UK Police Commissioner Says Their Electric Cars Are Running Out Of Power Before Reaching Emergencies

UK Police Commissioner says their electric car fleet are running out of power before reaching emergencies.

The Gloucestershire Constabulary has the largest fully electric fleet in the UK after adopting 75 EVs back in 2020.

The EVs, consisting of 66 Nissan Leafs and nine Nissan NV200 vans, make up about 21% of their 435 vehicles.

Police forces in UK are currently trialling different EVs to know the most reliable ahead of UK 2030 target ban ICE sales.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, Chris Nelson, says his force is struggling to fight crime because the electric vehicles in its fleet are running out of power before reaching emergencies.

The Gloucestershire Constabulary has the largest fully electric fleet in the UK after adopting 75 EVs back in 2020. The EVs, consisting of 66 Nissan Leafs and nine Nissan NV200 vans, make up about 21% of their 435 vehicles.

Nelson said :

“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.

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“I’d like to see more operational choice so that, for instance, if an officer is out in a rural area on a road traffic accident and his lights are one, his radio is on, his heater is on, I wouldn’t want him to run out of power for all of those different facilities, simply because he or she is in an electric car.

“I’ve heard lots of problems with officers driving around in electric vehicles having problems trying to find recharging facilities. Running out of puff and then having to get another vehicle.

“So, although the world is going down that road and I fully understand and support climate controls and green areas, it’s definitely an important thing but my first priority is to fight crime. And therefore, I have to take the operational effect into account.”

Police forces and other fast response services are currently trialling different EVs to know the best and most reliable ones ahead of the UK government’s 2030 target to move to 100 per cent ultra-low emission new vehicle sales.

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