TO: Committee of the Whole - Public Safety
FROM: Mayor Angela Birney
DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR CONTACT(S):
Police
Chief Darrell Lowe
425-556-2529
DEPARTMENT STAFF:
Police
Darrell Lowe
Chief of Police
TITLE:
title
Black and White Police Car Paint Scheme
OVERVIEW STATEMENT:
recommendation
Advisement of changing RPD vehicle color scheme from Silver and Blue to Black and White
body
? Additional Background Information/Description of Proposal Attached
REQUESTED ACTION:
? Receive Information ? Provide Direction ? Approve
REQUEST RATIONALE:
* Relevant Plans/Policies:
N/A
* Required:
N/A
* Council Request:
N/A
* Other Key Facts:
The concept of changing the RPD vehicle color scheme was first introduced in December 2019. Information was presented in April 2020. The project was placed on hold due to COVID-19.
OUTCOMES:
The current Redmond Police Department patrol car paint scheme of silver & blue was first adopted in 1983. As part of my efforts to modernize and rebrand the Redmond Police Department, a traditional black & white color scheme for patrol cars is being adopted. An internal survey was conducted, with 90% of the RPD staff in favor of the new paint scheme. The public recognizes police cars as black & white, much like they know fire trucks to be red and Taxi cabs to be yellow. Many of the agencies surrounding Redmond (Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, Renton, New Castle, Woodinville, Bothell, to name a few) have the black & white color scheme. This change will also create something of a psychological force multiplier.
The current silver/blue color scheme costs approximately $2600 per car. Changing to the black and white color scheme will cost roughly $1,000, saving $1600 per vehicle. There is no apparent difference in the life span of the color change. The new design is a vinyl wrap on a black vehicle. This change will also result in higher resale value for the City when the car gets decommissioned. Presently decommissioned cars are not repainted. T...
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