Irvine police’s new Cybertruck sparks excitement, scrutiny
More information is coming to light regarding the Irvine Police Department's new Tesla Cybertruck , believed to be the first such use of the electric pickup in the United States, though the purchase of the high-end vehicle has drawn criticism from some.
After edging out nearby Anaheim for the honor of being first, the IPD is in the process of having the Cybertruck outfitted for police use, something they've boasted about on social media .
The completed project is expected to make its debut later this year, but documents obtained through a public records request show a six-figure price tag that concerns some who study police spending.
A hefty payment up front, but savings expected to follow
Public records show the IPD is shelling out over $150,000 for the Cybertruck, an amount the department declined to release without the filing of a public records request.
Part of that cost is due to the model purchased by the IPD. The 2024 Tesla Cyberbeast, a higher-performance and more expensive edition of the idiosyncratic Cybertruck, cost the city more than $132,000, but it was the only model available at the time, said Sgt. Karie Davies.
Irvine PD acquires Tesla Cybertruck for 'community engagement'
In addition, the "off-site law enforcement equipment installation" for the Cybertruck requires the city to pay nearly $21,000 more for the work to be done by a Hawthorne-based business, bringing the total to more than $153,000.
That equipment, such as police lights and communications gear, is necessary for any police vehicle so it can be used properly if called upon, Davies explained. As the IPD previously detailed, the Cybertruck won't be used as a patrol vehicle, though it could step in if it were the closest unit to a major crash or other emergency.
While the $153,000 price tag might shock some — a civilian with that budget would leave a dealership with a luxury vehicle like the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo or BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupe — that figure is not too far out of the ordinary for law enforcement vehicles, Davies said.
Gas-powered patrol vehicles cost about $116,000, Davies said, and they require thousands more in gasoline and maintenance over their lifetime, which is typically three to five years. Those costs are far less for a Cybertruck, which the IPD is expecting to last at least twice as long.
"This cost more on the front end, but also, this will be used for 10-plus years," she said.
For the most part, though, the Tesla will be used for its "cool factor" at community-facing events and as part of the department's Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, which needed a new vehicle, Davies said.
"The DARE cars are always the fun ones and good community-interaction cars because they usually have fun graphics and are good showpieces to engage with the community," Davies said. "The kids love to sit in them and play with the lights and the sirens and have cool cars to look at."
'Nice, shiny toy' or investment in public safety?
Police may be excited about the cutting-edge vehicle's addition to the fleet, but some who study police spending think the funds could be better used elsewhere.
Bennett Capers, a Fordham Law School professor who also serves as director of the Center on Race, Law, and Justice, said it's important to remember that while government agencies can have large budgets, it's all still taxpayer money, and he does not believe a Cybertruck will actually help police discourage drug use and criminal activity among children.
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Instead, Capers said, it "really feels like boys wanting a toy," as there are more effective ways to build relationships with kids.
"If you want to encourage youth, you could do things that would help youth, like go to playgrounds and play football and basketball with kids," he said. "That seems more likely to help them than a Cybertruck."
And efficacy should be a focus of the IPD, said Mike Males, a senior researcher for the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice who studies how police spending correlates with their primary mission of solving crimes.
Males noted that data from the state shows that in Irvine, a former home of his, police are solving proportionally fewer crimes in the most recent two years than they did in the past.
California Department of Justice data shows that in 2023, the IPD had a clearance rate (the number of crimes ending with charges divided by the total number of crimes) of 31.4% for violent crimes and only 7.1% for property crimes. In 2014, those numbers were 70.8% and 21.1%, respectively.
Davies explained that in 2022, the department switched to a new data management system, and the transition led to incorrect data being sent to the state, thus the lower clearance rates.
A retabulation is underway in Irvine, and Davies said the IPD's clearance rates are expected to be similar to the 2021 numbers when the updated results are complete in a couple of weeks.
Assuming that the IPD's numbers are similar to their pre-2022 levels, the Irvine clearance rates stack up well against the statewide clearance rate of 40% for violent crimes and 7.8% for property crimes in 2023.
The problem, Capers noted, is that those statewide clearance rates are "abysmal," especially for crimes like forcible rape (26.9% in 2023) and robbery (28.4%).
"If the clearance rates were 100% and I were chief of police, I'd think we were doing great. Maybe we should do something that helps endear us to the young people, like buy a Cybertruck," Capers said. "But I wouldn't do it at a time when my clearance rates are abysmal. It just seems like the wrong priority .... It's weird from an outsider's perspective."
From a police perspective, however, the purchase seems to be relatively normal. Roger Hilton, president of the California Fraternal Order of Police, deferred to the IPD on specifics but pointed to the community engagement benefits that come with the use of a Cybertruck.
"Irvine Police, like most law enforcement agencies, continue to take community outreach and community partnership seriously," Hilton said in a statement. "It is not uncommon for police agencies to find ways to engage their residents in conversations. The use of a Cybertruck for a program like DARE is one such way to continue with the engagement and partnership a police agency has with their community."
Amid this large-scale trend of lower clearance rates, Males suggested local leaders press law enforcement as to why so many crimes are unsolved while police budgets are being used on a "nice, shiny toy" like a Cybertruck to improve the department's reputation.
"I think it's up to the city administrators to say, 'We're much more concerned that you're not solving crime than that you may have some trouble with public relations,'" Males said.
Brittenay Causieestko-Lee, director of community engagement for the nonprofit Center for Policing Equity, explained that budget transparency is a concern for many, and city officials may have to answer for expenditures like this.
"Spending $150,000 on such a high-performance vehicle for a program like DARE seems very excessive, especially for your taxpayers, especially when there's cheaper alternatives as well," she said. "And so a lot of that can cause tension, because many residents may feel that taxpayer money could be better spent on urgent community needs like education, housing or infrastructure."
Causieestko-Lee added that the IPD could be justified in making this purchase — it could be exactly what Irvine residents are excited to see from their police department — but the IPD would be well-advised to quantify what successful Cybertruck usage looks like and share those performance figures with the community.
"The decision to purchase something like that, it kind of lacks clear justification, which is why, probably, public scrutiny has grown," she said. "So transparent budgeting is crucial because it allows taxpayers to really understand how funds are allocated and it ensures that they're spent in ways that benefit the entire community."
The cost of crime prevention
Davies disputes that the Cybertruck is just a flashy toy for the department; rather, it's being used as part of efforts to avert criminal activity.
Though the purchase was entirely separate from patrol operations and crime fighting, the Cybertruck's use in the DARE program will educate children on the dangers of drugs and crime and encourage law-abiding behavior, which can prevent crimes before they occur, she said.
Additionally, officers rely on the support of the community when performing their duties, making public outreach a priority for the IPD.
"We feel that using this vehicle or vehicles like this, not necessarily a Tesla, are a good conversation piece, and it breaks down those barriers with the community and allows people to come up and talk to us, and ultimately that's our goal, to build those relationships," she said.
Capers agrees that police need to have a strong relationship with the community, though he feels the Cybertruck is not the most effective route of building those ties.
"I'm a strong believer in going into communities and asking them what would be helpful to them," he said. "My guess is if you ran into highly policed communities and asked what would help bring down crime or solve crime or deter people from using drugs, my guess is none of them are going to answer 'Oh, if only our police department had a Tesla Cybertruck.'"
