Fillmore County Sheriff’s Department’s New Vehicle Design

When Chief Deputy Lance Boyum who takes care of the Fillmore County Sheriff’s fleet, first approached Sheriff John DeGeorge about the possibility of changing the Sheriff’s Department vehicles’ color and design, DeGeorge quickly agreed. He remembered that the same color and basic graphic design with just a few small tweaks had been used for over 20 years and the vehicle color before that had been white as well.

After the department kicked around a few design ideas and came up with some general ideas, they turned to Andy Kelly of Kelly Printing and Signs for his expertise. After Andy came up with a few design ideas, the department made their choice. They chose a sharp black and white design with homage to the vintage black and whites of the past and a definite fresh, updated graphic.

The new black vehicles cost no more than the old white ones, but the black vehicles will have a better resale value when the department is ready to replace them in years to come.

According to Sheriff DeGeorge, the new color and graphics stand out more than the old white cars. This is exactly what the department wants. They want a visible presence in the community to help prevent crime. the retro colors and new design appeal to new officers in the competitive job market of today.

It will take a few years before the department is fully switched over to the new vehicles. Two new cars were ordered in 2025, four were purchased in 2026 and four more are budgeted for in 2027. Sheriff’s vehicles are replaced approximately every five years. At that time they usually have well over 100,000 miles on them. There are a total of 16 marked patrol vehicles in the department.

The department employs 20 men. A handful of unmarked cars are driven by the sheriff and the investigators; these cars are replaced less frequently based on the condition of the vehicles. The department has no spare cars; deputies drive an off-duty deputy’s car if their cars are being serviced.

Deputies are allowed to take their vehicles home with them. While this is a benefit for the deputies, it provides an even bigger benefit to the department. The deputies live all over Fillmore County and can be called out to respond from their homes in emergencies. This makes response time faster for the department.

The Fillmore County Sheriff’s Department purchases Dodge Durangos for new vehicles. These vehicles are SUVs with 4WD. The cost and capability of the vehicles make them the clear choice for the department. The Durangos have plenty of room for the plethora of items that must be carried in the vehicles, and the 4WD helps in navigating the rugged rural areas in the county.

Whenever a vehicle is replaced, the department updates the car’s equipment. In recent years, the prisoner cage has been indented in the back to make the wearing of handcuffs a little less uncomfortable.

A particularly handy new feature came this past year. Body cameras and squad care cameras synch automatically with an antenna at the sheriff’s office; all recorded data can be downloaded automatically.

The cameras are always recording; when a vehicle’s lights turn on, its cameras also turn on. The cameras are capable of recording after the fact. They can be backed up for 30 seconds before an event or can be viewed even further back in time.

Once newly ordered vehicles are delivered it usually takes a couple months to customize the vehicles. During Covid, it took over a year for such customizing. Now the department depends on Thin Line Outfitters in Holmen, Wisconsin, to complete the customization within a few months. The equipment for customization costs an additional $17,000 to $18,000 for each car.

Reaction to the new colors and graphics has been very positive. The deputies all want the new black cars. Deputy Tim Melver shared that he has people coming up to him all the time to tell him how much they like the car and how sharp it looks. Fillmore County Sheriff’s Department certainly hit it out of the park with their new vehicle design and colors!