Police waste £1.5m on electric cars that aren’t fast enough

Police have spent millions of pounds on electric cars they admit are useless for chasing suspects or rushing to help victims.

Forces around the country have bought at least 448 environmentally-friendly vehicles to help them meet green energy targets.

But almost all of the cars and vans are being used in non-emergency situations or by chiefs to get to work.

Official police reports conceded that electric vehicles cannot meet the demands of urgent response or pursuit driving. They take too long to charge up to be ready for 999 calls and could run out of battery before a shift ends.

The forces have spent millions of pounds on the vehicles but admit they are useless for chasing suspects or rushing to help victims. (Stock image)

Tory backbencher David Davies, who is a former special constable, said: ‘Police bosses need to show a bit of common sense. 

I’ve been in a police car on many occasions when an emergency call has come in. You can’t predict what is going to happen and so they need to be very careful when using electric cars.’

Figures from 30 of the country’s 46 police forces show they have bought or leased 448 green vehicles with many more on order. They have together spent at least £1.49million, according to details obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The true costs will be far higher as several forces refused to say how much they had spent.

Scotland Yard has 134 green vehicles and wants to make its entire fleet green by 2050, in part to avoid having to pay London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s daily £12.50 Ultra Low Emission Zone charge.

The Metropolitan Police has bought dozens of ‘ultra low emissions non-response cars’ from BMW, Mitsubishi and Toyota.

But it had to get more diesel vehicles for high-speed chases. An internal report admitted: ‘The market has not yet sufficiently matured to offer alternatively fuelled vehicles capable of meeting the MPS requirements for the role of pursuit cars.’

A report by Staffordshire Police states: ‘Vehicles that are less damaging to the environment are struggling to cope with the arduous needs of emergency service; autonomous driving and safety systems are not conducive to pursuit or response driving.’ 

Kent Police, which has two Nissan Leafs and a BMW i3, admits in an annual survey: ‘Plug-in electric cars do not have adequate range and they take too long to charge up which is a significant challenge.’

According to the reports, the vehicles take too long to charge up to be ready for 999 calls and could run out of battery before a shift ends. (Stock image)

Thames Valley Police, which has 25 green vehicles, said: ‘The greatest challenges will come from the ability to match advances in vehicle related technology to operational requirements.’

It has warned that the demands of tactical pursuit and containment – ways of ending a high-speed chase – would clash with ‘autonomous braking’ technology, just as caps on maximum speed would inhibit emergency response. 

In addition ‘day running lights’ on modern models would undermine ‘surveillance requirements’.

Devon and Cornwall Police has decided against making its fleet all-electric because of the high cost and battery limitations. 

It has spent £80,000 on four green vehicles used as general pool cars. It said: ‘It has been recognised that an early adoption approach is unlikely to be cost effective until the range of lithium ion batteries improves and costs stabilise.’

Tim Rogers, spokesman on pursuits for the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: ‘The public does not need to worry about police not being able to get to them because their cars have run out of battery.

‘It would be remiss of anyone managing a vehicle fleet to restrict themselves that way – they are still able to use other vehicles.’ 

The police force has bought at least 448 environmentally-friendly vehicles to help them meet green energy targets. (Stock image)