Why would the Presque Isle Police Department want people to know what its new unmarked pickup truck looks like?
After Chief Matt Irwin posted a photo of the department’s relatively new $24,000 unmarked truck on Facebook, several commenters wondered essentially, isn’t the point of an unmarked police vehicle for law enforcement to remain “undercover”?
Not quite, Irwin argues.
“I don’t view the truck as ‘undercover’ as much as it’s simply unmarked,” the chief replied in an emailed response to the question from the BDN. Undercover “implies we are operating in a manner so as to deceive criminals regarding our identity.”
The unmarked truck is helpful “with an occasional surveillance or when searching for someone on the run,” but it’s main focus is on traffic safety, Irwin said.
After all, crime rates in Presque Isle, Aroostook County and Maine are well below the national average, while the rate of motor vehicle crash deaths in The County is higher than the national average.
Presque Isle also is one of those communities where Route 1 serves as an all-purpose corridor, with the speed limit at 55 miles per hour in rural sections and then dropping down to 25 miles per hour through the four-lane Main Street downtown and the retail shopping district marked by big box stores.
“If you are local you know that law enforcement is spread pretty thin in northern Maine and secondly, U.S. Route 1 in Presque Isle is often times referred to as the Presque Isle raceway,” Irwin also wrote on Facebook, explaining why he posted a photo of the truck for the department’s 11,000-plus followers to see.
“When the public knows we have unmarked vehicles,they may think twice or use a little caution before speeding through town,” Irwin said. “Often times it doesn’t work, but for some it does and we need every advantage we can get to slow traffic down.”