Sydney’s Rose Bay Police
is the first police force in Australia to have a new form of
DNA technology that will be used to help crime prevention in the eastern suburbs
of Australia’s largest city. But this DNA does not come in the form of the unique building blocks of all life
that the Police use to identify criminals, it’s the latest in automotive
technology that comes as standard in the new Alfa Romeo Mito that is joining the
Crime Management Unit.
The
Mito is the latest in a series of cars provided by Alfa
Romeo in Australia to police forces to help fight crime
and save lives. “When it comes to visibility, the Mito
has proven to be an exceptional car, attracting
attention and interest like no other car,” said Chief
Superintendent Bradley Shepherd, the Acting Local Area
Commander. “With its primary role as providing a talking
point from which we can discuss road safety and break
down any barriers that may exist, the Mito has attracted
interest from all areas and all age groups.”
“Despite being marked up as a police vehicle, we don’t
use the Mito for normal police work, it is used for
community policing, it’s a great way of building rapport
in the community and certainly helps us get out our safe
driving messages. The Mito frees up normal police cars
so they can be out on the roads, not only helping to
save lives but also helping to fight crime and build
relationships with local businesses and community
groups” commented Superintendent Shepherd.
“This new Police Alfa Romeo will be used throughout our
Command for community policing and is also a car for the
community, as it will be used by our Crime Management
Unit, which includes our Crime Co-ordinator, Crime
Prevention Officer, Youth Liaison Officer, Domestic
Violence Officer and our Traffic Officer. The Alfa Romeo
frees up other vehicles to be deployed in frontline
police work and with an average fuel consumption of 6.5
litres per 100 km, it is also the most economical car in
our fleet”, said Detective Inspector Maricic, the Rose
Bay Crime Manager.
“We
are delighted to be able to assist Australian police
forces with the provision of cars for their road safety
and crime prevention work,” said Andrei Zaitzev. “We see
this as practical and highly cost effective way that we
can play our role in a safer community for everyone. Our
cars assist the Police in making contact with a wide
range of people so they can discuss and offer help with
road safety and crime prevention, as well as providing
the practical assistance of transport. We believe that
this is a very positive role that we can play in the
community.”
But
what of the DNA technology? Electronic Stability Control
(ESP) is already established as a major contribution to
road safety with its ability to help drivers avoid road
accidents. The Alfa Romeo DNA system takes this several
steps further, enabling the driver to adjust the Mito’s
handling and responsiveness to the road conditions. In
Dynamic, the D of DNA, setting the ESP assumes ideal
open road situations, providing move power from the
turbocharged engine, more weight in the steering and a
setting for the stability control to give maximum driver
enjoyment. In Normal (N) setting the steering is
lighter, the Stability Control is set for the variable
conditions of normal driving and the engine power is
backed off to save fuel. ‘A’ is for all-weather and this
is setting for low grip, wet, icy or muddy roads, with
the all the systems dialled in to be ready for tough and
difficult driving conditions.
