Volvo Car Australia to Support the Federal Bureau of Investigation

SYDNEY – Sept 13, 2012: Volvo Car Australia is proud to be the Official Car Partner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Associates (FBINAA) annual training conference.

FBINAA is an association of past graduates of the FBI National Academy Course, an event which is open to police leaders across America, the US military and international law enforcement agencies worldwide.

Past graduates maintain a relationship with the FBI via international chapters and an annual training course. The Asia-Pacific chapter is holding the conference for the first time in Sydney, NSW from 17-20 September.

With over 50 years’ experience, Volvo has a long tradition of producing law enforcement vehicles adapted to suit specific roles. Volvo police vehicles, for example, are based on standard production cars before each vehicle is individually designed and specified at Volvo’s Special Vehicle Operations in Gothenburg, Sweden. All factory-installed police equipment is also crash tested and designed to stay firmly in place in the event of a collision.

The main markets for Volvo police vehicles are the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway, with all vehicles meeting strict criteria regarding performance, reliability, practicality and running costs.

With police forces globally now having to adhere to significant occupational health and safety criteria, Volvo’s world-first active safety innovations – like City Safety and Adaptive Cruise Control with Pedestrian Detection – become ever more relevant to law enforcement agencies seeking vehicles.

“Police drivers are subject to a significantly greater range of distractions than members of the public behind the wheel,” says Detective Superintendent Michael Plotecki, the Conference Coordinator.

“When you factor in constant radio transmissions, the unexpected reactions of other road users or pedestrians, the multitude of tasks a police driver has to undertake - and then add in the impact of highly-charged and stressed situations – potential sources of distraction can become significant.

“Technologies like Volvo’s City Safety or Pedestrian Detection offer a higher degree of protection and assistance for the police driver, and it’s features such as these that are likely to become standard not just on future police vehicles but all vehicles.”

With Volvo Car Australia in discussions with a number of law enforcement agencies regarding a selection of vehicles for assessment, the conference offers the opportunity to showcase a range of cars.

The high-performance Volvo S60 T6 R-Design, with its turbocharged 3.0-litre engine mustering 242kW, and all-wheel-drive system helping to deliver the 0-100km/h sprint in just 5.8 seconds, is one such vehicle currently being assessed as a fast-pursuit car.

Its wagon counterpart, the V60 T6 R-Design, delivers similar levels of high performance with the added practicality of up to 690 litres of boot space – a vital component considering the levels of equipment a police vehicle is required to take. In addition, the all-wheel-drive XC70 provides another load-carrying option.

The S60 and V60 T6 R-Design come with City Safety and Adaptive Cruise Control and Collision Warning with Full Autobrake and Pedestrian Detection as standard. The XC70 has City Safety as standard, and can be optioned with additional active safety technologies like Pedestrian Detection as per specific law enforcement agency requirements.

With the ability to provide turnkey solutions straight from the factory or locally-modified bespoke vehicles based on specific requirements, Volvo is looking forward to showcasing its products.

“We’re delighted to be involved in the FBINAA conference via our close and growing association with a number of local law enforcement agencies,” says Matt Braid, Volvo Car Australia Managing Director.

“Volvo is at the forefront of this next generation in active safety technologies, so it’s important that law enforcement agencies both here in Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region are aware of the technologies available now, and the high-performance vehicles Volvo has throughout its model range.”