Interceptors and Interceptor Utilities are being built in the Ford Assembly Plant right in Chicago. The addition of these new police vehicles has a total project cost of $25 million, according to the report.
The new patrol cars will include advanced crime-fighting technology that will help CPD fight the increase in crime across the city, focusing attention in Englewood and Harrison. Both areas have already been equipped with ShotSpotter and Strategic Decision Supports Centers to get a better jump on violent activity. CopSpotter triangulates the location of a gunshot the second it happens and SDSC allows cops to work closely with crime analysts to optimize patrols.
Transferring similar technologies to inside the patrol car, the new Ford Interceptors and Interceptor Utilities will be connected to live cameras, real-time crime mapping, new emergency lighting packages and even criminal databases.