By Courtney McAlpine, Ford Senior Digital Archivist
Ford vehicles have a long history of being a preferred brand by law enforcement around the country. In 1915, the Oakland, California Police Force was so impressed with Ford vehicles for police work they standardized their fleet of light cars to all Ford models.
In 1950, Ford was the first manufacturer to offer a Police package vehicle, which offered three power options: the Ford V-8 special, the Ford 100 H.P. V8 and the Ford 95 H.P. Six, as well as scores of engineering and design improvements, and special provisions for extra comfort, durability, speed, and safety to meet the rigorous needs of police work.
The Ford police package was a popular choice for police departments nationwide as evidenced by the New York Police Department ordering 430 Fords -- this was the largest order ever by a department at the time.
The first police model to use the Interceptor name was introduced in 1954. The name had previously been used for a new 125-horsepower V-8 engine which sold as an option with the police package in 1952. By 1961, a survey conducted by Ford Division showed that 58% of police cars operating in the United States’ 50 largest cities were Fords. The Ford Mustang joined special service in 1982.
The Mustang even became the topic of an eye-catching advertisement campaign that proclaimed, “This Ford Chases Porsches for a living.” It highlighted the Mustang’s cornering capability and rapid acceleration from zero to 50 mph in 6.3 seconds, which allowed it to keep up with other exotic sports cars.
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In 1983, the newly redesigned LTD Crown Victoria with police package continued the long history of full-size Fords as police cruisers. Its available police package, featuring an optional 351-cubic-inch, 5.8-liter high-output V8 helped make it the preferred choice of municipalities across North America for decades. The Crown Victoria became its own model in 1992 and was incredibly popular with law enforcement. In 1998, the Crown Victoria police package accounted for 85% of police pursuit sales in the U.S. and Canada. The Crown Victoria Police interceptor was retired in 2012 to make way for Ford’s newly introduced next-generation Police Interceptors.
The new 2013 Police Interceptor utility and sedan both offered BLIS (Blind Spot Information System), industry-exclusive cross-traffic alert, and reverse sensing systems. The 2013 Interceptors were the only all-wheel-drive vehicles built specifically for law enforcement at the time. In 2017, Ford revealed both its industry first pursuit-rated hybrid police car and pickup truck. These were followed in 2020 by Ford’s Police Interceptor Utility, another industry first as the first pursuit-rated hybrid SUV.
Ford’s long history with law enforcement and emergency services continues today after Ford launched its 2025 Ford Police interceptor Utility in August 2024.