A police commissioner in the UK says his force is struggling to fight crime due to the electric vehicles in its fleet.
The Gloucestershire Constabulary has the UK’s largest electric vehicle fleet with no less than 21 per cent of its 435 vehicles being EVs, consisting of 66 Nissan Leafs and nine Nissan NV200 vans. However, Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, Chris Nelson, says many officers have had to deal with the EVs going flat while on duty.
“I’ve heard lots of problems with officers driving around in electric vehicles trying to find recharging facilities, running out of puff and then having to get another vehicle,” Nelson said as part of a recent police and crime panel. “Although I fully understand and support climate controls, my first priority is to fight crime.”
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“The design options available for electric vehicles for operational uses are not perhaps as advanced as I would like them to be. So, let’s put it like this, I’m cautious about going any further down that road at this stage.”
Nelson added that he didn’t want to see officers run out of power while responding to a road traffic accident with their lights, radio, and heater on.
The British government will ban the sale of new diesel and petrol-powered vehicles by 2030, meaning police forces across the nation have a touch over 7 years to begin establishing fleets of EVs. The Telegraph notes that the increased weight of equipment carried by new police vehicles does impact the range of EVs and that 10 police forces in the UK have yet to purchase any EVs.