BY DARRELL HALEN

Windham’s police cars are going to get a new look.

Gerald Lewis, the town’s police chief, intends to change the color of his department’s cars from white to black and white.

But it’s not likely going to happen overnight.

Instead, the change will occur over the next few years.

Lewis said one reason for the change is to bring cars back to law enforcement’s tradition of using black and white. Many departments, he said, started to use white cars in the 1980s. 

One of the reasons for that was a desire by police to have a softer appearance following the Rodney King beating incident involving some members of the Los Angeles police force.

But following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and concerns about homeland security, there has been an effort to standardize the appearances of public safety vehicles, Lewis said.

“We were all doing the same thing but doing it our own way,” he said.

Homeland Security recommends that fire apparatus be red and police vehicles be black and white. That way, in major incidents, it will be apparent which vehicles are police cars.

Another reason for changing colors, Lewis said, is because white vehicles blend in with snow. Police vehicles should contrast with surroundings, he said.

And because not everyone understands English, Lewis said, it’s important that people can differentiate police cars from other vehicles, such as utility vehicles.

Customarily, Windham’s police department replaces two vehicles with high mileage and engine hours every year. Now, when the white cars go out, the black and white cars will come in.

It will probably take four years for the fleet to completely change over, although Lewis said it’s possible all vehicles could be painted at one time to their new colors. But that’s not something he has money for in his budget.

Cars are usually replaced when they reach around 90,000 miles. It costs around $24,000 to purchase and equip a new vehicle, said Town Administrator David Sullivan.