MONROE — All Monroe Police Department patrol vehicles will be SUVs as of next year, following a nationwide trend in law enforcement. 

The Monroe Common Council approved the purchase of two more Dodge Durango SUVs for the department from the 2020 budget at a meeting Nov. 18. One will be for the incoming K-9 unit. The council previously approved the purchase of four Dodge Durango SUVs on the 2019 budget.

Chief of Police Fred Kelley said his officers are “ecstatic” about the switch to an all-SUV fleet.

“They’ve been asking for these for years,” he said.

The recent purchase approvals will bring the total number of patrol vehicles to nine SUVs. The department also has a van, a Ford sedan for the school resource officer and a couple of pickup trucks.

“We’ve just started probably in the last year converting to a patrol fleet of SUVs,” Kelley said. His patrol officers have driven Dodge Chargers for about a decade and previously used Chevy Impalas.

But the interior design of the Charger has gotten more cramped over the years — at the same time that the amount of technology, gear and equipment officers carry has increased.

“It’s like an office to them,” Kelley said.

Government Fleet, a trade magazine about public sector vehicles and equipment, reported in 2018 that “the need for more cockpit real estate and cargo-area storage” has led many law enforcement agencies to choose SUVs for patrol, and “big patrol vehicles now rule the road.”

The backseat on Chargers is also getting cramped, especially on occasions police have to transport a prisoner longer distances.

“It’s almost a struggle to get them in there. ... and it’s just not right to cram people in there,” he said.

The “pursuit-rated” Durango costs about $2,000 more than the Charger, Kelley said. It has a smaller engine so the gas mileage is similar.

“It was the cheapest (SUV) we could find,” Kelley said. “We also think that when we trade them in, we’ll make that difference back.”

Each Durango is being outfitted with about $3,000 worth of equipment, however this equipment can be switched out into future models, Kelley said. The department trades in its patrol cars about every two years.