A Tesla Model 3 has entered service as a police car in the town of Westport, Connecticut, and will be making use of the Tesla security system known as “Sentry Mode” as part of its official capacity.
Sentry Mode is an innovative technology that makes use of the in-built Autopilot cameras that also make up part of a monitoring system designed to help protect Tesla vehicles when parked in public places.
Typically, when Sentry Mode is on it may cause the vehicle to “warn off” people coming too near to the vehicle with potentially nefarious intentions, by detecting them then flashing lights and honking the horn. The cameras also record what is happening around the vehicle and store it on a USB.
Numerous videos captured using Sentry Mode have proliferated on the internet of nefarious perpetrators caught in the act of damaging or breaking into vehicles, and at times have been handed to police as evidence, such as the case of this trio of suspected car thieves that were recently charged on Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia.
The Westport Police Department first bought the vehicle in December 2019 for $US52,000 ($A77,368 converted) – $US15,000 ($A22,317) more than the typical Ford Explorer usually in use in the department.
Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas said at the time, according to a Westport local news site, that he “expects to more than make up for that in fuel and maintenance savings over the life of the vehicle”.
Apparently, it has also saved them some $US3,000 ($A4,463), thanks to the high-tech Sentry Mode.
Koskinas reportedly told a member of the EV Club Connecticut forum how the department sought to use the Sentry Mode cameras for official use.
“With Tesla’s cooperation, the police are using the sentry cameras that come with the Tesla, meaning that they will be spared the approximately $3,000 expense that is normally incurred to add this to a police cruiser,” it was noted by the forum member who shared Koskina’s comments online.
The forum member reports that the Tesla cameras built into the cars are also of superior quality than what the department would usually utilise.
In addition to the savings made with the cameras, the large electric car battery meant there was no need to install an additional 12 volt battery to handle the demands of the extra electrical equipment typical of a police car.
“This means that adding another 12-volt battery to support those items will not be required,” the forum member noted.
Testing by the police after undergoing required customisation showed that the additional load on the battery would not greatly effect the driving range.
“One of the questions about going this route was how much of a reduction in range would be caused by this. And the answer, based on the testing, is that it turns out to be negligible. With today’s technology, such as LED lights, the power drain is small,” notes the forum member.
In addition to the advantageous gains thanks to the Model 3’s electric architecture, the instant torque granted by the electric drivetrain is also considered a “big win” for police and public safety, relays the forum member.
“A speeding driver passes a stationary patrol car. This is a common enough occurrence and the average person may not give it much thought.
“But the police do. The police vehicle has to accelerate rapidly, move into traffic, possibly cross lanes, and drive at a speedier speed than the speeder in order to overtake and then pull over the driver.
“All of which carries with it an increased level of hazard for the officer and the public. With instantaneous EV torque, and of course, Tesla building very fast EVs, less time is needed to reach the offender, and lower average speed is necessary, thus reducing the degree of hazard during these maneuvers.
“This safety advantage of the Model 3 was characterized by the police as a big win,” it was noted.
What does Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk think of all this?
“We have been advised that Elon Musk himself has seen and praised the modification, saying this is what a Tesla Model 3 police vehicle should look like,” the forum member wrote.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.