Saanich Police cruisers named ‘Best Dressed’ by national magazine

No fashion crimes here.

Awards season is underway and a Greater Victoria police department is receiving praise, ranking first on a Canadian law enforcement magazine’s best-dressed list.

The Saanich Police Department (SPD) took the top honour from Blue Line Magazine’s 2022 ‘Best Dressed’ Police Vehicle Awards – an annual list “showcasing innovative, sustainable and effective designs.”

When combing through contenders, Blue Line says it looks for “clear identification, graphic designs that enhance visibility, elements that show directionality of travel and effective integration of equipment and controls.”

The gold win comes as SPD introduces a new design on its 2019 Dodge Charger police cruisers, sporting navy-blue and white colours that honour cruisers of the past.

They also feature a Canadian flag, replica police badge and reflective markings, all helmed together by the detachment’s motto, “Keeping Saanich Safe since 1906”.

In his awards submission, Deputy Chief Gary Schenk told Blue Line that a volunteer committee of 12 was responsible for creating the design, which also included traffic collision analysts who added “insight on ways to increase the safety of the design through high visibility graphics.”

In a tweet last week, SPD said it was “honoured to be named Blue Line Magazine’s 2022 Best Dressed Police Vehicle!”

“Thanks for the award … and congrats to all the other best-dressed vehicles this year!” the detachment added.