For the second time in less than a year Toronto Police have introduced an updated cruiser, this time with more fanfare.
Chief Mark Saunders pulled up the rear of the service's College St headquarters in the new model on Monday to show it off to reporters, new car smell and all.
The design is the byproduct of some 18,600 responses to a survey asking for input on police vehicles launched in April.
There had been public outcry in the fall as grey-on-grey cruisers hit the streets without notice. Critics complained the new look made police vehicles hard to identify or that they conveyed aggression. Saunders paused the rollout of the all-grey cruisers in November.
Saunders said Monday that he doesn't believe the initial model was a mistake but that people have now had a chance to be heard and help craft the new design.
"I hope it communicates professionalism. It's got great style to it. And I hope that it's visible enough that the public will not have any concerns with identifying...a marked police car if one of them's driving down the streets."
The Chief rejects the idea that a new look is related to an attempt at a change of culture with Toronto Police.
The service says some 550 vehicles will get the makeover over the next five years as new cars are brought in to replace ones at the end of their useful life and that this will not come at any added expense. Spokesperson Meaghan Gray says at this point there is no plan to revamp the grey-on-grey cruisers deployed between September and November 2016 so you may see them in action for years to come.
Police say the cost of the cruiser survey and analysis was covered by the existing police budget.
Siobhan Morris / NEWSTALK 1010