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Police Goes into Stealth Mode to Catch Poachers Using EVs

You may think it's the savage acceleration thanks to the instant torque, but the one thing most people talk about after their first drive in an electric vehicle is the serene experience of noise- and vibration-free motoring.
Gloucestershire Constabulary EV fleet 101 photos
Photo: Gloucestershire Constabulary
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Wait, you'll say, the same can be said about the more pampering gas-powered models out there - anything from a Mercedes-Benz S-Class to a Rolls-Royce Ghost and whatever lies beyond. They too wrap the people inside in a completely isolated cocoon that makes the outside world seem like a very distant picture you'll be forced to return to at some point. Yes, but no matter how much dampening the manufacturer uses, that tiny whirl caused by the multitude of mobile parts and the little explosions that make them move can still be felt.

For most people, having a silent car is just a personal benefit. It's less pollution, fewer unwanted stimuli for the brain, and an overall more relaxing experience. However, the silent nature of EVs hasn't gone unnoticed by some government authorities, most notably the military which has shown some interest in the technology for stealth-related applications.

The police, however, wasn't really making the most of that. Sure, having non-polluting vehicles to patrol in pedestrian areas made sense, but that was pretty much the extent of the use the law enforcers had for battery-powered vehicles. Well, maybe they just didn't have the right problem to solve until now.

The Gloucestershire Constabulary was recently faced with a series of poaching cases that left several deer shot, but still alive. The severe cruelty of these incidents didn't go unnoticed, so the Gloucestershire Constabulary decided to make use of its 75-strong fleet of EVs - the largest in the UK.

Unmarked electric vehicles would patrol at night, quietly listening for gunshots, while other officers lied in wait in the woods equipped with night vision, thermal spotters, and even a thermal drone. Despite all this very well-thought-out show of force, there were no new cases and, therefore, nobody was caught. One explanation could be that the perpetrators are among the 1,271 followers of the Rural Crime Team of the Gloucestershire Constabulary Twitter account. Or they just finally got some sense and stopped the horrible things they were doing.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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