Police make presence known with the “Howler”
Posted Mar 4, 2016 6:32 am.
Last Updated Mar 4, 2016 6:57 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s not your imagination; the ground may actually be shaking as that Calgary Police cruiser goes by.
The switchover to new black and white vehicles has also brought along a new device called the Howler.
Inspector Ken Thrower says it transmits a vibration in the ground to alert drivers of their presence.
“Sometimes in the past, the officer had the belief or presumption that the citizens at that intersection, or the person they’re pulling over, can hear them and sometimes they didn’t. For whatever reason, maybe they have not great hearing, maybe they’re distracted by music or different things going on,” he explained.
The device has already been in use in some of the fleet for a year and a half, and Thrower says there haven’t been any complaints.
