RAM 1500 pick-up for NSW water police 

NSW Police has welcomed a RAM 1500 Express Crew cab to its fleet, specifically the Marine Area Command (MAC) division, following a trial of several RAM Trucks including the 2500.

Why, you may well ask, do NSW water police need a 291kW/556Nm 5.7-litre HEMI V8-powered American pick-up, which has a retail price of $89,950 plus on-road costs?

Well, according to NSW Police Marine Command Superintendent, Stephen Hegarty, it’s to do with the sheer capability of the big RAM ute and its ability to haul multiple jet-skis, rigid inflatables and other tactical equipment throughout the state.

“These trucks go everywhere in NSW with the MAC enforcement team, from Tweed Heads down to the Murray,” said Hegarty.

“The 4.5-tonne max brake towing is incredibly useful as it allows us to easily tow up to four jet skis at a time – or one of our bigger rigid inflatables – out to Dubbo, for example, for the Commissioner’s Rise Up youth program, compliance around boat safety on the water, or the South Coast to assist in the recent bushfire evacuations.”

The NSW Police MAC is based in Balmain, Sydney, and its responsibility extends to all coastal areas of NSW and 200 nautical miles out to sea. Its services are similar to those of land-based police, including crime prevention and detection, and search and rescue.

Hegarty said the local ‘remanufacturing’ process employed by RAM Trucks, which have been converted to right-hand drive by the Walkinshaw Group in Melbourne using 400 locally sourced parts since late 2015 and are now sold in 1500 and 2500 guises, appealed to the MAC.

“That we’re able to support local manufacturing is certainly a factor in our decision-making process,” he said.

“The requirements we need to operate within means we have to be on top of our game when it comes to towing capacity and how we enforce the law – we can’t be underweighted on tows, so the RAM 1500 fits the bill perfectly.”

Hegarty said that with an increasing amount of commercial shipping and significant expansion in the number and type of leisure craft on our waterways, the nation’s water police are increasingly being called on to drive down marine crime, underwater search and rescue, and safety and compliance reinforcement.

RAM Trucks Australia National Manager Jeff Barber said: “Is there a better fit-for-purpose vehicle out there?

“The MAC vehicles are taken to some pretty remote locations, so there’s a requirement to be self-sufficient on the road. In addition to our unrivalled towing capabilities, features like our innovative RamBox Cargo Management System have been fully utilised to include a lockable gun box – a prerequisite for police work – so we have the flexibility to adapt to differing requirements.”