2010 Police Vehicle Design Contest Winners: Part 1 of 7

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2010 Police Vehicle Design Contest Winners: Part 1 of 7

Written by Law and Order Staff
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The 2010 contest was judged based on the integrity of the designs submitted, as well as how each design met the criteria as outlined in the contest guidelines. The response to this year's competition was impressive with more than 300 entries. LAW and ORDER

would like to thank all the departments that submitted entries for the 2010 contest.

JUDGES PANEL:

Deputy Chief Ray Cordell, South Barrington, Ill., Police
Deputy Commander Michael Hamady, Lake County, Ind., Sheriff
Chief Mike Stills, Lake Station, Ind., Police

GRAND PRIZE

Jasper Police Department
Jasper, TX

This D.A.R.E. car is a product of the work of the Jasper community and D.A.R.E. Officer Wanda Brister, who collaborated with several local businesses and community-involved individuals in acquiring and designing the vehicle. Brister uses this attention-grabbing car in her day-to-day work. It aids her in teaching D.A.R.E. not only within the city, but all over Jasper County as well. A joint effort of the City of Jasper Police Department and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, this vehicle boldly portrays the D.A.R.E. message wherever it goes.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS: We love the graphic on the hood. The American flag pattern incorporated in the eagle’s wings is bold and instills a sense of patriotism, and we like how the wings are enveloping the badge. All the graphics are bold and really jump out. This is a beautifully designed vehicle.

Best Ford CVPI

Pickens County Sheriff’s Office
Jasper, GA

Pickens County Sheriff Donnie Craig wanted a patrol car that would show the community that the agency was “Determined to Make a Difference,” which is the agency’s motto. By using white on top of the vehicle and black on the bottom, the new design takes a twist on the traditional black and white color scheme, giving an authoritative yet modern look. The agency’s motto was incorporated into the design, along with the national motto “In God We Trust” and the agency’s Web site. The gold badge and large “Sheriff” graphic clearly identify the car as an official law enforcement vehicle.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS: This vehicle is an interesting and unique interpretation of the black and white color scheme. The coloring makes it non-traditional for a sheriff’s car, yet it is still “old school” and simple.

Best Chevrolet Impala

Shorewood Police Department
Shorewood, IL

The design of the Shorewood PD patrol cars is the product of collective input from the fleet committee and was voted on by members of the department. The design highlights their village colors and six-pointed service star. It also incorporates graphics to demonstrate support of the D.A.R.E. program, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Crime Stoppers of Will County. The design maximizes the use of reflective material throughout to emphasize officer safety and the safety of the motoring public. The village Web site is featured on the back as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to improve communication with citizens.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS: The graphics on this car are really sharp, and we like how the striping emerges from the tire. The green is an interesting color choice. They did a lot with a white car; it really stands out.

Best Dodge Charger

Plainville Police Department
Plainville, KS

When the Plainville PD decided to order 2010 Dodge Chargers, they chose to update their graphics at the same time. They wanted to get the community involved, so they asked the high school’s art students to draw up a new design for all the vehicles. The chief and captain chose the winning design. The color of the body is titanium, while the graphics are in the school colors of black and red. They installed interior emergency lights and refrained from using reflective material to maintain stealth at night. The dark color of the vehicle makes it very stealthy head on, but the large graphics on the side clearly identify it as a police car.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS: The colors of this vehicle blend together nicely; the stripes play well off the gray body. It’s nice how the black and red stripe are differentiated by the thin white outline. This car has a racy look but is very easy to identify as a police car.

Best SUV

Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department
Kalamazoo, MI

In 2008, Sheriff Richard Fuller introduced the first K-9 unit to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department, at which time he also decided to redesign the graphics for the entire fleet. The new fleet sports a black-over-white color scheme and bigger, more modern lettering which is immediately identifiable to citizens. The traditional sheriff’s star appears on both sides of the vehicle, as well as the back. The gold lettering and graphics are highly reflective. “K-9” is featured boldly in gold to incorporate the new unit and to introduce its service to the community.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS: This vehicle’s design is unique and really jumps out at you; it incorporates a lot of graphic. While we would prefer that the sheriff’s star be closer to the front than the rear of the vehicle, we did like the inclusion of the state of Michigan on the back.

Best Rear Warning

Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department
Bismarck, ND

The goal of the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department in designing its fleet was to increase squad car visibility while attempting to decrease expenditures. They decided to go with all-black vehicles and all reflective striping. It was important to the committee in charge of the redesign that the colors of the striping coincide with the colors of the department and that all graphics be made of reflective material to increase public exposure and officer safety. Citizens were allowed to vote between two final design options. The winning design features large, bold reflective striping and lettering that contains a fading effect. The hood design incorporates a star and the date the department was established in 1873.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS: The graphics on the side of this car really stand out. The bright gold striping detail on the rear bumper really pops against the black of the car, and the fade from purple to gold in “Sheriff” is a unique effect.

People's Choice

Herndon Police Department
Herndon, VA

Volkswagen Group of America entered into a partnership with the Herndon PD to create this vehicle. The overall design is intended to portray the department as service-oriented, professional, environmentally friendly and committed to community partnership. The badge on the door and the word “Police” convey a sense of authority, and the blue stripe represents the “thin blue line” that stands in protection of the community. “In Partnership with the Community” appears on the side in script, proclaiming the department’s primary objective of working alongside the community to enhance the quality of life for law-abiding citizens.