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The Kent police department is getting a new patrol cruiser.

A new 2012 Ford Interceptor will be delivered in the coming weeks as a reward for the department’s participation in several statewide traffic safety programs in 2011.

The department is one of only five statewide to receive a cruiser as part of the “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or get Pulled Over” programs.

“We’re not going to place lights and a cage and all the radio and the markings on the side, we’re not going to make it a patrol car right off the bat because taking a car from the dealership and turning into a car with all that equipment is about another $5,000 that we don’t have in our budget,” Lieutenant Jim Prusha said.

Prusha says the department plans to use the car as an unmarked vehicle and as transportation to training, but that it may be converted to a patrol car in the future.

The Kent Police Department currently has 11 cruisers in the fleet.

Even after participating in the program for ten years,

“I don’t know if anyone here was aware of the possibility of us winning a car. We had the possibility of winning radar guns in the past. I don’t know if we’re told ahead of time what we might win or if we just get these surprise letters and say ‘oh thanks.’” Prusha said.

Contact Chris Lambert at [email protected].