Arkansas State Police – Low Profile Patrol Units

The Arkansas State Police announced Tuesday the acquisition of 25 new low profile highway patrol vehicles aimed at addressing the dangerous and escalating trend of aggressive driving within the state.

During the 2020 year 641 deaths were attributed to motor vehicle crashes showing an increase of 27% over the previous year. In the same year Troopers stopped 2,030 drivers traveling at 100 miles per hour, or faster, an increase of more than 100% from the same violation a year prior. So far in the 2021 year Troopers have already surpassed that number with 2,381 tickets being issued between January and June for speeds between 100-160 miles an hour.

While the recognizable white sedan with blue stripes will continue to play the primary role in the State Police’s arsenal the addition of the new black Chevrolet Tahoe will also be available. These Tahoe’s are only partially marked with the state police insignia visible from the passenger side.

Colonel Bill Bryant, Director of the Arkansas State Police said regarding these vehicles, “Putting state troopers in non-conventional patrol vehicles to blend unnoticed into traffic is nothing new; we’ve been doing it for more than 20 years. What’s new is the use of a taller vehicle platform like the Tahoe that will offer troopers an improved visual perspective to detect drivers violating distracted driving laws or spotting a vehicle being driven in an aggressive manner that threatens other motorist’s safety.”

The low profile vehicles will be assigned to each of the twelve highway patrol troops across the state and were purchased with federal grant money totaling $1.15 million provided by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.