Ford Upgrades Police Cars to Include Bulletproof Doors

Ford Upgrades Police Cars to Include Bulletproof Doors

It seems like it is a no-brainer, police cars should be bulletproof. Contrary to popular belief though, the vehicles’ doors have not been totally bulletproof until recently.

Ford Motor Company will soon be upgrading the doors on its Police Interceptor Sedans and SUVs. They’ll be the first in the U.S. to meet the Justice Department’s highest standard for body armor, the equivalent of a bulky SWAT team vest.

Ford has offered factory-installed ballistic panels on its police car doors since 2008, but the previous versions protected from handgun fire and non-armor piercing bullets. The new doors are designed to stop a .30-caliber bullet shot from a high-powered rifle like an AK-47. That is most powerful than most weapons carried by soldiers.

Ford’s ballistic-panels cover most of the door and include two layers. The outside layer is made from ballistic-grade ceramic tile while the second is made from aramid fiber, which is the same material used for Kevelar. The idea is that the bullet would first hit the ceramic, dispersing energy and breaking the bullet into tiny pieces, then as the bullet passes into the fiber, it will catch the shrapnel. The layers are strong enough to hold up even if a bullet hits the same spot twice, a rare occurrence.

The company started working on the new panels when calls started to flood in asking for better protection, particularly from the Middle East and Eastern Europe where armor-piercing bullets are a daily threat.

Because police are often targeted while driving in their cars, any kind of protection is a good idea, but these bulletproof doors just take the cake.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Just as Expected

    GSX produced a wonderful tradeshow earlier this week. Monday was surprisingly strong in the morning, and the afternoon wasn’t bad at all. That’s Monday’s results and asking attendees to travel on Sunday. Just a quick hint, no one wants to give up their weekend to travel and set up an exhibit booth. I’m just saying. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • NOLA: The Crescent City

    Twenty years later we finds ourselves in New Orleans. Twenty years ago the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina forced exhibitors and attendees to look elsewhere for tradeshow floor space. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • Nothing Artificial About this Intelligence

    I have been looking forward to this year’s GSX show in New Orleans, the Cresent City, or if you prefer The Big Easy. It seems like quite a while since we’ve been here. Twenty years ago, ASIS, as it was known then was literally washed out of the city by someone known as Katrina. It is a good thing to come back to NOLA. Read Now

  • From Monitors to Mission Control

    Security Operations Centers (SOC) were once defined by rows of static monitors, each displaying a single feed with operators quietly watching for issues. That model has become obsolete. Incidents evolve too quickly, data comes from multiple locations, and decisions must be made in seconds—not minutes. Read Now

  • New Gas Monkey Garage Venue Uses AI-Enhanced Video Technology

    Gas Monkey Garage, the automotive custom shop and entertainment brand founded by Richard Rawlings of Fast N’ Loud TV fame, has opened a vibrant new restaurant and bar in South Dakota, equipped with advanced, AI-enhanced video tech from IDIS Americas. Read Now

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.