The Pueblo Police Department received five new CSI trucks that will give officers easier access to tools while processing crime scenes.
The Pueblo Police Department has rolled out new Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) trucks to replace their aging fleet of vans.
The five new vehicles were designed to be more efficient than the vans were at transporting evidence to and from crime scenes, and to make it easier for officers to process crime scenes, said Pueblo CSI supervisor, Sgt. Steven Jesik, who helped design the trucks.
“Before we had Econoline vans and, although they served the purpose, part of the problem was that you had to climb inside them to get equipment, put evidence in, take it back out,” Jesik said.
Storage compartments in the new Pueblo Police Department CSI trucks are designed to give officers easier access to the tools they need to work crime scenes.
While the vans were two-wheel drive, fairly old models from between 1999 to 2006, the trucks are four-wheel drive, have towing capability, and enough seating to transport other personnel to crime scenes when necessary, said Jesik.
All the equipment police need to investigate a crime is mounted in crates and shelves located in the bed of the truck, allowing easy access without the need to get in or out of the truck, said Jesik.
“We also put a complete lighting package on the exterior of the truck, so not only do we have emergency lights to respond to calls, make traffic stops with certified officers, but we have intense white LED lights 360 degrees around these vehicles,” he said.
“So if we have an outdoor scene at night or low lighting conditions, we can really project a lot of light onto that crime scene.”
Crime: Man charged in wreck that killed one CSU-Pueblo student, injured another
The CSI unit is called to a number of different types of crime scenes, including homicides, burglaries, fatal traffic accidents, sexual assaults, other serious assaults, and anything else that requires the collection and documentation of evidence that is beyond the capabilities of regular patrol officers.
The trucks have been given to officers to take home to allow them to respond rapidly to crime scenes if calls come in, in the middle of the night.
The trucks have been in use since last spring and are expected to have an operational lifespan of about eight to 10 years.
Jesik began working on the design of the trucks’ interior in 2019, but their rollout was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The entire project cost just under $250,000, or less than $50,000 per vehicle. That includes the truck, the shelving, the equipment in the beds, the radio, decals and lighting equipment.
Funding for the project came from the public safety sales tax, which was passed in 2017 by Pueblo voters.
Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Police Department debuts new fleet of CSI trucks
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/pueblo-police-roll-fleet-csi-200953308.html