‘They’ve become impractical’: Saskatoon police phasing out cars

The Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) is phasing out its sedans in favour of sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

“They’ve become impractical for policing,” said SPS deputy chief Mitch Yuzdepski.

He noted, it’s a matter of capacity.

“If you look at the size, the difference between the two is noticeable,” he said. “Even trying to get someone we’ve arrested into the back – it’s really about safety.”

0:20 Saskatoon Police Service show how little space is in the back of a sedan

Police said when you factor in the amount of equipment in the vehicles, and gear members need to wear, space is limited.

“There’s the laptop computer, there’s firearms, there’s the siren,” Yuzdepski said. “We have transitioned to electronic ticketing, so there’s actually little printers in the cars. It becomes more and more difficult to operate out of that kind of vehicle.”

Yuzdepski said the long-term health of the officers has to be considered as well, adding “you can imagine these are mobile offices.”

“If you are sitting in a space that is completely uncomfortable, or completely impractical, we have to be concerned about back injuries and things like that,” he said.

0:15 Saskatoon Police Service compare space in SUV

There are 40 marked units in the SPS fleet – eight of which are sedans.

Yuzdepski said they stopped ordering them a few years ago.

The cars will be used until the end of their service life which is five years or 200,000 KM.