Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
The NYPD is spending nearly $175,000 to change the slogan on patrol cars
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Jul 9, 2024
Modified Jul 9, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Liam Quigley / Gothamist
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Jul 9, 2024
Modified Jul 9, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Correction: This story has been updated throughout to reflect the total cost, so far, of the NYPD’s vehicle decal and slogan change. Due to inaccurate and conflicting information provided by the NYPD, a previous version said that total cost was not clear.
NYPD patrol cars are getting a new slogan and design — just a year after their last update.
The new slogan is “Fighting crime, protecting the public.” It replaces the historic slogan, “Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect,” and another that was rolled out just last year, “Protecting NYC since 1845.”
New NYPD vehicles will get the fresh slogan as they enter the fleet, and there are 125 so far, an NYPD spokesperson said. Marking each new cruiser with the updated slogan costs $2,091 — $1,390 more than it cost to mark them with the “Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect” slogan, the spokesperson said. The NYPD did not say how much more the new decal costs than the department’s most recent design.
For the cars that have been completed so far, that marks an added cost of $173,750. The spokesperson would not say how often the NYPD retires and replaces old vehicles.
According to the NYPD, the new decals rolled out under current Police Commissioner Edward Caban are more expensive because they take longer to install, use more material and involve a new “reflective material” to increase safety and visibility.
Previous NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell unveiled her own redesigned patrol cars just last year. The cruisers had green race stripes running along the length of every vehicle, and carried the slogan “Protecting NYC since 1845.” Sewell resigned five months after announcing the new design. An NYPD spokesperson did not respond to questions about the reason for the new design, or what role Caban played in the decision to update the cruisers again. They also would not say how many cars were outfitted with Sewell’s design.
The recent changes mean New Yorkers will see three different slogans and designs on NYPD vehicles across the city: the classic blue-and-white design hailing from the 1990s, Sewell’s green-striped cars and now this latest design.
Cars with the newest design will have five green and white stripes on their sides representing the five boroughs of New York City. White stars over a blue field represent the NYPD flag, with the stars representing the towns and villages that became New York City in 1899. The new slogan appears on the back windows in a lowercase, cursive font.
When Gothamist first reached out to the NYPD about the cost of the new decal, a spokesperson shared the additional cost of the new decal, but later claimed it was not an additional cost. On Wednesday, they confirmed the new decal did in fact cost $1,390 more than the old one.
Bob Martinez, former director of the NYPD Fleet Services Division, said before Sewell’s redesign, the patrol cars hadn’t been updated since the 1990s. A department spokesperson did not answer a question about the reason for the update.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .