A new addition to the Belleville Police Service’s fleet is designed to make responding to high-risk calls safer.
The Belleville Police Service recently purchased an armoured Community Rescue Vehicle, designed to keep officers safe when responding to situations involving guns or serving high-risk warrants. Belleville police respond to over 30 calls every year where a vehicle like this could be used to keep officers and the public safer.
Belleville Police Service Inspector in charge of Operations, Jeremy Ashley, said that the vehicle makes it far safer to approach suspects who are armed and barricaded in place, which is a highly dangerous situation for officers to have to respond to.
“If you look at the last dozen warrants that we have done, mostly to do with controlled substances such as drugs, all of them we’re recovering modified handguns, loaded firearms, whether they’re rifles or handguns,” said Inspector Ashley. “The last thing I want is one of my officers coming into contact with one of those suspects that’s armed and not have the tools to protect them.”
Before acquiring the Community Rescue Vehicle, Belleville police officers had to rely on shields like this one for protection when approaching a situation. Photo: Alan-Michael Steele, Quinte News
The Community Rescue Vehicle is based on a Ford F-550 chassis, with the pickup truck body removed and the armoured vehicle body in its place. The use of a normal diesel truck engine in the vehicle makes maintaining the vehicle easier and less expensive.
The interior of the Community Rescue Vehicle seats a maximum of 12, including the driver. Doors are on both sides, the rear, along with both roof and floor hatches. Photo: Alan-Michael Steele, Quinte News.
While they skipped the spinning rims and full leather interior, the vehicle does come with several highly functional additional features. A three-camera array is mounted on the vehicle, providing wide-angle visibility for the occupants from the safety of the armoured interior. Offering nearly complete coverage on all sides, the cameras also include high-zoom lenses, capable of capturing great detail from long distances. The vehicle also comes with a roof hatch, which is armoured, and can be rotated to be used as a shield in whatever direction the officers need.
The vehicle was purchased used at a steep discount from the manufacturer. While a new vehicle like this one would cost between $400,000 and $600,000, the Belleville Police Service paid only $204,000. Of that total, $104,000 was raised through donations and fundraising, bringing the final cost to the service down to $100,000.
“I thought it was wonderful, to have it come in at $100,000, which is less than the price of a cruiser nowadays, was extraordinary,” said Inspector Ashley. “So, how could you not, given the factor of safety that it brings to our service in our community? I think it just made a lot of sense.”
The community rescue vehicle is decked out in subtle Belleville Police Service decals. Photo: Alan-Michael Steele, Quinte News
Besides high risk calls, the Community Rescue Vehicle is planned to make appearances at community events, such as Belleville’s Touch the Truck and community fairs.
