The Sarnia Police Services Board has approved the purchase of six new fleet vehicles.
Chief Phil Nelson says they will be ordered through the Ontario Police Co-operative Purchasing Group, with funding from the Police Equipment Reserve.
"We have a program in place that we've used for years, where every year we replace so many cruisers ," said Chief Nelson. "They're on a three year program. So this year we're looking at replacing six of those cruisers."
Nelson says once marked cruisers have hit that benchmark, replacement is usually the best option.
"When they get to three years, although they're a police package, there's a lot of wear and tear on them. You don't want to get to a point where you're now spending more money on maintenance to keep a vehicle on the road. There's also a lot of liabilities attached to those vehicles and making sure when they're on the road and operating that everything is safe to do so."
Chief Nelson says unmarked cruisers are replaced less frequently with good quality used vehicles.
"Unmarked units, for criminal investigations, we keep those vehicles four, five, six, seven years."
The estimated cost of the new patrol vehicles, which include post-manufacturing modifications, is $240,000.
