SEABROOK — Police are going back to tradition to improve their visibility and take on a fresh look at the same time, and the change is paying off, according to reports.
As other communities in the nation and region have gone back to traditionally marked black-and-white cruisers, Seabrook followed suit recently. Already, three of the town's four previously all-black patrol cruisers have been repainted, with the intent to do the same to the fourth, according to Seabrook police Sgt. Mark Preston, whose job is to give the cruisers a new face-lift.
In addition, the two new cruisers Town Meeting approved for purchase in March will be coming from the factory in black and white, Preston said. Local residents might do a double take after seeing their new police cruisers, but police believe just the sight of the black and white vehicles will benefit the town this summer.
"The high visibility factor black-and-white cruisers give is the main reason we wanted them," Preston said. "The black-and-white color is just more visible than black, and that's a deterrent in itself.
"When people see police cruisers, they change their behavior. They slow down if they're driving too fast; they're more careful with their driving on the whole," Preston said. "I think we'll write fewer violations in Seabrook as a result."
Preston said police Chief Patrick Manthorn was willing to listen to his men when they asked for the change when police department after police department in the area turned over to black-and-white cruisers. The reason for the change comes from experiences shared in a police publication concerning the positive effect black and white cruisers have with local citizens and their impact in repressing criminal tendencies among those who see them.
"All you have to do is go on the Internet and research black-and-white cruisers," Preston said. "You'll come up with story after story about small towns whose people think police are more visible in the community once the cruisers are changed to black and white."
Once the new design was worked out and approved by all, Preston said, Manthorn kept his eye on the budget. He approved the change as long as it didn't cost too much money. A deal was worked out with the company that handles such issues for the town.
Preston said the repainting was basically free. All the department had to pay for was the graphic design, which was kept simple and a little different from those of abutting towns.
Preston said response has been good, although initially some Seabrook residents mistook Seabrook's newly painted cruisers for those of other towns, since Salisbury, as well as Newburyport, Newbury and Portsmouth, all have black and white cruisers.
"At first a couple of people came to me and said they'd seen Salisbury cruisers here," Preston said with a laugh. "I told them, 'No, they're not from Salisbury, those are Seabrook's cruisers patrolling our roads.'"
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