Shreveport Police Ask For Over $4 Million to Get New Police Cars

With all the talk of new police stations, you may not have caught all of the news surrounding the Shreveport Police Department this week. Including the request for approval of a plan to purchase dozens of new police cars for the department.

The Shreveport City Council showed support this week for the purchase of 60 new police cars for the Shreveport Police Department. There are multiple reasons behind the fleet enhancement. KSLA-TV spoke with Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith, who shared a few thoughts on why this was important for the city.

Chief Smith expressed his concerns over there not currently being enough vehicles in the department to have a "take home" car for all of the Shreveport Police Department officers who live in the city limits. He hopes to get to a one-per-officer level with their fleet, and believes this is a step towards that.

KSLA also learned from Chief Smith that this will be an important move for the city, because the Police Department are still using some vehicles that are so outdated, its become difficult to find parts and repair. He specifically points out the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (commonly known as a Crown Vic), which were discontinued from production in 2011. The Shreveport Police Department still has some of these in their fleet.

Chief Smith estimates the price for each new police vehicle will be around $70,000. He is basing this estimate off 2024 pricing, so it's possible they could be even more. If the city buys 60 new vehicles at a $70,000 price tag, that will run the city $4.2 million.